Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!xanadu!jeff
From: jeff@xanadu.com (Jeff Crilly N6ZFX)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Why can't I run my radio with the charger plugged in?
Message-ID: <1990Aug31.180653.1344@xanadu.com>
Date: 31 Aug 90 18:06:53 GMT
References: <1990Aug30.131140.20946@phri.nyu.edu>
Organization: AMIX Corporation, Palo Alto, CA
Lines: 35

In article <1990Aug30.131140.20946@phri.nyu.edu> roy@alanine.phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith) writes:
>
>	I just bought an ICOM M-11 handheld VHF tranciever.  It comes with
>a removeable NiCd battery pack and a 110V recharger.  The manual says you
>can charge the battery pack while it is still attached to the radio, but
>you should make sure the radio is off because you might damage it.  Can
>anybody think of any good reason why you shouldn't be able to run it while
>plugged in?

Typically the chargers are of the trickle charge type and don't provide
nearly enough current for the radio to transmit.  Also, because of
the nature of nicads they should be discharged before charging.  The
radio may have some circuit to manage the charging (My IC-2SAT does) and
only perfoms well if the radio is off and not drawing current from the
charger and batteries.  Of course, if you have a quick charger (which
I belive provides pulsed DC to the nicads) then this would probably be
bad for the radio.  Using a scope you could see just what the charger
puts out.

>
>	While playing with the scan feature, I noticed it always stops on
>24 and 70, even though there isn't anything there.  Why should it do that?
>It's almost as if somebody was broadcasting unmodulated carrier on those
>channels.  Is that possible and/or likely, or is there a better
>explanation?

Sorry, can't help here.

----------------------------------------------------
Jeff Crilly (N6ZFX)
AMIX Corporation
2345 Yale Street
Palo Alto, CA  94306
jeff@amix.com, {uunet,sun}!markets!jeff
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