Alternatives for packing Yaesu FT-60R cradle in BOB?

Jonnie PekelnyContributor - August 15, 2021

Gear

This is another newbie ham radio question. I’ve packed my Yaesu FT-60R in my BOB and was about to pack the cradle that goes with it, but jeez, all that adds up to a lot of bulk! I already have a 12V cigarette lighter adapter for charging the Yaesu in my BOB. Unlike the wall adapter, it doesn’t need the cradle. But I would feel better if I had an alternative to charging from a car in a bug out scenario — what if I don’t have access to a car? Same also goes for a sheltering in place scenario when the power is out, although in that case, bulk isn’t an issue. I’m wondering what options are available? I did look at this third party USB charger cable, but I don’t know how well it works and I’m not sure whether it still requires the cradle.

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I have a Baofeng and it too had a bulky power brick and cradle. I hate the cradle! Just let me plug it directly into the radio like I do on my cell phone.

I heard there were expanded battery packs for the Baofeng that had direct to radio charging capabilities, but I ended up landing on a USB to cradle adapter. So at least I can charge from my solar panel or power bank instead of having to use a wall outlet, but still have this bulky cradle.

 

Dug into things a bit deeper for ya and learned that the 2004-2013 Yaesu FT-60R’s shipped with a battery pack that would allow you to charge directly through the side connector. However, since 2013 they only have the drop-in cradle charger. Feels like a step backwards to me…

There are AA battery packs that you can get if you already have some of those batteries in your bag.

 

I have that battery pack, though I’m embarrassed to admit I haven’t tested it yet. I keep Panasonic Enloop rechargeable batteries in my go-bag, in both AA and AAA, along with a Nitecore USB battery charger and a solar charger that the Nitecore can plug into. In theory, that should keep me operational in the field.

 

I seem to remember reading on Amazon that somebody tried to use rechargeable batteries in these battery packs. That person said that the batteries went into the battery pack but the battery pack wouldn’t fit on the radio. This would be an important thing to determine before relying on batteries.

 

I’m getting ready for a fox hunt this weekend so I pulled all of this stuff out to test it. I can confirm that Panasonic Enloop batteries work just fine in the Yaesu battery tray. However, I need another battery case as it takes six AA batteries and I was only keeping four in my go-bag.