I have a Yaesu VX-8GR with a standard 1100 mAh battery that I like to have handy for emergency communication. The problem I have is that I will charge it, and sometime within a week or two with no use, the battery will be dead. I have read about some GPS-related battery faults with this HT (see
https://www.amateurradio.com/vx-8gr-battery-drain-fault/), but in my case, the GPS is not active. I have a couple of Baofeng UV-5Rs and a VX-3 whose batteries remain charged FOREVER, and while I don't expect the VX-8 to hold a charge indefinitely, it seems like it discharges relatively quickly.
You're probably wondering why I don't just use the other radios—I just like the VX-8 better. 😊
Anyhow, I have three questions:
1. Has anyone else experienced this issue?
2. Does anyone have any recommendations to mitigate this?
3. Will storing the battery disconnected from the radio help (and as an aside, will this cause any problems)?
I have Googled around about storing HT batteries and haven't found much that's useful, aside from general battery storage advice. I have a 2200 mAh battery on order that should help, but I'm still interested in finding out what I can to make my batteries hold their charge as long as possible.