Yaesu FTA-550 battery life/discharge?

[cowman]

I have a Yaesu FTA-550 that I started carrying in my flight bag a few years ago as an emergency backup in case I lost comms. The one I have uses the AA battery "pack" which I thought made sense as I already carry AA spares for my headsets. For the most part it just sits in my flight bag- once or twice I've pulled it out at a fly-in or(like today) to monitor 121.5 while I'm changing my ELT batteries so I know if it goes off.

What I've noticed is every time I actually want to use it, I see a low or dead battery indication on the display. It doesn't have enough juice left to transmit and otherwise dies out in a short period. Is this typical? I'm wondering if it has some standby drain on the batteries that kills them over time. These are good alkaline batteries that have a shelf life in other devices that far exceeds what I'm getting in this radio. I just swapped the batteries with "new" ones that I'm pretty sure came from the same box as the now dead ones and it works fine/shows battery full. So it seems like they're either getting drained from just being in the radio with it off OR maybe buttons are being pushed the various stuff in the flight bag. Anyone else have one of these and see the same type of issue(or not)?

I'm just thinking that if I ever get into a real emergency where I need it, I really don't want to be trying to change batteries while hand flying especially if there are other problems to deal with. I know there's a lithium ion pack for it too, I'd just have to be really careful to make sure that's not dead before every flight which also seems sub-optimal. I could also get a second pack- either AA or lithium ion and have both so I could hypothetically swap to a good one.

Anyone else seen the same issue? Any ideas/sage advice?

 

[wilkersk]

I was using rechargeable Nimh batteries in my FTA550-AA. It seemed like every time I turned the thing on, the battery indicator was flashing. I switched to the Duracell PowerBoost alkaline batteries. They seem to last a lot longer. But, I still turn it on and check that it has a good charge before I bring it on a flight. And, I try to have fresh spare batteries with me at all times.

 

[asicer]

I'm wondering if it has some standby drain on the batteries that kills them over time.

The FAQ does mention this. Would it be possible to put a plastic strip between a set of contacts that you can quickly pull in case of emergency?

I could also get a second pack- either AA or lithium ion and have both so I could hypothetically swap to a good one.

This is what I do, albeit with a different radio than the FTA-550. Rechargeable for day to day use and an AA pack filled with Energizer Ultimate Lithium disposables.

 

[geezer]

Store your batteries in a ziplock bag, separate from the device. Sooner or later, you will find that discharge causes failure and leakage. Most radios and gps's have a low drain, and kill the batteries. Shored separately, they remain charged much longer.

 

[DaleB]

I bought an FTA-550 with the AA pack for the same reason. Or that's what I like to tell people, but actually I'm just a cheap SOB and figured eventually there would be aftermarket Li packs for it. Nope. But yeah, same thing, it will suck the life from AAs if you leave a loaded battery pack in it.

 

[baboss]

Friends don't let friends use Duracell alkalines in anything they don't want to corrode and get ruined.
I switched to Energizer Ultimate lithiums years ago after having Duracell alkalines ruin a Icom battery pack, flashlights, trail cams, and other electronics.

 

[bbchien]

I slip a bit of paper in between the contacts of my "AA" battery pack to prevent ANY drain at all when not in use. And I agree as to Duracells. They suck as for case integrity and leakage. Mallory battery sold the brand about 5 years ago to a Singapore operation and they've sucked since. They corrode even before their "use by" date. I use only $0.62 bulk purchased Eveready AA alkalines - the last reliable batteries in the US.