Posted: 1/29/2012 7:29:19 PM EDT
| Want to get a good marine battery to run my radio off of. Thinking about getting a battery tender and plugging it into a battery, and running my rig of the battery. This would also allow me to continue slowly building my emcomm box. There are so many batteries out there though. Which ones do you use? Which ones are most popular for this type of thing. Eventually I want to be able to use my rig in the woods when I camp as well. |
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Quoted: I haven't built one yet, but I've been looking at the 12v 12A SLA (AGM) batteries Here is a 20A battery, so you would only need the 1: http://www.batteryspace.com/sealedleadacidbattery12v20ah240whs.aspx Here is Jester's link. http://www.batteryspace.com/sealedleadacidbattery12v20ah240whs.aspxI dont know if you have looked in the EMCOMM box build thread but at least a few of us have our batteries there. I guess you would want to figure out what your radio draws at different times and go from there. Here is the link to jedi's box where he has determined what his radio draws for current with his radio at different stages of operation. Hope it helps some. |
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What rig are you running and what kind of operation do you normally do? The larger marine batteries could be very effective for powering a station but are miserable to cart around.
For portable ops and a battery that is not difficult to move around, 12v deep cycle SLAs are cost effective in 12ah (UPS batteries) 18ah (scooter batteries?) and 32-36ah (wheelchair batteries). |
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Got out the meter, for receive:
IC-7200 is 1.10 Amps on TX it's 10 Amps to put out a 40W signal. IC-7000 is 1.30 Amps FT-817 is 330 milliamps From memory the FT-897 is 630 milliamps I've used generic 7 Amp-hour SLAs for portable use before, but my main battery at home is a PowerSonic 100 AH SLA that's crazy expensive. My favorite is either a Werker 33 AH SLA or just throwing 4 of the generic 7AH SLAs in a box with a powerpole coupler. Edit: The advice above me is sound, I've got a trailer that I made the mistake of putting two really expensive solar SLAs on. They got killed in 3 months. Trojan 105s are rock solid. But they're not SLA. |
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Quoted:
Got out the meter, for receive: IC-7200 is 1.10 Amps on TX it's 10 Amps to put out a 40W signal. IC-7000 is 1.30 Amps FT-817 is 330 milliamps From memory the FT-897 is 630 milliamps I've used generic 7 Amp-hour SLAs for portable use before, but my main battery at home is a PowerSonic 100 AH SLA that's crazy expensive. My favorite is either a Werker 33 AH SLA or just throwing 4 of the generic 7AH SLAs in a box with a powerpole coupler. Edit: The advice above me is sound, I've got a trailer that I made the mistake of putting two really expensive solar SLAs on. They got killed in 3 months. Trojan 105s are rock solid. But they're not SLA. How does the SLA help me? Two 105's are pricey. Would it be better or worse to get 3 or 4 of the smaller batteries posted above and wire them together? |
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Quoted: Want to get a good marine battery to run my radio off of. Thinking about getting a battery tender and plugging it into a battery, and running my rig of the battery. This would also allow me to continue slowly building my emcomm box. There are so many batteries out there though. Which ones do you use? Which ones are most popular for this type of thing. Eventually I want to be able to use my rig in the woods when I camp as well. I use a Deka sealed gell-cell solar storage battery. Actually two of them. http://www.dekabatteries.com/default.aspx?pageid=443 I float them with a 75 amp IOTA smart charger. Flat outstanding unit.   |
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SLA = Seal Lead Acid.
They don't vent explosive gasses and they don't need water, and can be put in any position. Trojans are flooded, vent hydrogen, and have to be upright or they leak acid everywhere. But they store a LOT of power. So for a fixed operation where they can be vented outside, they're a better choice. For mobile/portable and indoor operations where they can't be vented, SLA wins. |
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I use 2 18ah here at home with a backup 34ah.
The backup is a home brew jump box, with a power pole outlet, and digital volt meter. Dual purpose for jump staring things at work, and running rigs as a backup. The 34ah is a good compromise battery if you want a decent amount of power in a non venting battery but not spending a fortune. I am inside an apartment, so a wet battery is a no go for me. If you are planning to use this in the house I would suggest an SLA battery, it is not pretty when a battery sulfates, and vents hydrogen. I have been in proximity when a group 27 marine battery blew up, it was a mess. The 34ah SLA is a good battery that can be used portable also, it will jump start a diesel truck or run a radio for quite a while. It is about 20 pounds but the handle makes it a little easier to manage. Radio shack use to carry them, and before the Hurricane I picked it up for around 59.99 with a coupon, now they have gone up a bit. Northern tool and Batteries Plus both carry them in the Universal Battery and Werker brand names. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Want to get a good marine battery to run my radio off of. Thinking about getting a battery tender and plugging it into a battery, and running my rig of the battery. This would also allow me to continue slowly building my emcomm box. There are so many batteries out there though. Which ones do you use? Which ones are most popular for this type of thing. Eventually I want to be able to use my rig in the woods when I camp as well. I use a Deka sealed gell-cell solar storage battery. Actually two of them. http://www.dekabatteries.com/default.aspx?pageid=443 I float them with a 75 amp IOTA smart charger. Flat outstanding unit.
http://www.renewcanada.com/images/iota%2075%20amp%2012%20volt.jpg Deka/East Penn does excellent stuff. FYI, Bass Pro Shops sells AGM deep-cycle batteries made by Deka/East Penn under their own "XPS" brand. 
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I have these on my watch list
http://www.ebay.com/itm/120795496771?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 http://www.ebay.com/itm/190602564496?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 (this one has a charger) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270902357706 |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Got out the meter, for receive: IC-7200 is 1.10 Amps on TX it's 10 Amps to put out a 40W signal. IC-7000 is 1.30 Amps FT-817 is 330 milliamps From memory the FT-897 is 630 milliamps I've used generic 7 Amp-hour SLAs for portable use before, but my main battery at home is a PowerSonic 100 AH SLA that's crazy expensive. My favorite is either a Werker 33 AH SLA or just throwing 4 of the generic 7AH SLAs in a box with a powerpole coupler. Edit: The advice above me is sound, I've got a trailer that I made the mistake of putting two really expensive solar SLAs on. They got killed in 3 months. Trojan 105s are rock solid. But they're not SLA. How does the SLA help me? Two 105's are pricey. Would it be better or worse to get 3 or 4 of the smaller batteries posted above and wire them together? SLA's probably don't help at all. A flooded battery is easier to maintain and monitor, equalize, etc, things that will preserve it's life. [Don't worry abt the hype of gasses venting as long as you use basic common sense] Trojans are expensive, head on over to the nearest Sams club and pick up two of their golf carts. They work fine, I have abt 20 in service in various machines all the time. $77 each. |