K1 battery recommendations?

[Mike Markowski-2]

For those of you who operate portable regularly, what capacity gel cell
and do you recommend for K1?  Any particular brands of gel cell and charger?

Weight is not a big issue.  I won't be hiking, just trips to parks, qrp
Field Day, as well as home use during power outages.

Tnx es 73!
Mike ab3ap
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[EricJ-2]

I use the 3-cell lipo batteries that I use for my R/C planes. They are
small (~1x1.5x4"), 11.1v @ 30A! I've run my K1 or KX1 for nearly a week
on a single charge, operating as much as I cared to. R/C use demands
lots of current for a relatively short flight of 10-15 minutes. When
they no longer deliver a long enough flight, I retire them to ham radio
use where they seem to last forever and the relatively modest current draw.

Eric

On 5/15/2013 10:57 AM, Mike Markowski wrote:

> For those of you who operate portable regularly, what capacity gel
> cell and do you recommend for K1?  Any particular brands of gel cell
> and charger?
>
> Weight is not a big issue.  I won't be hiking, just trips to parks,
> qrp Field Day, as well as home use during power outages.
>
> Tnx es 73!
> Mike ab3ap
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>

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[Phil Hystad-3]

Mike,

I don't have a K1 but I do have a KX1, KX3, and Norcal 40a.  I much prefer Lithium-ion over lead-acid gel cell type.  Although it is more expensive, it is far superior (at least as far as I have found).

I have two 1x4 (four cell) packs from Buddipole with Lithium Iron Phosphate (nano-phosphate) construction from A123 Systems.  This battery provides 13.2 volts (nominal) at 2.3 Ah capacity.  This battery can run a 100 watt transmitter for 30 minutes!  I use one pack at a time so keep one pack in reserve.  This is for portable ops, no hiking, no walking, no bicycling (although, all of that is possible).

I think the current cost is $95 but you do need a LIFEPO4 compatible charger.  

73, phil, K7PEH


On May 15, 2013, at 10:57 AM, Mike Markowski <[hidden email]> wrote:

> For those of you who operate portable regularly, what capacity gel cell and do you recommend for K1?  Any particular brands of gel cell and charger?
>
> Weight is not a big issue.  I won't be hiking, just trips to parks, qrp Field Day, as well as home use during power outages.
>
> Tnx es 73!
> Mike ab3ap
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

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[Doug Person-3]

I bought two 12v lithium-ion packs off ebay.  They have built-in charge
controllers and can accept practically any 12v input.  The smaller one
is something like 3amp/hr and the larger one is maybe 7amp/hr.  The
smaller one will keep a K1 or KX1 on the air for many hours.  The larger
one handles the K2/10 and the KX3 for many hours.  I also use them to
power my auto-tracking telescopes.  They are pretty small and light for
the amount of power they hold.  Even have on/off switches.  For larger
power needs, I bought a garden tractor battery on Wal-Mart for $25.  I
have had enough juice to run 100 watts in the field for an entire day
with enough left to run a telescope for 4 or 5 hours.  To make an even
nicer package, I found some plastic battery boxes on Amazon for $9 that
encase the battery and have nice carry strap.  I mounted a PowerPole
distribution strip on the top with strong double-sided tape.  I have a
Duracell charger/maintainer I bought for a few bucks from a clearance
shelf somewhere that keeps the battery ready to go.

I'm not familiar with the R/C batteries  But they sound great. I'll have
to find one.

73, Doug K0DXV

On 5/15/2013 12:12 PM, EricJ wrote:

> I use the 3-cell lipo batteries that I use for my R/C planes. They are
> small (~1x1.5x4"), 11.1v @ 30A! I've run my K1 or KX1 for nearly a
> week on a single charge, operating as much as I cared to. R/C use
> demands lots of current for a relatively short flight of 10-15
> minutes. When they no longer deliver a long enough flight, I retire
> them to ham radio use where they seem to last forever and the
> relatively modest current draw.
>
> Eric
>
> On 5/15/2013 10:57 AM, Mike Markowski wrote:
>> For those of you who operate portable regularly, what capacity gel
>> cell and do you recommend for K1? Any particular brands of gel cell
>> and charger?
>>
>> Weight is not a big issue.  I won't be hiking, just trips to parks,
>> qrp Field Day, as well as home use during power outages.
>>
>> Tnx es 73!
>> Mike ab3ap
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
>>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

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[Mike Markowski-2]

Thanks to everyone, both on & off list, who replied to my battery question!

73,
Mike ab3ap
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