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I am a radio safety marshal and need a leisure battery for my second radio, the main one being fed from the car battery.  The radio will be on for about 6-8 hours per session; 2/3 sessions in a weekend.  Being stuck on a Scottish island, getting info can be a bit awkward and I wondered if any of you had advice for a small size battery and charger?

Thanks.

It is inadvisable to more than 1/2 discharge a lead acid battery otherwise permanent damage can occur. so for a 110 amp battery you should aim to use  a maximum of 55 amps in any weekend session and recharge as soon as possible.  Until you find out how many amps/ hour your rig uses it is not possible to calculate the size of battery.  My personal preference is to use Elecsol batteries which have a carbon fibre matrix to support the lead and come with a 5 year guarantee.  However they are expensive.

Although you can charge a battery from a cars electrical system and the this method of charging will preserve a batteries life, fuel performance in MPG drops like a stone.

Having seen batteries fail after being charged a few times with a trickle charger I would stringly recommend getting an inteligent charger such as those made by CTEK.  They give a programmed high voltage charge which desulfates the plates preventing battery failure.

Regards Bob

Quote: Originally posted by ficklejade on 23/10/2010

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I am a radio safety marshal and need a leisure battery for my second radio, the main one being fed from the car battery.  The radio will be on for about 6-8 hours per session; 2/3 sessions in a weekend.  Being stuck on a Scottish island, getting info can be a bit awkward and I wondered if any of you had advice for a small size battery and charger?

 

Thanks.

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Quote: Originally posted by fatbloke28 on 24/10/2010

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Quote: Originally posted by ficklejade on 23/10/2010

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I am a radio safety marshal and need a leisure battery for my second radio, the main one being fed from the car battery.  The radio will be on for about 6-8 hours per session; 2/3 sessions in a weekend.  Being stuck on a Scottish island, getting info can be a bit awkward and I wondered if any of you had advice for a small size battery and charger?

 

Thanks.

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why not go the marine way as you dont see many wind turbines on camp sites (saying that i have seen 2 over the years) a bit more outlay but the battery would remain fully charged all the time (depending on the wind but sons in the orkney isles and its windy mostr times )

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No chance, fatbloke28, been on three rallies this year stuck right on top of bare mountains and not a breath of wind!  I think I've seen more non-turning turbines this year than ever before - could see four wind farms from one location and not one turbine was turning, so don't think it would be that reliable!!

Had some good news though - a couple of mates who are infinitely more knowledgeable than I have been doing some research on mainland for me and I have the luxurious offer of two free leisure batteries and one of their friends who's an automotive engineer is coming over to the island shortly and has a cunning plan!  (He sorted one of my mate's car.)  And no charge if I provide B&B - I like this barter system!!

Quote: Originally posted by fatbloke28 on 28/10/2010

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yes all those "alternative" methods of generation have their faults unfortunately ,no wind no sun half the time ,you could run up and down holding the turbine above your head in emergencies or run a bright light off another battery to charge your first one off a solar cell

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Aye well, could do with losing some weight - dog's torn ligaments in his rear offside knee and is strictly limited on walks - it's not doing me any good!

Plenty of wind here tonight - careful - no ferries tomorrow if it keeps up and I put our wheelie bin out early too !

Quote: Originally posted by andycwb on 28/10/2010

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Have you thought about a dual battery setup for the car?

Most portable radios run about 0.1A or less on receive, and up to 2A on transmit (assuming up to 10W power output and inefficient amplification).

I run a 110Ah Leisure battery for my radio activities. So that's er... forever on receive ... or 50hrs on transmit if I completely drain the battery.

In reality I've NEVER drained that battery, and I am moving to a dual battery system on the car (so I run the engine for a while to charge the battery) as soon as I get a bracket for the second battery.

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Have you got a split charging or a smart charge system like a Stering fitted on your vehicle? Another viable alternative is solar panels - a 60w or 80w should give you enough for a "ham" transceiver.

Have a look at Varta truck batteries as well

Quote: Having seen batteries fail after being charged a few times with a trickle charger I would stringly recommend getting an inteligent charger such as those made by CTEK.  They give a programmed high voltage charge which desulfates the plates preventing battery failure.

Regards Bob

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