Railfan Technology > Need Help: Yaesu FT-250

I have a Yaesu FT-250 that I use for scanning RR traffic.
I mostly scan 164.70 UP between Nampa - Pocatello, Idaho.
After working well for several years, it now emits a scratchy sounding beep every couple of seconds.
Then, it goes dead.
When in the charger, the indicator first displays red, then goes to green within a minute or so.
Have I screwed up a setting by pressing a button, or is it a battery or charger issue?
Thoughts?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/21 10:06 by philhoov.

Battery.
The beeping sound is the indication the battery is low, then the battery doesn't charge normal. Could be the charger but that troubleshooting diagragm is a circle until you replace the battery or the charger. One good idea is having the replacement battery holder that can use seperate batteries, either externally rechargeable or simple Walmart style batteries.

Yeasu no longer supports older models like this, their charge or battery pack is no longer available. We've had a few posts about this on TO.
My fix was going to Amazon and finding an aftermarket battery and charger from the same supplier, based on the logic that it was cheaper than a new radio. Bought a battery holder for discrete batteries at the same time. There are comments on the WWW about the output stage of the Yeasu chargers being sensitive to static discharge, but also lots of discussion about the design change to meet California battery charge requirements.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/21 11:00 by TCnR.

I'm considering buying the AA battery holder.
That would eliminate replacing the charger and buying another rechargeable battery.
Phil

It would help to find a way to determine if the radio is working correctly, the battery holder or an external power source would do that. There's a car power source as well. I didn't have any of those alternates until the only battery I had went bad while on the road. Drove about 100 miles to a HAM Outlet to purchase a car power source, then went to Amazon and had a battery delivered to the hotel. Can't mess with that train chasing time.

It seems clear that it is a power problem.
Either a bad battery or bad charger.
Simple solution seems to be to try a battery carrier with 4 AA's.
I have a car charger too, and could try that.
If it charges the battery, that points to a defective charger.
The challenge with that is my Yukon power shuts off after ten minutes of the engine not running.
First world problem.
Phil

As far as I know the replacement power source for the car does not charge the Yeasu battery pack. The pack only charges through the metal pads on the bottom of the pack. But yes that would say the radio is good and worth spending a few bucks on batteries.

The manuals are available from Yeasu on the Net, I loaded them onto my smart phone for reference.

I have used the holder for the AA batteries since I aquired the radio 7 years ago.  It works great and the conventional batteries seem to last a long time.  I do carry spare AA batterioes.  I don't worry about having to recharge.  

I decided to stick with the rechargeable battery and ordered a new one that should arrive today.
If that doesn't fix it, it is likely a failed charger and I will replace that next.
I think I may have ruined the battery by leaving the scanner (with battery) in my vehicle all the time.
That means the battery was exposed to cold winter temps and hot summer temps.
Phil

I found a replacement battery from a third-party manufacturer on Amazon.

I was leery of it at first, but it’s been working fine for nearly a year now.

It was easier than dealing with the AA battery holder.

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/21 13:42 by walstib.

Here’s a link. It’s $32 on Amazon.

FNB-V94 Battery for FT-60 VX-110 VX-120 VX-150 VX-160 VX-170 VX-180 FT-60R FT-270 FNB-83H

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C7Y2DP5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_HC0AXSV5T3YD4JPCXZ5S?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Posted from iPhone

Thanks for the URL.
I ordered one Sunday and it should arrive today.
Phil

I had a charger for a Yaesu VX8 radio fail a few years ago.  A helpful guy at Ham Radio Outlet told me over the phone what discrete part, a capacitor, typically fails in the charger.  Sorry, I don't now remember what part it was, but it was a simple fix.  I would not be surprised if Yaesu chargers for other radios have the same issue.  It may even be the same charger.

UPDATE:
It was the battery.
My fault because I left the scanner (with battery installed) in my vehicle all the time.
Summer heat and winter cold temps are not a battery's friend.
New battery installed and the scanner is working perfectly now.
Phil

My quick note about the FT-250.  It is essentially the same as the prior VX-150 radio.  I had a VX-150 for over a decade--it performed well.  That said, it is one of the few radios that I've owned that outright failed.  It started by exhibiting the symptoms that you described.  I assumed it was the battery and simply replaced it with another battery that I knew was good (near new battery).  The radio resumed working, but seemed to dischage the battery fairly quickly.  A few weeks later, the radio died altogether.  I changed out to an AA battery pack that I had and that I knew was good.  No go again.  Sniffing around the radio, I got a whiff of that "cooked circuit" smell, so the VX-150 went to radio Heaven.  Just like us, they don't last forever.

This thread is good info -- thanks to all who contributed info here.
 have a VX-150 that is over 20 years old, and still operates fine, and surprisingly the battery has not died.  Mine does not get used heavily.  Think I will order one of those batteries for a spare.  These Yaesu radios are well made and it will probably last another 10 or 20 years.