icom a6 odd thing happened to my radio today

[mr badger]

hi there folks

 

i had odd thing happen to me today when i went for a fly i pressed my ptt button and the battery going flat warning light came on, then the radio shut down, the radio is conected to the wiring with the correct adaptor and i t has no battery in the set to go flat ! has anyone come across this before??? could it be the ptt switch faulty ?

 

 

cheers mr badger

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Check your fuse that is in the DC lead powering the radio. The radio had low voltage so thats what I would look at first. Its could be a high resistance fuse or possible faulty fuse holer

 

Mark

 

 

[mr badger]

thanx for that mark , i have is it slow blow fuses in the fuse would that be the problem i think if i remember they are 1 amp

 

cheers gary

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

1 amp sounds a bit small actually would think it would be a 2 amp or 3 amp fuse and not normally slow blow. It should be a std fuse. The dc lead from memory has a plastic fuse holder inline check the caps on the end of the wire to make sure they are not corroded or have any vertigrease on them as the radio wants to draw its maximum current at PTT i would think around 1.5 to 2amps then if there is any resistance in the power cable,plug or fuseholder or fuse then you get voltage drop and the radio will detect this and turn off

 

Mark

 

 

[mr badger]

1 amp sounds a bit small actually would think it would be a 2 amp or 3 amp fuse and not normally slow blow. It should be a std fuse. The dc lead from memory has a plastic fuse holder inline check the caps on the end of the wire to make sure they are not corroded or have any vertigrease on them as the radio wants to draw its maximum current at PTT i would think around 1.5 to 2amps then if there is any resistance in the power cable,plug or fuseholder or fuse then you get voltage drop and the radio will detect this and turn offMark

/thanx for that would you recomend usin 3 amp fuse ? or the 2amp

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

I would use the 3 amp..if there is a problem big enough to blow the fuse the difference between 2 and 3 amps is nothing in a short circuit situation

 

Mark

 

 

[mr badger]

thanx for that mark i will try it next time i go out for a fly

 

gary

 

 

[mr badger]

thanx for that mark i will try it next time i go for a fly in the wide blue yonder !!!~!

 

cheers gary

 

 

[Bubbleboy]

I am experiencing the exact same thing right now but with a Vertex 220. I am thinking maybe the battery is dying? I put a multimeter on it yesterday and its still reading 7.8 volts from memory. I know this doesnt show if its dying under load though.

 

Scotty

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Hi scotty

 

There is a difference though. gary was powering the radio with dc only not via the battery. If you have the battery connected on the radio and have the dc plugged in depending on how the radio charges it could be more than likely your battery. Especially if its 2 plus years old. If you are going to use a HH in the aircraft you either use it on battery only and take a spare battery or disconnect the battery and power it using the DC power in cable. Then you dont overcharge batteries or create other issues

 

Mark

 

 

[Bubbleboy]

Hi Mark...it is with only the battery and it is approx 2 years old. Does it sound like I need a new Batt? Whats the best way too test them under load or are the symptons conjucive with a dying battery? Can you pull the individual cells out of the battery holder and replace them or is it a throw away item? I hate throwing stuff away just for the sake of it. If I can I would rather replace the batteries in the holder.

 

Scotty

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Hi Scott

 

Get a new battery it sounds like its on its last legs. Especially if you have been charging it with a plugpack style charger they overcharge and overheat the batteries which shortens their life quickly. The best charger is the intelligent desktop style they only put back what you take out so they last longer. Disposal of batteries now is a pain due to the chemical issues...I find repacking batteries is usually a waste of money as most battery repackers use crap cells. The best option is get a blank panck that uu fit AA cells into then get some Eneloop cells they are around 2000 ma and a good eneloop charger and charge the cells out of the pack..this way you will get better life and more capacity

 

Mark

 

 

[Bubbleboy]

Hi Mark...do you have these empty packs? Interesting you mention about a eneloop charger. I fly radio Control and use eneloop in all my gear. I just charge with a Nimh charger. Is this wrong doing this?

 

Your right, I charge the Vertex in the supplied desktop charger and the batteries do get very hot.

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

Scotty

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

The blank case is a FBA-25A I will check if they are still available they are around 40 bucks I think

 

I use eneloops in my 12X but not in any of the models..I fly turbines and use FES04 type now...A123 cells we have dual packs for the RX and use 3 cell A123 for the ECU/pump as well. One of the guys jets burnt to the ground after a Lipo went up in the model we all converted over to A123 after that they have been great. The ugly stik I use 2 of the A123 with a regulator..I fly spektum with all the models now and they like the 5.5V I feed them and this doesnt overstress some of the 4.8V servos although most servos I use are 6 volt rated anyway now

 

Mark

 

 

[Bubbleboy]

Mark...I just found some on Ebay For $10 delivered. I know your probably going to frown on me...hehehe :DirtDOG:

 

Scotty

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

hey if you get the blank pack for that go for it :)