Tag: batteries

  • A battery project

    Sometime early last year I bought a pack of 4 lithium ion cells for no better reason than that they were crazy cheap, and seemed (to my befogged consciousness) like they might be useful for portable radio. Then, to get some use out of them, I needed to get a battery management system board (or…

  • Replacing the batteries in the Xiegu X6100

    I am wrapping up this series of posts, so here is a set of links to the previous ones for your enjoyment and / or entertainment; or who knows, maybe you want to replace the batteries in your X6100 and prefer text and pictures to a YouTube video: Since the last post I have been…

  • Radio surgery, part 4

    … the end of the story, or is it? With that computer out of the way, now I have room to work! I decided against using connectors because of the limited space inside the case. Soldering was easy and quick with the usual .015 rosin core 63/37 solder, so the heat sink never even got…

  • Radio surgery, part 2

    The new batteries arrived on Wednesday: These batteries were the cheapest, and also had the quickest delivery time, so after some deliberation over the many options I placed the order last weekend. The range of products Amazon returned for the search term “605080 battery” ranged in price up to $49, and some had delivery estimates…

  • Radio surgery, part 1

    When I got my Xiegu X6100, around 3 years ago, the edge of the back cover was sealed with a little sticker that said “XIEGU VOID IF DAMAGED”. A few days ago, (the warranty long expired), the time came to open the vault and view the mysteries inside! Why, you may ask? Replacing the Xiegu…

  • Simpson 260

    This was the standard of the industry in the pre-digital era: Durable, accurate, electrically rugged, utterly dependable; what’s not to love? Analog volt-ohm-milliammeters are still useful for all sorts of tasks, some of which (like finding intermittents in wire and cables) are not easily done with a DMM. I really should have taken a picture…

  • Saved by the “octopus”

    The big surprise on a a recent activation was the missing power cable for the X6100. No worries, there in the tangle of assorted cables was the “octopus” I made last year; a power connector for every field radio to a pair of powerpoles. After returning home I found the missing cable on my bench,…

  • A wintry activation of US-1480

    It was overcast, seventeen degrees, and flurrying gently when I rolled out of the driveway en-route to Wildcat Mountain State Park, and the sun was about to get above the horizon as I was driving along the county highway. As I promptly realized when I got to the park it was just too cold for…

  • Mid-March omnibus

    A summary of what’s been happening lately Tomorrow (the 19th) is the first day of Spring! Astronomical Spring, that is. Meteorological Spring already happened on the 1st; I suppose they do that for consistency in their statistical calculating, makes it easier to just move along and ignore all of that messy real-world stuff. Quick vignettes…