USB-chargeable marine VHF radio?

[Dan Foster]

Does anyone know of a VHF radio that can be recharged directly from a 5 volt DC source, preferably over USB or micro-USB? My Standard Horizon HX870 can only recharge in its non-waterproof cradle, via a household 110v AC outlet or a 12v DC input. Spare batteries are $55. I'd much rather carry a single charger or power bank that can charge my phone, radio, electric toothbrush, and ultrasonic vole repeller in one device.

Alternately, how are you powering your radio over multi-day trips, where multiple pods want to check-in with each other throughout the course of the day?

 

[gyork]

I've had my ICOM M-88 on many multi-day safaris without need to recharge. Admittedly, not ON for all of those days, but would be OK without need for recharge if judicious use (turn off at breaks). Probably a reflection of its long battery run-time at full charge, and can't be assumed for different makes/models.

g

[Dan Foster]

Turning the radio off when your pod takes a break or finishes for the day doesn't help the other pod that might be trying to reach you from out on the water, though. We had pods scattered across Muscongus Bay from 8:30 to 6:15 on Sunday, so that would have been 9 hours where it would have been good to be monitoring ch 72, and this was the third day of paddling for the trip.

I'd love to hear a workable strategy for radio usage and cross-pod communication on these kinds of multi-day, multi-pod NSPN trips, especially if you assume a basecamp like Jewell without AC charging opportunities.

[EEL]

Leaving aside the technical and related historic reasons why many current VHF handhelds use  batteries that cannot be charged via a USB cable as well the question of whether or not trying to maintain radio links with multiple "pods" on a multi day outing is important; you might want to check out the Icom M25 and Standard HX-300 radios.  Personally I would not select them or any radio with a USB charging jack, but everyone has an opinion on such things.

One alternative would be to select a radio which has as an option an AA battery pack.  Some radios are still rated IPX 6 or so when such packs are being used and some are not so you need to check the specs.

I believe the premise of the question bears closer examination, but that is due to my having no desire to be connected all the time.  However, I understand many now assume it is a necessity or at least important for safety.

Like Gary I have done numerous trips and never needed to recharge the radio during the trip.  Of course those were solo trips or trips with a few friends, and the radio was seldom on.

Ed Lawson

[rfolster]

3 hours ago, Dan Foster said:

 I'd much rather carry a single charger or power bank that can charge my phone, radio, electric toothbrush, and ultrasonic vole repeller in one device.

Although not inexpensive, Powertraveler makes some solar-charged battery packs that have both a 5v and 12v output.  I have used one to charge my cell phone and my VHF radio (using the radio's charging cradle) overnight two or three times during one trip without much solar recharging of the battery.  I have experimented with putting the panels and battery in a chart case strapped to the back deck and it charged up pretty good.  Only concern is that the battery and panels connection ports are not waterproof, and I really doubt they are salt-water-proof!, so a case that is guaranteed not to leak is critical.  If you are base-camping, then you can just leave the panels and battery out at camp during the day and have power overnight to charge your equipment.

[Jim Snyder]

I have only used the cradle 110v charger for my Standard Horizon HX870. I just looked in the original box and to my surprise it contained an AAA battery pack, a USB charger and a 12v car charger. Who knew?

[EEL]

Jim:

The USB cable for the HX-870 is not to charge the battery, it is for data transmission only.

It uses a 7.4 v battery and needs a 12V  charge cradle.

FWIW, radios which can be charged with a USB cable use 3.7V batteries.

Ed Lawson

[Jim Snyder]

Ed, you're right of course. I didn't have the radio with me when I was looking in the box. The good news is though that it can be charged from a 12v source.

[Ken]

I realize that unless you already have the equipment this may not be a viable solution. I do some RC aircraft hobbies and have some relatively large lithium polymer batteries and I'm thinking about setting one up for basecamp charging.   A 14.4V 5200mAH pack, a 12V step-down regulator, and one of those car socket things.  Since I already have the packs and the special charges needed to charge them, I can set up a cable to provide 12V for about $6.  You only want to drain the battery about 80% so one of those pack would provide about 50WattHours.  I would think that would be plenty to charge a radio several times. The downside of this solution is you have to be rather careful with lipo packs as the can be dangerous if mishandled.  I keep mine in ammo cans for safety.

-Ken

 

[mbhazeltine]

Just noticed that the newest model of the ICOM M25 is usb chargable.

 

[Mforti]

On 6/26/2019 at 3:54 PM, mbhazeltine said:

Just noticed that the newest model of the ICOM M25 is usb chargable.

 

As is the Standard Horizon HX300

[Dave M.]

I have a ICOM M-36 that charges by cradle, and like Gary and Ed it holds a charge for a long time. I also have a Standard Horizons HX300 that charges via USB cable. It's just easier connecting to a computer, wall charger or external power source than messing around with the cradle. The HX is also more compact than the ICOM.

[SeaKayakNE]

I have had both Standard Horizon and ICOM radios.  I wouldn’t trust anything but ICOM at this point and really like the M-73 for its compactness.  

That being said it only can be charged via the cradle which takes at 12v DC plug.  When on longer trips I have a USB to 12volt cable.  

In all fairness though the battery on my radio seldom needs charging.  I typically leave it on the entire day and it only needs charging about once a week.  Last year in Wales I never charged it for the 5 days we were on the water.

[EEL]

Advance apology for hijacking thread.

In the ham radio world two major manufacturers of equipment, both HF and VHF/UHF,  are Icom and Yaesu (Standard-Horizon).  There are staunch supporters of each and the arguments from each about the faults of the less favored and the praise of the favored are along the lines of analogous arguments amongst pickup owners as in " I would rather walk than drive  a Ford". 

One thing to keep in mind about batteries on VHF HT radios is they have a limited lifespan.  Unless the radio is either transmitting or receiving a signal, the current drain is very small and they will run a long, long time even when the working capacity of the battery is  reduced.  Tthe battery will charge to its rated voltage as if all is well, but the actual working capacity of the battery can be low.  This means once you impose demands on the battery by transmitting, it will discharge quickly.  Not a good scenario when trouble arises..

I  harp on this (and not in response to anything in this thread) because in the past people have said their radio is X number of years old and battery still great as it charges just fine and the radio runs for hours.  While that may well be  true, the fact it will charge and run on standby for a long time is not a good  indication of the working capacity of the battery.  For example I don't use my ham VHF radios that much (but still far more than my marine VHF radio) and i usually replace the batteries every three years.  People who use theirs often replace them around two years or even less.  Personally, I would never trust a battery beyond three years regardless of how little use I have made of the radio.  Replacement batteries are relatively cheap and radios are critical bits of kit when it all goes wrong and outside assistance is needed for survival.  Old batteries, like old flares, may mostly work, but is that good enough?

Ed Lawson

[Pintail]

Wise words. Lawson-san...!