-----Original Message----- From: Robert C. Cline [mailto:rcline_at_onramp.net] Sent: Monday, August 17, 1998 10:49 AM To: Dan Hagen; paddlewise Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Icom Revises Rating Dan wrote: >(2) They have a higher up-front cost. If you are going on a long >expedition (say, more than one month) you might need to buy two or more >battery packs. My recommendation of a 900mAh and a 1200mAh for the M15 >will last a VERY long time, unless you are talkative to the point of >violating FCC regulations. (While the upfront expense of two or more >battery packs is significant, if you use the radio frequently this is >still much cheaper than buying a mountain of alkalines.) > >While this is one of those issues where I do not expect to change >anyone's opinion, in my experience (having used both alkalines and >NiCads) there is no contest. NiCads, on balance, are a clearly superior >choice for handheld VHF radios. But if for some bizarre reason you >disagree :^) -- and want to use a reliable, truly waterproof, very >rugged handheld VHF -- then buy an Icom M15 and have a technician modify >a battery pack to use AA alkalines (yuck!). DAn: Thanks for these and the other very useful suggestions. Yes, the only reason I wanted a radio to be able to use the alkalines was to avoid the necessity of recharging. On trips of more than a couple of days, it would be very prudent to have a radio that could use both. I could not imagine why ICOM (or any other manufucturer) would not design a handheld that could use the alkalines as an option. Perhaps it would be worth it to buy a couple of backup battery packs. I never thought to ask about price of the backups NiCads. I was simply thinking about the practical matter of having backup batteries availble. ************************************************************************** * The greatest drain on a marine radio's battery is when you use it for transmitting. If you use the radio only once or twice a day for brief weather checks, and reserve transmissions for emergencies, battery drain is minimal. I haven't had my Icom IC-M1 on a week-long trip yet, but on lengthy trips with an older, heavier, and bulkier el cheapo radio, the battery never failed me. (One of these days I should leave my M1 on in standby mode just to see how long the battery lasts.) One reason Icom probably doesn't make an alkaline version of the M1 is that they might feel they could not guarantee the seal on the battery compartment if it was being opened and closed by the user. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
The Standard uses both, which is why I bought it. Also, remember that a rechargeable will lose about 1% of it's charge per day. -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of Chuck Holst Sent: Monday, August 17, 1998 12:21 PM To: 'Paddlewise' Subject: [Paddlewise] FW: Icom Revises Rating -----Original Message----- From: Robert C. Cline [mailto:rcline_at_onramp.net] Sent: Monday, August 17, 1998 10:49 AM To: Dan Hagen; paddlewise Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Icom Revises Rating Dan wrote: >(2) They have a higher up-front cost. If you are going on a long >expedition (say, more than one month) you might need to buy two or more >battery packs. My recommendation of a 900mAh and a 1200mAh for the M15 >will last a VERY long time, unless you are talkative to the point of >violating FCC regulations. (While the upfront expense of two or more >battery packs is significant, if you use the radio frequently this is >still much cheaper than buying a mountain of alkalines.) > >While this is one of those issues where I do not expect to change >anyone's opinion, in my experience (having used both alkalines and >NiCads) there is no contest. NiCads, on balance, are a clearly superior >choice for handheld VHF radios. But if for some bizarre reason you >disagree :^) -- and want to use a reliable, truly waterproof, very >rugged handheld VHF -- then buy an Icom M15 and have a technician modify >a battery pack to use AA alkalines (yuck!). DAn: Thanks for these and the other very useful suggestions. Yes, the only reason I wanted a radio to be able to use the alkalines was to avoid the necessity of recharging. On trips of more than a couple of days, it would be very prudent to have a radio that could use both. I could not imagine why ICOM (or any other manufucturer) would not design a handheld that could use the alkalines as an option. Perhaps it would be worth it to buy a couple of backup battery packs. I never thought to ask about price of the backups NiCads. I was simply thinking about the practical matter of having backup batteries availble. ************************************************************************ ** * The greatest drain on a marine radio's battery is when you use it for transmitting. If you use the radio only once or twice a day for brief weather checks, and reserve transmissions for emergencies, battery drain is minimal. I haven't had my Icom IC-M1 on a week-long trip yet, but on lengthy trips with an older, heavier, and bulkier el cheapo radio, the battery never failed me. (One of these days I should leave my M1 on in standby mode just to see how long the battery lasts.) One reason Icom probably doesn't make an alkaline version of the M1 is that they might feel they could not guarantee the seal on the battery compartment if it was being opened and closed by the user. Chuck Holst ************************************************************************ *** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ************************************************************************ *** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:32:51 PDT