I bought this scanner on Wednesday morning, used it throughout the day and again on Thursday morning before the battery died. It has since been charging for 24 hours but the manual says it should take just 10. Is this normal for the first charge of the battery?
Yaesu FT-270R charging for 24 hours???
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WB4CS
Member
First, the FT-270R is a 2-meter Amateur Radio transceiver, not a scanner 
When charging is the radio on or off? I'm not familiar with that specific model, but I know on my Kenwood handheld it must be off while charging otherwise the power coming in is used to run the radio and doesn't charge the battery. Read the owners manual and see if it says anything about charging while turned on. Also, be sure that the battery is correctly connected to the radio. If it's loose it may not be getting a good connection to charge.
When charging is the radio on or off? I'm not familiar with that specific model, but I know on my Kenwood handheld it must be off while charging otherwise the power coming in is used to run the radio and doesn't charge the battery. Read the owners manual and see if it says anything about charging while turned on. Also, be sure that the battery is correctly connected to the radio. If it's loose it may not be getting a good connection to charge.
The radio is off. The manual is very explicit that the radio cannot be used while it is charging.
WB4CS
Member
Since the battery worked out of the box, it sounds to me like a bad charger. If you have a test meter you could check to be sure it's putting out the correct volt/amp to charge.
Does the charger plug directly into the battery or into the radio? If it plugs into the radio you can try removing the battery and seeing if the radio will power on while connected to the radio. That could tell you if the charger is bad or not.
Also, a friendly suggestion, I'm not sure if you have your ham license or not, if not I'd suggest going into the menu and turning on TX Inhibit to turn the transmitter off. That way while you're using it as a scanner the radio won't accidentally transmit. I know I've sat down with my HT on my belt and accidentally keyed up a repeater or two
Does the charger plug directly into the battery or into the radio? If it plugs into the radio you can try removing the battery and seeing if the radio will power on while connected to the radio. That could tell you if the charger is bad or not.
Also, a friendly suggestion, I'm not sure if you have your ham license or not, if not I'd suggest going into the menu and turning on TX Inhibit to turn the transmitter off. That way while you're using it as a scanner the radio won't accidentally transmit. I know I've sat down with my HT on my belt and accidentally keyed up a repeater or two
Unplugged it and it is fully charged. Just seems odd that the red charging light didn't change to green when it was done.
k7ltc
Member
I don't believe the red light on the radio goes off or changes color to indicate the radio is fully charged. The manual says to refrain from leaving the radio on charge for "periods in excess of 24 hours". I typically charge mine (I have two of the same model) for no more than 12 hours. The manual says they are fully charged in 10 hours. My radios typically go for a several weeks of using them for an hour or so a day before needing a charge. The manual says the radios have 300 charge cycles before having reduced capacity.
MarkWestin
Member
The Red LED is just that, a Red LED. It will never "turn green". The charging system in this radio is very basic and has no timer or other method of telling when the (Ni-MH) battery is fully charged. They sell an external Charging Cradle (CD-26) for this radio which while convenient, also only has a Red LED and doesn't indicate when the battery is charged unlike the VX-7R and CD-15A which both do indicate when the (lithium ion) battery is fully charged. Other than this design for charging the battery, the FT-270R is generally a very good radio.
Mark
Mark
Thanks
That seems like an oversight on Yaesu's part. I mean, the LED is capable of being green as it flashes green whenever the squelch opens. I've never owned a handheld that didn't indicate when the battery was finished charging. Thanks for letting me know that this isn't the case with the FT-270R.
Rob
That seems like an oversight on Yaesu's part. I mean, the LED is capable of being green as it flashes green whenever the squelch opens. I've never owned a handheld that didn't indicate when the battery was finished charging. Thanks for letting me know that this isn't the case with the FT-270R.
Rob
A few more hints...
With the NC-88B wall wart and the FNB-83 6-cell regular nimh battery, even 24 hours is way too long. 10 hours *IF* the battery has been fully discharged in use as indicated by the blinking battery icon.
When I receive a new FNB-83, I give it an initial forming charge of no more than 14 hours, and then expect full capacity after 3 to 4 normal cycles of charge/discharge on RX only. (10 hour charge in normal use). That more or less completes the break-in period.
The 270 has a nice battery voltmeter that you can check. In the case of batteries in series, it is a good idea to never let it go below 1.1v per cell, so if you see you are near 6.6v and definitely go no lower than 6.0 volts, it is time to recharge.
The 270 also has a nice PTT LOCK feature in case you definitely only want to operate as a receiver only and guard against accidental transmission.
If you have a spare pack, or want to store the FNB-83, remove it from the radio. My preference for long life when storing regular nimh is to store it only partially charged at 50% or less capacity, (perhaps only 3-4 hours with the NC-88B wall wart) and then do a charge/discharge cycle every 3 months or so to increase longevity as opposed to storing fully charged or constant trickle. Regular nimh don't like being stored that way...
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It helps to RTFM. Most of the ham radios will state not to charge it to longer than what is mentioned in the FM. As mentioned above it is not a scanner so may charge differently than some scanners. If you have a problem with the charger, you can always buy a fast charger with the red and green lights. And since this is the only ham radio you list, and if you don't already have one, suggestion is to become a ham.
I think the ops question is valid - the status of the led color while charging is not mentioned in the manual. Nor is it mentioned in the UHF 277 manual.
RTFM only goes so far, and is only one half of the coin of the amateur spirit of help and cooperation - especially since the op's question is entirely valid and may have already read the manual forwards and backwards.
RTFM only goes so far, and is only one half of the coin of the amateur spirit of help and cooperation - especially since the op's question is entirely valid and may have already read the manual forwards and backwards.
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The first post by the OP does not mention any red or green lights. I am not certain where this comes from. But RTFM does mention that the NC-88 is an OVERNIGHT charger, The RTFM does state a fully discharged battery will be charged in 10 hours. In fact, this is mentioned in a couple of places in TFM. It also goes on to state not to charge longer than 24 hours or it may degrade the NiMh battery. I wasn't aware the NC-88 battery charger had any lights. So where is the red and green light? Could it be the red transmit and green receive? I don't think the NC-88 has any lights. Thus, you really have to RTFM to understand the proper charging times.
dkf435
Member
Please show me a non Lithium Ion powered radio or similar device that has an internal charge controller??
David Kb7uns
David Kb7uns
Message #5.
All I'm saying is that RTFM is NOT the best way to attract a new ham to the hobby with an honest question. Otherwise, what would there be to talk about? RadioReference would consist solely of the database and no forums - well except maybe one where every question is robotically answered with RTFM. Fortunately, most hams are willing to go the extra mile.
While we're on the topic of the FM, while Yaesu mentions the 24 hour max charge time without damaging the battery, actually taking it beyond 14 hours from a full discharge is in fact doing damage - although it may not be immediately apparent. However....
With the rate of the NC88B providing about 170ma charge current (200 - 30ma for the led), charging beyond 14 hours means accellerated negative terminal grid corrosion as the cells never come out of the oxygen-recombination state. Left on too long, the excess heat can also cause separator failure and eventual water consumption from the corrosion process if the vent doesn't blow first.
I know .... too much info. Perhaps a bit better than RTFM though.
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Sangean ATS-909X. Has a nice internal quick-charge for AA's that actually seems to terminate on delta-v. Does a decent job as cells measured on a Maha Powerex MH-C9000 when running the discharge capacity test. I still prefer to charge outside the unit ...
http://forums.radioreference.com/sc...ews/235314-sangean-ats-909x-observations.html
It is the only radio I've seen with a seemingly decent onboard nimh charger. They don't mention too much about the delta-v detection in the FM, but it seems to be there, as very partially discharged batteries will stop charging in a few minutes like they should.
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dkf435
Member
Do not get into the tabletop shortwave anymore since I got my Ham ticket so have not seen that one. Years ago when the NiMH first came out used the internal charge circuits in the scanners and they would not get hit hard enough after a good discharge and would get cells bridging. Got the Maha 4 cell 2 circuit then the 8 bay charger and then the Wizard charger and have not looked back, now just use the internal charge circuits to extend the run time during the day under direct supervision while mobile. I even had one bay in the MAHA have a partial meltdown so you do need to be careful when the cells get older.
David Kb7uns
David Kb7uns
I agree with you there - with the dumb NC88B wall charger, for topping off the FNB-83 if I'm listening for say 2 hours, then I'll only apply a 2 hour topoff charge when the opportunity arises. Helps to keep me from overcharging.
If I absolutely need full capacity, I'll do the total discharge and recharge for 10 hours.
If I absolutely need full capacity, I'll do the total discharge and recharge for 10 hours.
And the FT-270, as mentioned previously, is not a scanner. Why would a person with so many scanners listed buy an amateur radio if the intent is not to transmit? He still hasn't answered if he is certified in Canada as an amateur radio operator. Oh, I know, just because you have the radio doesn't mean you are going to transmit. Yeah, sure! As it does scan but is relatively poor at it, the obvious is apparent. When one doesn't know the difference between a scanner and a transceiver, transmitting, accidentally or intentionally can be very dangerous in the hands of people that are not familiar with improper use of transceivers. There are already too many abuses of the radio specturm these days from too easily obtained transceivers.
dkf435
Member
In the Railfan listening circles 2 meter Yaesu handhelds are big because of the sensitivity, frontend filtering and battery life.
David Kb7uns
This is turning into an entirely different discussion about licensing, and making a lot of assumptions. In the past, I've seen inquisitive, intelligent newcomers actually go to the "dark side" by being judged and sentenced before they even start. And if they DO start, that kind of judgement tends to keep them there. I've also seen some turned by just one simple meeting with a non-judgemental elmer - as corny as that sounds.
Why don't we take the high-road, and point out that locking the PTT is an easy thing to do on the Yaesu:
MENU ITEM 26
LK PTT
dkf435 is right about it being a decent radio.
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