Eton Charging Eton Elite Executive

[ditto1958]

Why does this radio charge so slow? I got out the Eton Elite Executive the other day but found that the batteries were almost dead. You don’t just plug it in and come back a couple hours later. According to the manual, it takes an hour per 100 mAH of battery capacity. I checked and the batteries in my radio are labeled 2400 mAH. So, 24 hours to charge them from dead? Wow. Mine weren’t dead so I set it for 20 hours.

Meanwhile, I’ve had the Executive for about 4 or 5 months and it continues impress. Radio receivers seem to be like that. They grow on me with use. This one has certainly done that. Very sensitive radio with excellent features.

 

[sw57-HF]

I've had the EEE a few months as well and find it to be an all around fine receiver on all modes. But yes, I totally agree that the charging
performance is nothing short of pure lousy. Definitely old tech slow trickle charging compared to most other modern units. The only time I use it for charging is if I'm going to move over to use another radio. Using a separate dedicated battery charger is a good thing if one has extra AA rechargeables. I usually have a set ready to go when needed.

 

[ditto1958]

I’m kind of curious about how long a set of regular AA batteries will last in my radio. It’s kind of annoying. While I use the radio regularly, often even daily, I’m very unimpressed by how little time I seem to get out of the rechargeable ones.

My Tecsun PL-660 came with four Tecsun branded batteries in the box, and I think they are labeled 1000mah, and I don’t have to charge it very often at all. I bought four 2400 mah AA’s for the Eton, as it didn’t come with any batteries. They’re not expensive, Amazon Basics, I think, but they don’t last very long between charges. Are analog radios easier on batteries than dsp radios?

 

[EAFrizzle]

Your batteries are getting overheated and overcharged by charging them in the radio, resulting in a shorter life cycle. A proper charger will monitor the cells temperature, charge state, and automatically detect the battery chemistry to charge each cell properly. Charging AA/AAA cells in a radio should be a last option.

I'm getting ~23 hours of continuous operation on my E³ with sets of three-year-old Amazon basics AAs. Running it 3-4 hours a night when needed gets me through weeknights easily; I put in a fresh set on Friday evenings for weekend DXing.


Alkaline and non-rechargeable Lithium cells tend to last a lot longer (esp. w/ intermittent use) than NiMH, making them better for emergency use, but their expense will quickly pay for a good charger and a couple of dozen NiMH batteries.