Question Regarding Re-building The Ni-Cad Battery Packs For The R.S. HTX-202 & HTX-204
 

Hello,
N2NJK Ray Miller here (Williamsville, New York - next to Buffalo). I know
through the release, lifetime and their final exodus that these were quite
controversial radios with some hams. Best way of putting it is you either
loved them or didn't want to be anywhere near them. I have two of each and
found them to be a reasonably priced "workhorse" especially for me being
disabled and subsequently, on a bit of a tight budget.

I do seem to ramble on G!

At any rate, does any other person out here know if any of the cordless
telephone batteries R.S. has generally on hand would give me the correct
voltage and amperage? If so, which ones? OF COURSE, Keeping in mind like the
rest of the guys on a HT that the longest life between chages.

Sincerely & '73s

Raymond A. Miller
N2NJK

raymond miller wrote:

Hello,
N2NJK Ray Miller here (Williamsville, New York - next to Buffalo). I know
through the release, lifetime and their final exodus that these were quite
controversial radios with some hams. Best way of putting it is you either
loved them or didn't want to be anywhere near them. I have two of each and
found them to be a reasonably priced "workhorse" especially for me being
disabled and subsequently, on a bit of a tight budget.

I do seem to ramble on G!

At any rate, does any other person out here know if any of the cordless
telephone batteries R.S. has generally on hand would give me the correct
voltage and amperage? If so, which ones? OF COURSE, Keeping in mind like the
rest of the guys on a HT that the longest life between chages.

Sincerely & '73s

Raymond A. Miller
N2NJK


My 202 was cheap to buy and remains a "workhorse" after all my other
real workhorses are out to pasture. Check around for a "Batteries Plus"
franchise in your area. They will rebuild at a reasonable price. My last
NiCad pack busted apart in a "drop test." Now I use NiMH cells in an
alkaline battery pack with excellent results. Somewhere I saw an ad for
a NiMH pack and compatable charger for this radio, but can't recall
where. My 202 has never been in for repair and was used extensively
before the popularity of cell phones for commuting communication. I
think it contains an internal battery that should have failed by now,
but magically persists. Not very sexy but worth every penney!

Tom
KD6EVM

In article ,
raymond miller wrote:

| At any rate, does any other person out here know if any of the cordless
| telephone batteries R.S. has generally on hand would give me the correct
| voltage and amperage? If so, which ones? OF COURSE, Keeping in mind like the
| rest of the guys on a HT that the longest life between chages.

Cordless batteries? Don't bother, unless they're like $1/pack on
clearance -- they're usually way inflated for pretty low capacity
cells.

The HTX-202 takes 6 AA batteries. Stock they came with 500 mAh NiCd
cells I think, though you can use any AA cell you want. A slow
charger (anything that takes 10+ hours) will work on both, though if
you have a fast charger (that does it in under a few hours then shuts
off) it may not work properly with NiMH cells.

You can get NiCd AA cells -- 800 mAh or 900 mAh -- for about $5-$6 for
a 4 pack at Wal-Mart, Lowes or Home Depot -- they're in the `solar
powered light' section.

I usually stock up on 2000-2400 mAh NiMH cells at the local Frys for
about $5 for a 4 pack, but that might not be an option for you. But
even the NiCd cells will give you a nice duration boost over the stock
pack.

Once you have the cells, it's just a standard rebuilding of a pack. I
can go into more detail on how that's done in general if needed ...

One thing to keep in mind -- if you've got the slow charger (probably
a wall-wart), and you use much larger capacity batteries, your
charging will take much longer. If the charger took 10 hours with 500
mAh batteries, it'll take 50 hours with 2500 mAh batteries.
(Actually, it'll take even longer, because NiMH cells self-discharge
at a higher rate. In fact, they may never fully charge with a 50 mA
wall-wart. If possible, replace it with a 100 mA or 150 mA wall-wart.)

My HTX-202 has 6 1800 mAh NiMH cells in it's battery pack. If all it
does is receive, with it squelched most of the time, it'll last
perhaps 72 hours on a full charge ...

--
Doug McLaren, , AD5RH
We came. We saw. We kicked its ass." -- Bill Murray, _Ghostbusters_