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Author Topic: Recommendations for battery for G90?  (Read 256 times)

ONAIR

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Recommendations for battery for G90?
« on: February 12, 2023, 03:06:14 PM »

  Looking for best battery option to run a Xiegu G90 on SSB for a few hours in the field at 10 or 20 watts, making casual QSOs?   Thanks.
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K6AER

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Re: Recommendations for battery for G90?
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2023, 03:21:06 PM »

A 15 to 20 AH lithium 12 volt battery will take care you your portable/base operation and give you 6-9 hours of operation. Battery will cost between 120 and $210 dollars depending on AH rating. Lithium battery provide full voltage up to the full discharge point. I have had very god results with the Dakota series battery's.

https://dakotalithium.com/product/dakota-lithium-12v-20ah-amp-hour-23ah-lifepo4-battery/?msclkid=39885d5f8ce3185b95533eb6f80b8d78

The charger will cost $30 to $60 depending on how fast you want to charge the battery.

Lithium battery are very light compared to lead acid batteries.
« Last Edit: February 12, 2023, 03:25:23 PM by K6AER »
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K5LXP

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Re: Recommendations for battery for G90?
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2023, 08:39:22 PM »

The radio spec is going to drive the battery you need:

If you want to keep the power of G90 on 20W, the voltage must be in 13.8 V-15V

That puts lead acid out of contention right out of the chute.  Lithium is probably the answer, the only question is how many Ah you want/can afford.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM
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KB1GMX

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Re: Recommendations for battery for G90?
« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2023, 04:21:12 AM »

Lithium tech is prefered as its lighter for any given amprehour
capacity as well.

A smaller 10ah battery can easily supply the peak current needed
while being lighter.  Its a trade. operating time at full power VS weight.


Allison
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WA3SKN

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Re: Recommendations for battery for G90?
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2023, 08:19:31 AM »

How much weight do you want to carry?
Lithium is lightest and most expensive.  Lead acid is lowest for rechargeable batteries.
I would lower power to about 10 watts max.
Now... gotta budget?

-Mike.
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WB6BYU

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Re: Recommendations for battery for G90?
« Reply #5 on: February 13, 2023, 10:01:09 AM »

Quote from: ONAIR

  Looking for best battery option to run a Xiegu G90 on SSB for a few hours in the field at 10 or 20 watts, making casual QSOs?




“Best” is always a relative term.  It can be different
for each person, depending on their personal
preferences and specific needs.

First, what is your picture of “in the field”?  Are
you thinking of hauling your station 3 miles up
a mountain?  Or parking your car beside a
picnic table in a local park?   Operating while
hiking?

There are lots of different versions of “portable
operation”.  None of them are “right” or “wrong”,
just different circumstances and conditions.  If
you may want to carry your station any significant
distance, then weight and / or size may be very
important criteria.  Otherwise they might not be.

What is the current draw of your radio on receive?
At various transmit powers?  Are you using a speech
processor?  Those all factor into choosing the
required battery capacity for the desired operating
time.

What is the input voltage range where the radio
will operate at the desired power level?  That
affects the choice of battery chemistry, as well
as how far down you can run your battery before
the rig stops working.

What is your budget?


Lithium batteries are an excellent choice for small
size and light weight, and they are more expensive.
Not only are the batteries expensive, but they need
a special charger to keep them in good health.  They
are capable of high output current, and the voltage
remains high over most of the discharge curve.

Lead gel batteries are heavier, and you may only get
half the rated capacity before the voltage drops
too far (depending on your radio).  But sometimes
they can be much cheaper:  hospitals and other
commercial installations often swap out the batteries
in their UPSs and other equipment on a regular
basis.  I’ve known several hams who pass them
on to others with plenty of life left in them.

Sure, the 40 Ah batteries I often use weigh 23
pounds, so not something I’d want to take
backpacking for a week, but they will run my
K2 for 24 hours on Field Day, and even a 100W
radio for occasional use.  And they were free.
A small 5 Ah lead gel battery travelled a lot of
miles in my backpack powering QRP rigs, back
before lithium batteries were available.

In some cases, alkaline or NiMH cells may be
a reasonable choice, especially if you need to
build a battery pack for a particular voltage or
to fit in a specific case.  For example, at one
point I standardized on AA batteries for all the
equipment I took backpacking:  that allowed
me to swap the batteries between radios, GPS,
and flashlights as circumstances required.


If money is no object, buying a lithium battery
and charging system gives you a lot of options.
If you aren’t sure you are ready to invest that
much yet, there are other options that may
work well enough for you to try it out and see
how you like it.


Meanwhile, our robot vacuum cleaner uses a
14.4 V 2.6 Ah lithium battery.  I may see about
borrowing it for radio use on occasions.  You
might have something around the house that
can be repurposed temporarily...

ONAIR

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Re: Recommendations for battery for G90?
« Reply #6 on: February 13, 2023, 02:17:36 PM »

    Thanks for the replies!  Not looking to operate more than 100 feet from the vehicle, so weight is not an issue.  Definitely will get a Lipo battery.  Are the lower priced ones that sell for around $50 on Amazon any good?  Figure I will probably need a 6ah to a 12ah, as I will be operating for no more than 3 hours a day on SSB, for casual (non contest) contacts. By the way, can I run the G90 off the vehicle battery either through a cigarette lighter plug or directly to the battery posts?  Thanks for the advice!
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W1MOW

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Re: Recommendations for battery for G90?
« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2023, 08:17:41 AM »

By the way, can I run the G90 off the vehicle battery either through a cigarette lighter plug or directly to the battery posts?  Thanks for the advice!

I would resist the urge to run it from your car battery. Too many of us have found that we ran the battery down too much and were unable to start our vehicle. Not a great way to end a good day of playing radio.

I use a 20ah LifePo4 when running my FT-891 at 100 watts, and it lasts me all day. I have had good results with LifePo4 batteries from ECI. They have a office in California, where they will answer any questions you have.

https://www.amazon.com/ECI-Power-Rechargeable-2000-5000-Applications/dp/B0973LL679/ref=sr_1_3?crid=KU0S8JHOUAUI&keywords=eci+power+12v+20ah+lithium+lifepo4&qid=1676391255&sprefix=eci+lifepo%2Caps%2C211&sr=8-3

Gary W1MOW
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The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt - Bertram Russell (1935)

So not much has changed in almost 90 years!

K5LXP

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Re: Recommendations for battery for G90?
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2023, 10:25:28 AM »

You could operate from the vehicle battery but per the spec's at that voltage it would be at reduced output.  So if that's an acceptable tradeoff then lead acid (vehicle or gel cell) is an option.  You could try that first before buying a spendy lithium.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM
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K0UA

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Re: Recommendations for battery for G90?
« Reply #9 on: February 15, 2023, 09:39:27 AM »

    Thanks for the replies!  Not looking to operate more than 100 feet from the vehicle, so weight is not an issue.  Definitely will get a Lipo battery.  Are the lower priced ones that sell for around $50 on Amazon any good?  Figure I will probably need a 6ah to a 12ah, as I will be operating for no more than 3 hours a day on SSB, for casual (non contest) contacts. By the way, can I run the G90 off the vehicle battery either through a cigarette lighter plug or directly to the battery posts?  Thanks for the advice!

I have been using this one from Amazon on my POTA excursions and I am very pleased with it. I would probably buy a smaller one for your rig. This 20 amp hour one runs my FT891 at 100 watts SSB for as long as I want to operate POTA with plenty left over.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0973LL679/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For your 20 watt rig, I would probably get the 10 amp one

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0973K15QR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

But it is up to you to decode how long you want to operate
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73  James K0UA
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