R30 R30 battery case.

[jazzboypro]

Hello all,

Since the R30 is being discontinued i was thinking of buying a battery case in case the stock battery becomes hard to find of too expensive. According to Icom website, only alkaline batteries should be installed in the case. I don't really understand why we could not use LI-ion rechargeable batteries, after all that is what the stock battery is. Do any of you use Li-ion batteries with the R30 case ?

Many thanks
73
VA2FCS

 

[kruser]

You could but you'd still need to charge them outside of the AA battery case.
There's no provision on the battery case to charge them inside the case.
The R30 is also expecting to see alkaline battery voltage of 1.5 volts per cell when using the optional battery case.

Someone had a post about the AA size rechargeable lithium cells. They said they emitted a lot of RF noise that was most likely coming from the voltage reducer circuit they use in the cells to drop the lithium cell voltage down to 1.5 volts per cell.
I don't recall which forum I read that in but I'm pretty sure it was a new post made today.

 

[David628]

Don’t worry… buy the AA battery pack. Ive used NiMh rechargeable and the 24 pack standard store bought alkaline and lithium Energizers Batts with the case. Operational times will of course very depending on your situation. But it won’t hurt your receiver using anything other then lithium batts. I’m an avid and active R30 user to this day. R30 - R30 - In 2020, what do you listen to the most with it?

 

[kruser]

Don’t worry… buy the AA battery pack. Ive used NiMh rechargeable and the 24 pack standard store bought alkaline and lithium Energizers Batts with the case. Operational times will of course very depending on your situation. But it won’t hurt your receiver using anything other then lithium batts. I’m an avid and active R30 user to this day. R30 - R30 - In 2020, what do you listen to the most with it?

I bought the battery case also but I only put alkaline cells in it one time just to make sure it worked. It did so now I keep it with my R30 just in case.
I run my R30 close to 8 hours each day using the supplied Lithium battery. My supplied Lithium cell that came with my R30 when new is still going strong and it has several hundred charge cycles reported by the R30. I did purchase a spare factory lithium cell also because of my heavy use but I have not needed it yet, I did charge it fully and let it run the R30 until ir was down to about 30% charge level left in it for storage.

With the external AA holder case, I was more worried about the RFI issue another user experienced when using the rechargeable AA size cells. They charge to a normal 4.2 volts and have a voltage regulator of sorts inside the cells to bring that voltage down to 1.5 volts so you don't fry your equipment from over-voltage.
The other user claimed bad RFI across the HF spectrum when he used rechargeable AA sized lithium cells. The RFI appeared to come from whatever those cells use to drop the voltage down to 1.5 volts.

Of course using standard alkaline batteries or the lithium AA cells that are nor rechargeable don't have the voltage reducing circuit as the cells are near 1.5 volts as it is.
I did wonder if using NiMH cells would cause any low voltage warnings as they only produce about 1.2 volts per cell. NiMH cells do not have any voltage dropping circuits as they run natively at 1.2 volts so they would not cause any RFI either.

 

[vagrant]

I have plenty of small and large USB batteries, but I typically use a 3000 mAh USB battery with it that is round and 2 x 10 cm. It has a little sack and just hangs off the belt clip. I have a 13000 mAh battery I can use to charge/power the R30 if it is not moving around. I may buy the BP-293 to have when the Li-ion gives up the ghost and just use it empty with a USB external battery, or with some 2400 mAh rechargeable.

* Note: The R30 can be powered via USB even without the battery connected to the radio. It just shows a warning when the battery is removed.

 

[David628]

If these rumors are true that the R30 is or has been discontinued it makes sense to buy the AA battery pack. Lithium battery packs typically have a life expectancy of 500 cycles. Don’t gamble on your investment if you think the R30 was discontinued.

 

[jazzboypro]

I have plenty of small and large USB batteries, but I typically use a 3000 mAh USB battery with it that is round and 2 x 10 cm. It has a little sack and just hangs off the belt clip. I have a 13000 mAh battery I can use to charge/power the R30 if it is not moving around. I may buy the BP-293 to have when the Li-ion gives up the ghost and just use it empty with a USB external battery, or with some 2400 mAh rechargeable.

* Note: The R30 can be powered via USB even without the battery connected to the radio. It just shows a warning when the battery is removed.

I have this Anker Power Bank. It is a 45 watts 26800mAh i think it considered as a charger. I use it to charge my phone and sometimes my tablet. Can it be used to charge/power the R30 ?

 

[vagrant]

@jazzboypro - I believe so. The R30 enjoys 5v and 1Ah. Lower amps will obviously take longer to charge, but that battery offers 2.25A if nothing else is plugged into it.

An important note in the R30 manual...

NOTE:
• BE SURE to turn OFF the receiver before charging the battery pack. Otherwise the
attached battery pack cannot be charged completely, or it will take much longer to charge.

• If you use a third party USB cable, you may not be able to charge:
  - Depending on your USB cable or power adapter.
  - When using a USB hub or connecting to a low output USB port.
• Charging time is approximately 5 hours when using the supplied USB cable and 1 A output
  USB port, and the temperature is 25°C (77°F).
  Charging time may differ, depending on the USB port.

Just in case for anyone that does not know...

NOTE: Even when the receiver power is OFF, a slight current still flows in the circuits. Remove the battery pack or batteries from the receiver when not using it for a long time. Otherwise, the installed battery pack or batteries will become exhausted, and will need to be recharged or replaced.

 

[palmerjrusa]

You could but you'd still need to charge them outside of the AA battery case.
There's no provision on the battery case to charge them inside the case.
The R30 is also expecting to see alkaline battery voltage of 1.5 volts per cell when using the optional battery case.

Someone had a post about the AA size rechargeable lithium cells. They said they emitted a lot of RF noise that was most likely coming from the voltage reducer circuit they use in the cells to drop the lithium cell voltage down to 1.5 volts per cell.
I don't recall which forum I read that in but I'm pretty sure it was a new post made today.

That was me:

A warning about these rechargeable Li-ion batteries (I have a set of these EBL AAs).

Because these AA rechargeable Li-ion cells have an output voltage of around 3.7v they incorporate "step-down" voltage circuitry in the cell to bring them to 1.5V.
This step-down circuitry emits RF noise. Using these batteries in an AM radio will blanket out the commercial AM part of the spectrum with interference. I thought there was something wrong with my radio until I figured out what was going on (I replicated this phenomenon in other AM radios I own that use AA batteries, the extent of the effect seems to depend on how close the batteries are to the radio's internal electronics). I don't think it effects the VHF/UHF regions of the RF spectrum but it's possibe it could degrade reception somewhat. For this reason I think it's best to avoid these AA Li-ion rechargeable batteries in radio equipment.

 

[palmerjrusa]

Hello all,

Since the R30 is being discontinued i was thinking of buying a battery case in case the stock battery becomes hard to find of too expensive. According to Icom website, only alkaline batteries should be installed in the case. I don't really understand why we could not use LI-ion rechargeable batteries, after all that is what the stock battery is. Do any of you use Li-ion batteries with the R30 case ?

Many thanks
73
VA2FCS

I have two IC-R30s, just bought a second one before new units disappear from the marketplace.

I also bought the Icom battery case for the IC-R30, works great with alkaline or NiMH AA cells. Of course you can't charge NiMH AA cells via the IC-R30's charging cradle.

 

[jazzboypro]

@jazzboypro - I believe so. The R30 enjoys 5v and 1Ah. Lower amps will obviously take longer to charge, but that battery offers 2.25A if nothing else is plugged into it.

An important note in the R30 manual...

NOTE:
• BE SURE to turn OFF the receiver before charging the battery pack. Otherwise the
attached battery pack cannot be charged completely, or it will take much longer to charge.

• If you use a third party USB cable, you may not be able to charge:
  - Depending on your USB cable or power adapter.
  - When using a USB hub or connecting to a low output USB port.
• Charging time is approximately 5 hours when using the supplied USB cable and 1 A output
  USB port, and the temperature is 25°C (77°F).
  Charging time may differ, depending on the USB port.

Just in case for anyone that does not know...

NOTE: Even when the receiver power is OFF, a slight current still flows in the circuits. Remove the battery pack or batteries from the receiver when not using it for a long time. Otherwise, the installed battery pack or batteries will become exhausted, and will need to be recharged or replaced.

Thanks for the info. So if the stock battery is discharge can i remove it from the radio and use my anker to power the radio ?

 

[vagrant]

10-4...but I would just leave the stock battery in. Your Anker Power Bank will power and charge at the same time. Just make sure that power bank does not put out more than 5v.

Thanks for the info. So if the stock battery is discharge can i remove it from the radio and use my anker to power the radio ?

 

[jazzboypro]

10-4...but I would just leave the stock battery in. Your Anker Power Bank will power and charge at the same time. Just make sure that power bank does not put out more than 5v.

That the thing, i don't really know what is the voltage output of the Anker

 

[vagrant]

I purchased a USB voltage/amp tester for around $10 a few years back from Amazon. You can test your ports and observe your power draw with some of those test devices. Use it on your Anker and anywhere else before plugging in.

That the thing, i don't really know what is the voltage output of the Anker

 

[jazzboypro]

The Drop in charger for the R30 is rated at between 12-16 from what is written on the label but it does not say what current. I'm afraid that using the Anker to charge the battery will damage it. Obviously the Anker will not provide proper voltage/current for the battery

 

[jazzboypro]

For now i've ordered an extra battery and the battery case

 

[bearcatrp]

Glad I purchased a battery case when I ordered my R30. Knew some day it would get discontinued. Sooner than I thought. Just hope Icom is building a replacement with the same waterfall display as the 52A. Even a desktop version with a small water display would work for me. Can only dream.

 

[palmerjrusa]

I bought the battery case also but I only put alkaline cells in it one time just to make sure it worked. It did so now I keep it with my R30 just in case.
I run my R30 close to 8 hours each day using the supplied Lithium battery. My supplied Lithium cell that came with my R30 when new is still going strong and it has several hundred charge cycles reported by the R30. I did purchase a spare factory lithium cell also because of my heavy use but I have not needed it yet, I did charge it fully and let it run the R30 until ir was down to about 30% charge level left in it for storage.

With the external AA holder case, I was more worried about the RFI issue another user experienced when using the rechargeable AA size cells. They charge to a normal 4.2 volts and have a voltage regulator of sorts inside the cells to bring that voltage down to 1.5 volts so you don't fry your equipment from over-voltage.
The other user claimed bad RFI across the HF spectrum when he used rechargeable AA sized lithium cells. The RFI appeared to come from whatever those cells use to drop the voltage down to 1.5 volts.

Of course using standard alkaline batteries or the lithium AA cells that are nor rechargeable don't have the voltage reducing circuit as the cells are near 1.5 volts as it is.
I did wonder if using NiMH cells would cause any low voltage warnings as they only produce about 1.2 volts per cell. NiMH cells do not have any voltage dropping circuits as they run natively at 1.2 volts so they would not cause any RFI either.

I like the EBL Li-ion rechargeable AAs, they're great for other things like small LED lanterns which I use my set for. These Li-ion AAs are also significantly lighter than regular NiMH AAs, a small detail but it might be significant for some users. I also like that they can be recharged from a regular USB outlet using the supplied dongle cable so there's no need for a bulky charger.
Somewhat slyly EBL report their capacity in mWh (3,300) not mAh.
Their actual mAh rating is 3300/1.5 = 2,200 mAh.

I've had no problem using NiMH AAs for my IC-R30.
The voltage of alkaline AAs drops quickly anyway when they're in use.

 

[vagrant]

1. The next receiver will not have DMR, so set your expectations now.
2. I wonder if the next receiver will need more voltage to process a waterfall display. If so, perhaps the next receiver will use the regular handheld transceiver batteries like the BP-307 @ 7.2v. I figure they mainly need the voltage during TX as the R30 receiver uses 3.6v.
3. Desktop version...that would be the Icom R8600 as it has a waterfall display. Your dream has been reality for over four years. Enjoy!

Glad I purchased a battery case when I ordered my R30. Knew some day it would get discontinued. Sooner than I thought. Just hope Icom is building a replacement with the same waterfall display as the 52A. Even a desktop version with a small water display would work for me. Can only dream.

@palmerjrusa - Thank you for the information about the use of NiMH and EBL Li-ion in the battery case. My BP-293 AA case shipped today. As to AA NiMH vs Li-ion, all of my 1.2v NiMH have worked fine in devices where 1.5v were specified. I even use 1.2v NiMH in lanterns. Did you buy them to try them, or do you have a particular device that chokes with only 1.2v NiMH?

 

[palmerjrusa]

1. The next receiver will not have DMR, so set your expectations now.
2. I wonder if the next receiver will need more voltage to process a waterfall display. If so, perhaps the next receiver will use the regular handheld transceiver batteries like the BP-307 @ 7.2v. I figure they mainly need the voltage during TX as the R30 receiver uses 3.6v.
3. Desktop version...that would be the Icom R8600 as it has a waterfall display. Your dream has been reality for over four years. Enjoy!


@palmerjrusa - Thank you for the information about the use of NiMH and EBL Li-ion in the battery case. My BP-293 AA case shipped today. As to AA NiMH vs Li-ion, all of my 1.2v NiMH have worked fine in devices where 1.5v were specified. I even use 1.2v NiMH in lanterns. Did you buy them to try them, or do you have a particular device that chokes with only 1.2v NiMH?

I confess I just have a "thing" for rechargeable batteries and wanted to try out the latest AA technology development, hence the purchase of a set of the EBL Li-ion rechargeable AAs.

As for the "voltage issue" the only time I've had a problem with this re alkaline vs NiMHs was with a portable headphone amp that's powered with regular 9v alkaline batteries (it needed two of them). Now, most NiMH "9v" batteries actually output a voltage of only 7.2V (six NiMH 1.2v cells wired in series = 7.2v) as opposed to the alkaline equivalent (six 1.5v cells wired in series = 9v). My headphone amp just wouldn't function at 14.4v (7.2v X 2).
There are some NiMH batteries on the market though that do output 9v, also Li-ion rechargeables that do the same (I use a set of those in the headphone amp).