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KX2 External battery question

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KX2 External battery question

KX2 External battery question:
1) Will the KXBC2 charger work with a Bioenno BLF-1203W LiFePO4 battery?or 2) What are very lightweight external batteries that will work with KX2, and not add significantweight while hiking or backpacking and doing SOTA?Tnx in advance,Bob K4RLC
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Rich NE1EE

Re: KX2 External battery question

Hi Bob,
Well, to get the ball rolling, I'd say no to the KXBC2. I use several different sizes of the Bioenno LiFe batteries (see earlier threads this summer for a detailed discussion), and I vote to use the proper charger. It's only a few bucks more...on the road, I use an inexpensive converter to power the charger for the LiFe batteries.

And I recall being surprised by someone writing about a specific Li-ion battery that they got good service from. I don't usually vote for that technology, but the OP had good luck with it. My opinion, tech-based, but still my interpretation of the data, is that Li batteries are generally over-charged, leading to hazard conditions, especially for lower quality batteries, and much shorter battery life.

Please look for the thread, because there was a lot of good discussion there.

On 2020-11-06 23:06:+0000, Bob Conder via Elecraft wrote:
> KX2 External battery question:
>1) Will the KXBC2 charger work with a Bioenno BLF-1203W LiFePO4 battery?or� 2) What are very lightweight external batteries that will work with KX2, and not add significantweight while hiking or backpacking and doing SOTA?Tnx in advance,Bob K4RLC

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wayne burdick

Re: KX2 External battery question

Administrator

I would definitely *not* use the KXBC2 charger with anything but a KXBT2, or an exact equivalent pack, for safety reasons. The voltages and currents are targeted specifically at 3 Li-Ion cells (11 V).

Just to give you another [probably biased, beware] opinion on the KXBT2, though: The internal battery isn't just about powering the radio, it's about mobility. It facilitates the kind of adventurous, ad-hoc, pedestrian mobile operation that many KX2 users engage in. (Speaking strictly for me :)

As a battery, the KXBC2 has proven safe and reliable by thousands of users. It's about 2.5 AH at 11 V, considerably higher in energy density than the battery packs in its closest competitors. I typically get 2 or 3 hours of hunt 'n' pounce operation at 10 watts. Eventually the radio will drop power to 5 W and carry on for another 2 to 3 hours.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

> On Nov 6, 2020, at 4:26 PM, Rich NE1EE <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Hi Bob,
> Well, to get the ball rolling, I'd say no to the KXBC2. I use several different sizes of the Bioenno LiFe batteries (see earlier threads this summer for a detailed discussion), and I vote to use the proper charger. It's only a few bucks more...on the road, I use an inexpensive converter to power the charger for the LiFe batteries.
>
> And I recall being surprised by someone writing about a specific Li-ion battery that they got good service from. I don't usually vote for that technology, but the OP had good luck with it. My opinion, tech-based, but still my interpretation of the data, is that Li batteries are generally over-charged, leading to hazard conditions, especially for lower quality batteries, and much shorter battery life.
>
> Please look for the thread, because there was a lot of good discussion there.
>
> On 2020-11-06 23:06:+0000, Bob Conder via Elecraft wrote:
>> KX2 External battery question:
>> 1) Will the KXBC2 charger work with a Bioenno BLF-1203W LiFePO4 battery?or� 2) What are very lightweight external batteries that will work with KX2, and not add significantweight while hiking or backpacking and doing SOTA?Tnx in advance,Bob K4RLC

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Tim McDonough N9PUZ

Re: KX2 External battery question

In reply to this post by Elecraft mailing list

The 12V Bioenno batteries have an internal battery management circuit.
They require 14.6 - 15 Volts input to charge properly. The BMC will
prevent overcharging and Bioenno Support says it is safe to leave the
charging voltage permanently applied.

Tim N9PUZ

On 11/6/2020 5:06 PM, Bob Conder via Elecraft wrote:

> KX2 External battery question:
> 1) Will the KXBC2 charger work with a Bioenno BLF-1203W LiFePO4 battery?or 2) What are very lightweight external batteries that will work with KX2, and not add significantweight while hiking or backpacking and doing SOTA?Tnx in advance,Bob K4RLC
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
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> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
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Tim McDonough N9PUZ

Re: KX2 External battery question

In reply to this post by wayne burdick

I often operate my KX2 from the internal battery. As a "backup" source I
frequently just take a second KXBT2 along. When you plug it into the
external power jack the KX2 will draw it's power from the pack with the
higher voltage.

Tim N9PUZ

On 11/6/2020 6:56 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:

> I would definitely *not* use the KXBC2 charger with anything but a KXBT2, or an exact equivalent pack, for safety reasons. The voltages and currents are targeted specifically at 3 Li-Ion cells (11 V).
>
> Just to give you another [probably biased, beware] opinion on the KXBT2, though: The internal battery isn't just about powering the radio, it's about mobility. It facilitates the kind of adventurous, ad-hoc, pedestrian mobile operation that many KX2 users engage in. (Speaking strictly for me :)
>
> As a battery, the KXBC2 has proven safe and reliable by thousands of users. It's about 2.5 AH at 11 V, considerably higher in energy density than the battery packs in its closest competitors. I typically get 2 or 3 hours of hunt 'n' pounce operation at 10 watts. Eventually the radio will drop power to 5 W and carry on for another 2 to 3 hours.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
>
>
>> On Nov 6, 2020, at 4:26 PM, Rich NE1EE <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Bob,
>> Well, to get the ball rolling, I'd say no to the KXBC2. I use several different sizes of the Bioenno LiFe batteries (see earlier threads this summer for a detailed discussion), and I vote to use the proper charger. It's only a few bucks more...on the road, I use an inexpensive converter to power the charger for the LiFe batteries.
>>
>> And I recall being surprised by someone writing about a specific Li-ion battery that they got good service from. I don't usually vote for that technology, but the OP had good luck with it. My opinion, tech-based, but still my interpretation of the data, is that Li batteries are generally over-charged, leading to hazard conditions, especially for lower quality batteries, and much shorter battery life.
>>
>> Please look for the thread, because there was a lot of good discussion there.
>>
>> On 2020-11-06 23:06:+0000, Bob Conder via Elecraft wrote:
>>> KX2 External battery question:
>>> 1) Will the KXBC2 charger work with a Bioenno BLF-1203W LiFePO4 battery?or� 2) What are very lightweight external batteries that will work with KX2, and not add significantweight while hiking or backpacking and doing SOTA?Tnx in advance,Bob K4RLC
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
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> 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
> Message delivered to [hidden email]