Get the most out of your 2-way radio battery

Charger tips:

• Most drop-in chargers will charge a battery in 1-3 hours. (Some older model trickle chargers can take up to 10 hours to charge.)
• Refrain from using your charger as a daytime resting place. This will result in many little short charges that eventually will age your battery more quickly. As a general rule think of charging your battery as in putting it to bed. Give it a rest.
• Equally important, always have your radio turned off when placed on the charger, and if in an emergency you must have a radio turned on when on the charger, never ever transmit while charging. This can burn out components in your radio causing the need for repair.

Battery tips:

• Clean your battery contacts on your radio and charger periodically with a pencil eraser to remove any film or debris. This will allow your radio to make better contact on the charger. (Never use chemicals or a sharp object to clean contacts.) 
• While Li-Ion batteries are much more forgiving than NiMH and NiCD, they can still develop memory. Little row of air bubbles in the battery appear, which eventually draw a line all the way across the battery creating a barrier that keeps the battery from charging fully.
• Furthermore, if you feel you have an old, bad, or poorly functioning battery, try trading batteries with a known good radio and see if the problem is solved. You may simply need to replace your old battery.
• The shelf life of a battery which has never been charged (initialized) is supposed to be indefinite. If you store new batteries before you use them, mark them with the date you initially charged the battery. This will give you a better idea on your 2 year life expectancy.
• Additionally, when initially charging a battery that has been in the cold or stored for a period of time before use it may take 2-3 charge cycles for the battery to successfully take that first charge. If you charger is blinking when it usually doesn’t, leave the battery on the charger and let it blink a few hours, even try again the next day doing the same thing. The battery will usually wake up, charge and be fine.
• Beware of aftermarket batteries from less than reputable sources. We’ve seen or tried them all. Many are wolves in sheep’s clothing. We do offer brand name and also a good aftermarket battery for most models if you are looking for such a battery.

Battery recycling:

• If your battery is damaged or bulges in any way do not use it.
• Lastly, dispose of all old batteries in hazardous waste. Most big box stores have handy recycling bins where you can deposit your old batteries for recycling.

Need more info? Give us a call here at Delmmar Communications, 800-872-2627. We are happy to help.

~cl