Bill, The batteries on this radio have never lasted more than about 1 hour of listening. If you transmit at all even on 1 watt they die even faster. I've had the radio 2 seasons and it really hasn't been very helpful for the above reasons. Are you aware of a bad batch of batteries? I'm sure I'm beyond my warranty and I'm very reluctant to put any money into this thing. Friends have other brands without similar difficulties... Any thoughts? Thanks, Scott
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Ray100 batteries
These VHF hand-helds are designed for short usage periods with a fairly low Transmit to Receive duty cyle ratio. Assume 1 to 3 transmissions of less than 30 sec each @ 1 watt, and receive (squelched) cycles in the order of tens of minutes. Overall, you probably wouldn't have it turned on for more than 45 minutes at a time. Clearly, if you want to chat for extended periods, move onto your fixed, vessel-powered radio. Battery life is wholly dependent upon how much current is being drawn
These VHF hand-helds are designed for short usage periods with a fairly low Transmit to Receive duty cyle ratio. Assume 1 to 3 transmissions of less than 30 sec each @ 1 watt, and receive (squelched) cycles in the order of tens of minutes. Overall, you probably wouldn't have it turned on for more than 45 minutes at a time. Clearly, if you want to chat for extended periods, move onto your fixed, vessel-powered radio. Battery life is wholly dependent upon how much current is being drawn
thanks Ron, but....
Based on your reply I have never gotten speced performance from the nicad batteries. I am familiar with the care and feeding of this type of battery. I don't generally use it for chitty chat... I normally use it to monitor and the backlighting is ALWAYS off. As I said I have had the opportunity to hear of and try competive brand radios who are acheiving superior results, that's why I am asking RAYMARINE if there is a known problem... Thanks, Scott
Based on your reply I have never gotten speced performance from the nicad batteries. I am familiar with the care and feeding of this type of battery. I don't generally use it for chitty chat... I normally use it to monitor and the backlighting is ALWAYS off. As I said I have had the opportunity to hear of and try competive brand radios who are acheiving superior results, that's why I am asking RAYMARINE if there is a known problem... Thanks, Scott
Thanks Ron
Scott, Ron detailed the operation and limitation of this battery very well. The batteries for this radio will normally last three to five years. Unfortunately, it is only guarantied for 1 year. This is common throughout the industry. Our service department would have been happy to solve the problem within the first year. The radio has a three-year warranty and they would be happy to verify the proper operation of it for you. Based on your description, I suspect that your battery is not performing properly. No, we did not have a "Shipment of bad batteries" as you had suggested. I own a Ray100 I purchased before working for the company. It is three years old and the battery is down to giving me about 8.5 to 9 hours or monitoring and light TX.
Scott, Ron detailed the operation and limitation of this battery very well. The batteries for this radio will normally last three to five years. Unfortunately, it is only guarantied for 1 year. This is common throughout the industry. Our service department would have been happy to solve the problem within the first year. The radio has a three-year warranty and they would be happy to verify the proper operation of it for you. Based on your description, I suspect that your battery is not performing properly. No, we did not have a "Shipment of bad batteries" as you had suggested. I own a Ray100 I purchased before working for the company. It is three years old and the battery is down to giving me about 8.5 to 9 hours or monitoring and light TX.
Thanks Guys....
I was afraid that was the case.... I am dissapointed in the radio and myself for not sending it in right away... It did not become clear right away as we use it only occasionally and usually for brief periods. Oh well I guess I'll have to buy a new battery that will probably be almost as much as the radio
Thanks for the replies Scott
I was afraid that was the case.... I am dissapointed in the radio and myself for not sending it in right away... It did not become clear right away as we use it only occasionally and usually for brief periods. Oh well I guess I'll have to buy a new battery that will probably be almost as much as the radio
Thanks for the replies ScottOne more try
I suggest that you borrow another Ni-Cad from someone who is getting spec'd performance and play with it for a day. If it behaves like it did with your battery, I might suspect there is a problem internal to the radio causing an excess current drain. If it works properly, then your battery is bad. You can try putting it through one or two deep discharge cycles (turn it on
I suggest that you borrow another Ni-Cad from someone who is getting spec'd performance and play with it for a day. If it behaves like it did with your battery, I might suspect there is a problem internal to the radio causing an excess current drain. If it works properly, then your battery is bad. You can try putting it through one or two deep discharge cycles (turn it on
Thanks Ron
It occurs to me that it might not be getting a good charge despite the battery meter it has reporting full. I have been charging it off of a cheapo inverter. It might be that the ac adapter/charger does not like the product of this inverter and therefore not giving me a good solid charge. Any thoughts on that? I'm going to bring the radio to the house and do as you have suggested with the deep cycling. Thanks, Scott
It occurs to me that it might not be getting a good charge despite the battery meter it has reporting full. I have been charging it off of a cheapo inverter. It might be that the ac adapter/charger does not like the product of this inverter and therefore not giving me a good solid charge. Any thoughts on that? I'm going to bring the radio to the house and do as you have suggested with the deep cycling. Thanks, Scott
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