Yaesu FT897 Batteries

I leave NiMh batteries charged when not in use for the FT897 but their capacity seems to reduce over time. Today I set out with the radio on the morning dog walk and it only ran for a minute with the best set of batteries.

A set of ten 8Ah LIon cells didn't last long either with intermittent use, just a year, but they did come cheaply from China via Epay.

I do have a small 12V sealed lead acid battery but it's very heavy in the pocket so I wondered about using a pair of those high-capacity 5V LIon "reservoir" battery sets, the FT897 runs on anything between 8v and 16V and takes about 400mA on receive. The problem is whether or not the "reservoirs" really will supply enough current on Tx, some claim to give a maximum of 2A at 5V but that's a little hard to believe.

(I thought of fitting the dog with a wind turbine but he's too keen on going down rabbit and badger holes).

I had an FT-897, and rarely used that battery pack. But I liked it whan I ran it.

Good luck in your quest.