I have my FT-70dr finally, and after reading about the battery on this HT I ordered two extra batteries to use with it. They are lithium ion, and I was wondering how to get the most life out of these. Is it OK to keep a full charge on all 3, or should I keep them less than full until needed? I ran the original battery down while I was programming it, and I had another charging, and it was ready when that one died.
Another HT has ni-mh batteries. Is it OK to keep these fully charged?

Good question - but I have no idea.
I have the same radio, and am interested in where you ordered the batteries from - I only have 1 and could use a second (although I have never transmitted enough to run it out. Thought about adding the rapid desk charger too.

Icom says to store them charged, and replace after 5 years.

I bought these and I guess I will see how well they do.

Do they make an AA pack for those?  I've found that to be very handy with an FT60r.

Sadly they don't.

For maximum life:

Lithium - for long-term storage, store at 40-50% charge. In use, recharge frequently (battery life is impacted by depth of charge and charge cycles.)

NiMH - store at 40% for long-term, before use after storage run a couple charge/discharge cycles to prime the cell and restore some lost battery life.


For the most part the battery management system takes care of lithium, the only real "don't" is charging to 100% and then storing, and even that isn't going to hurt anything, it just shortens the life a little. (If you really want to get everything out a lithium you can, don't charge it past 80% of so, or discharge below 20%.)