Have a New FT3D, Very excited. No experience with the 2D.. Soooo charging it the first time.. Charged all night, & the charge bar when unit is off stays at 1 bock briefly went up to 2 blocks.. By the morning turning the unit on the unit was fully charged, but the charge bar when off is at 1 block.. is that a charge strength indicator & not a battery charge amount indicator... not clear in the manual.. I'm confused... Thoughts ?
Yaesu: FT3D Charging ?
- Thread starter KN6DVT
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I have spare batteries and charge them individually in the quick charger, so right off I am unsure what is displayed on the screen. I'll check when I get home and run a test.
Also, are you using the quick charger with the stand, or just the AC wall wart that plugs into the radio? I'll test using whatever you have.
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Reading your post again has me thinking that the radio might be trying to determine the battery charge level and simply shows an initial single block while charging/testing. Anyways, I'll test and advise of what I see.
Also, are you using the quick charger with the stand, or just the AC wall wart that plugs into the radio? I'll test using whatever you have.
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Reading your post again has me thinking that the radio might be trying to determine the battery charge level and simply shows an initial single block while charging/testing. Anyways, I'll test and advise of what I see.
Thx... Just got it , ( dissapointingly didn't come with a cradle ) - that's now on order.. Just plugged stock AC wall wart directly into FT3D . so when off, the FT shows a charging bar... See this pic when off & charging... But the battery is fully charged, according to the On mode top left battery icon.. - Strange....
How long does it stay like that saying "Now Charging"? I'm figuring if it is already charged, if you wait a few minutes it may say "Complete" and or the screen goes blank after a few minutes when fully charged. I'll still test when I get home, unless you advise that it does say complete and or turns off, because then it is working normally. Well, now I am curious and will test anyways.
Yes that's my point... it stays at like that - always , at 1 square - saying Now charging.., all night while charging.... ( never says "Fully Charged" - Green Bar never moves, or gets to the right side ) But when i turn it on, the green battery icon says it's charged 100%... I have it on all day, so obviously the battery is charged... Doesn't make sense... The charging bar should be going up as it get's more & more charged... Both those pictures are at the same time... the battery can't be both fully charged & fully discharged & "Now Charging " makes no sense... But the unit doens't seem broken in any way..
Yeah, that does not make sense. I will test and relay what my FT3D says. I'll try different batteries as well.
prcguy
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I just picked up an FT3D an hour ago but am charging with the rapid charge stand. I'll run a test on the internal charger next time.
Charge indicator was useless in the FT2, and the FT3 inherited the same bad code. I bought the drop in charger and spare bat for my FT3DR at Batteries America.
I put freshly charged 2200 mAh battery (SBR-14LI) the one that comes with the FT3DR on the radio. I then plugged in the AC adapter and connected it to the radio. The "Now Charging" text came on with a bar on the screen. I watched over it for a few minutes and it remained the same. I then walked away for about 15-20 minutes and when I returned the display was off. Per the manual, when the charge is complete the radio turns off after 3 minutes. Based on that my radio and battery appear to be working normally. The manual also notes that it takes about 9 hours to charge the battery, perhaps more depending on the status. (Page 20)
While your radio shows a full battery when you turn it on, I wonder if it is really topped up. Leave it plugged in and turned off and when if it still says "Now Charging" tomorrow, there may be an issue...or not. Honestly, if you have left it charging for 8 hours and it shows a full battery when you turn it on, I would think it is working okay. You can of course contact Yaesu and ask them. There are not any firmware updates for the FT3DR radio at this time, so what we have is the latest.
I think I charged my FT1DR radio once or twice with the AC charger and it took too long for me. I purchased an extra battery and drop in charger, which I then used the the FT2 and FT3.
While your radio shows a full battery when you turn it on, I wonder if it is really topped up. Leave it plugged in and turned off and when if it still says "Now Charging" tomorrow, there may be an issue...or not. Honestly, if you have left it charging for 8 hours and it shows a full battery when you turn it on, I would think it is working okay. You can of course contact Yaesu and ask them. There are not any firmware updates for the FT3DR radio at this time, so what we have is the latest.
I think I charged my FT1DR radio once or twice with the AC charger and it took too long for me. I purchased an extra battery and drop in charger, which I then used the the FT2 and FT3.
ko6jw_2
Member
My FT2 has always behaved this way. I bought a drop in charger and an extra battery pack on my initial order. Never use a charge cord unless using the radio mobile or on a larger battery. Don't know why the display is the way it is, but there is nothing wrong with the radio or the battery. Drop in charger is a must.
Thx.. So wait a sec.. when the bar came on, how much of it was green ? you put in a fully charged battery, and when you turn it OFF & plug in the charger, is the bar fully Green & it says Charged ? since you know it's fully charged ? or the green bar is only tiny on the left side & it says now charging _ which is what mine does.. & doesn't make sense since you know the battery is fully charged. Bar should be green all the way over to the right...
Ok so it seems this is just a design flaw & there's nothing wrong with my unit... just that the onboard charger does not at all accurately display charge amount.. Only when in ON mode does the battery charge display correctly...
Update:
I put another SBR-14LI battery onto the FT3DR that displayed a full charge when on and kept a better eye on it while off and charging. Over the course of an hour the bars gradually increased starting at 2, then 4, 5, 7, 9 and then finally the text on the screen changed from "Now Charging" to "Completed". In about three minutes after saying Completed the screen turned off, as it should.
I put another SBR-14LI battery onto the FT3DR that displayed a full charge when on and kept a better eye on it while off and charging. Over the course of an hour the bars gradually increased starting at 2, then 4, 5, 7, 9 and then finally the text on the screen changed from "Now Charging" to "Completed". In about three minutes after saying Completed the screen turned off, as it should.
I'm glad someone had the patience to see it through.
New Update.. Good News... Seems like after using all day & full discharging till off.. Plugging in now to charge - seems to correctly show charging progress ( green bar gradually progressing to the right ) .. Will monitor , But I'd guess this thing when brand new wants to be fully discharged & charged to reset the Radio - Battery charge info handshake, or something... Much relieved my new pricy toy I've waited for is not a Bum unit.. Many thanks to you guys for spending the time to help... Cheers TT...
Lurchie
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I have a different charging question. Will it harm the radio or battery if I operate (mostly listening and APRS) while the charging cable is plugged in?
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Obviously, listening to the radio while charging will extend the charge time. I believe that Yaesu cautions against transmitting (including APRS beaconing) while the radio is charging. Much better to get a second battery and charge the batteries individually while off the radio.
Lurchie
Member
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback.
leggit
Newbie
the charging is very strange on the ft3d, I got mine at 9.30am
new put in charger cradle showing red 2 1 bar 2 hours 2 bars
4 hours cradle still showing red charging?
took radio out of cradle turned on radio battery full
put back in cradle green light came on full charge
very starnge
new put in charger cradle showing red 2 1 bar 2 hours 2 bars
4 hours cradle still showing red charging?
took radio out of cradle turned on radio battery full
put back in cradle green light came on full charge
very starnge
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