Simrad wireless VHF induction charge / battery issue

[Skylark]

I have a Simrad handheld wireless VHF. It's less than 4 years old and either the inductive charging cradle isn't working or the battery is kaput, I'm not sure which and I'd appreciate any help.

The radio was working fine. It should have around 8 hours battery life after a full charge. After around this amount of time I noticed that the battery icon was showing pretty much empty. The next time I looked, maybe an hour later, it had died. I put it in its cradle to recharge. After, say, 6 hours I took it out of the cradle and tried to switch it back on. Nothing. The rear of the radio was warm to the touch which I thought indicated that the battery was charged.

I put it back in the cradle and charged it overnight. Still nothing. Still warm to the touch.

This was about a week ago. I simply put the radio in my bag to bring home. Now back at home I tried to turn it on and it did but with the battery icon showing empty.

From this observation, I don't know if its the cradle charging system or the battery. Are there any simple tests to determine which one is giving problems? I'd appreciate tapping into the experience and wisdom of the forum.

Also, is there a hard-wire alternative method to charge these devices?

I've searched the forum and someone asked a similar question in September 2016 but he didn't get any replies. Hopefully, I'll have better luck.

Many thanks

 

[RichardS]

I don't know much about inductive charging technology .... but if the battery area of the VHF was warm this would suggest to me that the inductive charger is working properly and is inducing a current in the VHF circuit. It sounds to me as if the battery is kaput and is not holding charge.

Richard

 

[William_H]

Yes I would vote for dead battery. If it is NiMH or NiCad battery then it will have perhaps 6 cells in series. If these are run down then one cell fails first and is recharged backwards by the current. This induces dendrites which form a short circuit with no recovery by charging. Actually NiMh and Nicad cells love to be completely discharged but do not work well in a cellos in series battery. Hve a new battery olewill

 

[Zing]

Check it is making the right contact with the charger cradle. If it’s position is even slightly out it won’t charge fully.

 

[RichardS]

Check it is making the right contact with the charger cradle. If it’s position is even slightly out it won’t charge fully.

Are inductive chargers that critical?

Richard

 

[dmayes]

Have you tried turning it on when in the charging cradle? If it turns on then the inductive charge must be working.

 

[Skylark]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I sent the query to Simrad technical support and they suggested charging the handset in another cradle and charging another handset in my cradle.

They, more helpfully, also told me that there is a well hidden and water ingress protected mini USB port, normally for software updates, but that can be used to charge the battery.

It’s now being charged, or at least the screen “empty” battery icon is visible and shows it “filling”. Hopefully, this is a good sign.

If it does charge, I’m at a loss to understand why the back of the handset was getting warm when in the cradle. I certainly wouldn’t rule out operator error, as suggested by Zing, but I’ve had it for 5 years and never previously had a problem.

Any ideas how to test the cradle?

 

[prv]

Are inductive chargers that critical?

The one in my bedside table for charging my phone isn't.

Pete

 

[Zing]

Are inductive chargers that critical?

Richard

Yes, that's why I mentioned it. I have this unit. When it was in its cradle and not snugged down correctly it failed to charge. Maybe that is the OP's problem also.

Also, another thing to check is to remove the belt clip from the handset as without it I found that the handset would sit better in its cradle.

 

[Skylark]

Yes, that's why I mentioned it. I have this unit. When it was in its cradle and not snugged down correctly it failed to charge. Maybe that is the OP's problem also.

Also, another thing to check is to remove the belt clip from the handset as without it I found that the handset would sit better in its cradle.

My cradle is installed in a location with less than ideal access so you may have a point, albeit as I've written before I've not had a problem in the last 5 years. When I remove the handset from the cradle I'm always fearful of activating the DSC button, if you have one I'm sure you know what I mean.

It does seem to have charged from the mini USB port. I've just moved my boat from North Wales to The Clyde and I'm not planning to go back to it for a couple of weeks. I'm still intrigued as to why the back became warm in the cradle and how the inductive charging system can be tested. Google gives about a million hits on phone chargers but little else.

I'll also try your suggestion to remove the belt clip, thanks.

 

[Zing]

The DSC button needs holding down a number of seconds before it works. It’s hard to activate inadvertently.