Railfan Technology > Yaesu FT-270R Battery Question

My battery for my FT-270R which has served me very well the past almost 6 years, recently began to not hold much of a charge.  So I charged it up, then let it run until it was dead and recharged and repeated a couple times and the battery lasted longer each time, however the last time I charged it, the red light on the charger didn't go off after 4 hours (it normally never took that long in the past) so I shut off the charger and powered up the radio and it read 8.8 volts which I've never seen it read that high.  After letting the radio run all night on the NOAA Weather channel just to run the battery down, the voltage when I power on the radio is back down to like 7.4 volts (a normal number).  Would it be a safe assumption that the battery (which was new in 2014 with the radio) is probably spent and needs to be recycled?  It went from not wanting to hold much any of a charge to the other extreme!  I have purchased a replacement battery pack for it but I know there are a lot of experts here who use this radio that could chime in!

It depends on the battery.  Ni-cad batteries generally have longer lives, but can develop "memory" if their charge is frequently "topped off"--after awhile, they won't accept a full charge.  Sometimes running them clear down a few times and then fully recharging them can cure the "memory" issue.  Lithium-ion batteries don't have near the "memory" issues, but will only accept so many charges before they "die."  My experience, using both types in daily duty, is that LIthium-ions perform better than Ni-cads, but have a shorter total life.  Also, low temperatures (as in railfanning outside in winter) will shorten the "run time" of both Ni-cads and Lithium-ion batteries, but Lithium-ions are more adversely affected in my experience.  If your batteries are more than 5 years old, they are probably living on borrowed time.  I know a lot of places just paint the "in-service" date on the battery, then replace them when they hit that 5 year mark.

I purchased the insert for this radio that holds 6 regular AA batteries - not the rechargeble ones.  The batteries last a long time and I don't have to worry about recharging them.  I carry 6 replacement AA cells in my camera bag and replace the used ones when necessary.

Agree five years sounds pretty good for a set of rechargeable batteries.

I had a similar situation with odd voltage levels and odd charge / discharge times. Checking around for a new charger and batteries there's rumors about the last stage of the charger being unusually suspectible to ESD. At that time the Yeasu replacement battery pack and charger were not available, fueling the ESD question as well. Amazon found an aftermarket replacement charger and battery pack, they've been working well for about a year or so. I'm running two Yeasus, one is on during daylight and the other stays with my camera bag, both seem to be holding a good charge.

Two battery packs were purchased, only one old pack turned out to be bad. The second new pack says ' UpStart Battery ' as the brand name, made in China. The charger is a little awkward fit for the FT-60r and had similar comments on Amazon, but it's been working well for at least a year.

Hope this helps.

++  the new batteries are labeled NiMH and Save the world by recycling....

+++  here's a link to the charger also by Upstart Battery from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Yaesu-FT-60R-Charger-Replacement-Chargers/dp/B00IJ4AMXO/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=Yaesu+FT-60R+Charger&qid=1589485229&sr=8-6



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 05/14/20 12:41 by TCnR.

Thanks for the info, I'm confused though, am I reading here that the charger may be failing?  It did charge the new battery with no issues.

Like Birdman above, I purchased the 6 AA-cell back and used Eneloops rechargeables in my FT-60R then FT-270R I replaced it with. 

Other than initial testing when I first got them, I've never used the Yaesu batteries!  My biggest reason for the rechargeables is if I'm out riding Amtrak and for whatever reason, I can't recharge them and the extra set of charged up Eneloops run down, I can always buy regular AAs just about anywhere.

Amtrak288 Wrote:
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> Thanks for the info, I'm confused though, am I
> reading here that the charger may be failing?  It
> did charge the new battery with no issues.

I'd have to go back through the my notes but there is an original battery pack that is still working, so I get the idea that the original charger also failed. I haven't tried to take it apart, I'm just happy it's all working again for not much money. I was concerned about the strange voltages, the charger indicating a charge in a few minutes, not getting a real charge, all those kind of things that don't make sense. The goal was to make sure the problem went away without damaging additional batteries, which may or may not have happened if the charger indeed was at fault.

Regarding the AA battery pack, yep, great idea, I have one as well. I find AA's to get expensive and sometimes hard to find but can see where bringing a box of chargers, car adapters (also the S/W adapters for different models) and all can be a hassle.

I carry an extra AA battery pack in my grip for my portable radios, just in case I'm not where I can recharge the regular portable battery.  Of course, you can always buy an AC adapter for your vehicle (if it doesn't already have an AC outlet) and charge a portable radio using its regular charger--if you're in a vehicle and if you have space for some of the bulky AC portable chargers.  In those circumstances, I just carry an extra rechargeable battery.  When the one on the radio gets low, I switch it out with the extra battery and put the discharged one on the charger.  Most AC rapid chargers will charge the rechargeable batteries in commercial and most amatuer radios in 1-3 hours.  A big exception in charging time is the Uniden BC-125AT scanner that is popular for railfanning.  Its charger takes 14 hours to charge the BC-125AT battery pack.  Fortunately, the battery pack is just a AA battery holder, so an alternative is to simply take out the batteries and use an external fast charger to recharge the AA rechargeable batteries.

Just for the record the FT-270 has been discontinued but Yaesu is coming out with some new stuff soon!