Don, Thanks for the report. One difference in my experience: the voltage drop on key-down for the nonrechargeable lithiums is quite a bit higher than for NiMH. As a result, I got more TX time at 5 W with NiMH. They're also a lot more convenient since you can leave them in the radio and charge them.
Wayne On Oct 18, 2012, at 11:18 AM, Don Butler wrote: > I have my new KXBC3 installed in KX3 S/N 125, and all seems to be > working as > it should. I'm definitely glad to have it, but must admit that I > was very > content with the KX3 without it. The ability to easily monitor > battery > voltage and select the charging time is very nice. And the internal > clock > is a great feature also, and will be very slick for getting QSOs > accurately > logged while out in the bush! > > It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to become super knit-picky about > batteries, and I'm not going to do that, but I do plan to continue > using > non-rechargeable Lithium batteries for my occasional mountain top > hikes. > They definitely provide more punch than the NiMH variety, and, thus > far have > always seemed capable of supporting a few good hours of operation > while > using a solid 5.0 watts on transmit. They're also much lighter than > NiMH .. > My KX3 (without paddle) with 8 AA lithium batteries installed weighs > 31 oz., > but when it's loaded with 8 AA NiMH batteries it weighs 3.5 oz more: > 34.5 > oz. (that's an 11.3% weight increase). That may not seem like > much, but > when you're carrying a backpack up a steep hill every little bit > does make a > difference to a 69 year old geezer like me. > > For everyday KX3 operation I've been using a small external power > supply > (the Radio Shack 3 amp switcher).. Or a big heavy deep cycle battery > that I > sometimes haul in my truck.. So for normal use I'll keep a set of NiMH > batteries installed, and keep them charged and ready with the > KXBC3 . but > before my next hike they'll be replaced by Lithiums with the menu > appropriately configured to 'CHG OFF'. > > Don, N5LZ > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
