ICOM 31 charger

[pcatterall]

Just bought a new ICOM 31 to replace my old one which wont transmit. ( well it will send 'pressel switch' morse!!)
The new one has the LiLion battery and a charger which I suspect charges at a faster rate than the old NiCad one.
I would still like to use my old radio just on receive ( or I may just chuck it) But would like to be able to use the old power pack and the power pack which has the AA batteries ( they go in my grab bag)
Can I use the old NiCad pack and the AA pack in the new radio?
Will I have to use the old charger to charge up the NiCad pack?
Thanks guys.

 

[Dipper]

No help to you but could you please tell me what the charge voltage and current is on your old charger. Also model number if it has one. I have muddled all my chargers up and I don’t know which is which! One is broken and I think it is the Icom one.

Thanks.

 

[pcatterall]

Charger is 'on the boat'.
The new one has ICOM printed on the cradle and the charger. I believe the old charger is BC147E and the cradle BC150 and the battery pack BP224.
The voltage from the charger to the cradle is clearly in the 12 to 16 volt band. I have no idea about the current but your battery optimum charge time is around 10 hours and I believe the capacity of the pack is 750mAh which MAY indicate a desired charge of 75/100mA ( but my electronics and maths are rubbish!!)
Now that I have mentioned figures and values someone will be along to set me straight and solve your problem!!

This has now started me to wonder about my set up as I have been charging my old unit via a 12 volt dc connection. I was going to chop the lead from the new charger and just put 12 volts down it but maybee I need to rethink that.

 

[Dipper]

Thanks for that. I was referring to the mains adapter but as you say it is likely to be in the 12V to 16V range. Unfortunately, the one supplied by ICOM did not have their name on it nor the official ICOM reference number. The charger is a BC-150 and according to the manual the adapter is likely to be a BC-147E. When I contacted ICOM by email for advice I got two helpful (but completely different!) replies.

The trouble is that so many electronic items these days come with mains adapters which have been outsourced and they don't have the manufacturers name on them. I must remember to label them as I remove them from the box so they don't get muddled up.

Sorry to 'hijack' the thread. Perhaps someone can help with your query.

 

[jh2005]

I have a mains charger for my NiCd Icom 31 here:
The transformer model is BC01.005 rated at 12Volts, 500mA and the cradle is model BC-150.
Hope that helps....

 

[Dipper]

Thanks Chellers. That helps me.

Can anybody help Peter?

 

[William_H]

The lithium ion batteries are of a completely different nature to NiCad or NiMH the later 2 being almost the same in charging requirements.

The Lithium Ion batteries are extremely critical regarding charge voltage and temperature and usually each cell is about 3 volts (I think).
So often the charger control circuit is built into the battery or the battery cradle or maybe the radio itself.

I would suggest that you don't regard the 2 radio chargers and certainly not the battery pack as interchangeable although it is likely the plug packs produce similar voltage and current and so may be interchangeable. olewill

 

[pcatterall]

Thanks for that. Everything I have read so far suggests that the chargers are not compatable but that the battery packs probably are. Will continue with seperate chargers.
Regards