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Reviews For: www.batteriesamerica.com

Category: Batteries & Chargers for Amateur Radio

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Review Summary For : www.batteriesamerica.com
Reviews: 63MSRP:
Description:
Wide selection of HT batteries and accessories. Great service. I give them a 5/5
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.batteriesamerica.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00633.2
WPE9JRL Rating: 2004-05-05
Poor Product - - Poor Service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
On 12-11-03 ordered a FNB-72XH-P batt pack for my Yaesu FT-817 for $49.95 plus $7.00 shipping. Received pack about seven days later. Some three months later, I noticed that the pack would not hold a charge for more than one minute. Prior to this, I had use of the FT-817 for nearly 5 hours on a fully charged pack. Obviously, a dead cell or cells in the pack.

On 4-5-04, I called B.A. and notified the nice YL on the phone of my problem, she offered an exchange or refund. I told her that I would like a refund. I shipped the pack along with a copy of my invoice and a cover letter explaining the situation. B.A. received my package on 4-8-04.

I waited for a response or a refund to appear on my credit card. Waited, waited.

On 4-29-04 I called B.A. and asked them the status of my refund. I was put on hold so that they could find my package...they found it in "receiving". No, my refund was not processed but "it should process today"......dugh! they only sat on it for three weeks! No apologies given on the delay.

Well, they did process my refund and I am thankful for that. Refund credit on my card: $49.95....and, they still had my credit card number on file, I did not have to repeat it.

Bottom line here: The battery pack went defective after three months of use. A refund was initiated only after a phone call prompting action, after several weeks of delay.
W7SAZ Rating: 2004-05-05
BP-217 problems in ICOM T90A Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought a Batteries America BP-217 battery for an ICOM T90A. It fit the radio fine but this clone battery is NOT electrically equivalent to the ICOM battery.

The T90A will not transmit when connected to the charger with the Batteries America clone installed. The T90A gives a “Hi V” (High Voltage!) warning. Also, the T90A never displays a “CHG_F” (Charge Full) message with the clone battery.

I reported the problems to Batteries America who told me to return the battery. After 10 days I asked BA for the status and they simply said” “The only battery that will allow you to transmit with the charger connected is the ICOM battery.” BA made no apologies or proposal to do anything.

I asked for my money back including shipping both ways. Batteries America never stated in advance their battery was incompatible. I hope it has not damaged my T90A. Batteries America replied they would refund the battery price only.

In this case, I think Batteries America misrepresented their product and I will never do business with them again. I just ordered an ICOM BP-217 from www.universal-radio.com for $79.95 + $4.95 shipping.

Regards,
George
In sunny Arizona
KG6OQK Rating: 2004-04-14
Poor Customer Service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased a double battery pack and charger for Kenwood ThF6A. Both products did not work. I called and they told me it was my fault that I wasn't using it right. After repeated calls with a very nasty woman there, they finally agreed to take the product back for repair. Now after more repeated calls to check on its repair. They deny ever receiving it. Other people in my club have the same problem with this battery and have encountered rude customer service. I recommended you don't purchase Batteries America products because if you have a problem they won't help you.
KG6OQK
KI4EBG Rating: 2004-03-16
Dead Pack OR/AND charger Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I received a 12v 1300mAh Pack for my Kenwood th78a, It will not take a charge at ALL. The volt meter says 0.00. The charger output says 0.00 also. This stuff looks VERY VERY cheap also.
I am sending the equipment back today for an exchange should be a refund!!
I will let you folks know how long it took to get the junk back.
N2VHV Rating: 2004-02-12
OK but just barely Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased a BP170L battery pack for my Icom T7H.
This (a six cell pack) is something that Icom really should have made.
Anyway it works, and using panasonic 1950MA Nmh batteries, charge life and power are no longer a problem.
The case itself though can best be described as MARGINAL. It does not attach to the radio with any real degree of security, and in fact, has a tendency to FALL OFF !!
I called Batteries America as a "friendly call" to advise them that they may have a bit of a quality control issue, and the charming lady on the phone advised me that is was MY FAULT.
Hey lady, do me a favor... DIE !!
Meanwhile I am using the pack, The T7H is ripping out a blazing 4 watts, and life aint too bad.
73 all.
KI5Q Rating: 2003-12-29
Not as advertized, but ok Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ordered the BP-170L 6 AA battery case for my IC-W32A. While it does what it is advertized to do I'm just not overly impressed with it's overall quality. It fits on the radio ok but not nearly as well as the ICOM battery pack. It's made of a soft/flimsy feeling plastic so I have to wonder how long the tabs that hold it on the radio will last since I don't store the radio with a battery pack attached. More of a personnel perference than a need but... it doesn't have the external metal contacts like the ICOM pack does so I'll have to make an adapter to charge the installed NiMH AA's with my Maha Charger without removing them from the pack.

Service was quite ok, less than 2 weeks from the time I ordered until delivery. Item was packaged quite well. Would have been nice if they would have kept me posted, via email, of the order status however.

I'll buy from this company again, mainly due to their wide selection of battery products, but with some reservations.....
WP4JMN Rating: 2003-10-05
Good prices but a bit slow shipping Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought a EMS-217 charger for my IC-T90A and, while it took 3 weeks to get it, it was packed very secure.

N2DY Rating: 2003-09-29
Decent Product, Terrible Customer Service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have bought many battery packs from BA over the years and most have perfomed well. Recently I bought a pack for my Yaesu VX-5R. It was dead right out of the box. I called and spoke to the woman who so many people have had problems with. After lecturing me how I must have hooked it up incorrectly and broke it, she finally said just send it back and they will send out a new one. I have been a ham for over 20 years and have owned the VX-5R for four years. I think I know how to change the battery pack!

Like a previous reviewer, I sent it out priority mail. It got there in a couple of days. Then came the wait. After waiting three weeks, I called and spoke to you know who. She went and checked it out and came back and said that they would send it out that day. I finally received the replacement and it works fine. I wonder if they would have ever sent it out if I had not called. That is very bad customer service indeed.

BA has decent products but unless they do something to fix their customer service problems, they will not survive in the long run. It's time to find a new customer service rep who understands what the words "customer service" mean. This experience will make me think twice about where to get my next aftermarket battery pack.
N3RKN Rating: 2003-09-29
Customer Service Poor Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have purchased about 10 or so battery packs from BA in the past several years. Most worked fine. A few months ago I got a pack which obviously had a bad cell (I got two, one lasted almost twice as long as the other). I have a rather elaborate battery analyzer and could demonstrate that the voltage was lower, and the capacity was nowhere near what it should have been. I figured no problem I would just send it back. I even emailed BA and explained the problem. I had owned the item for about a month.

They told me to simply return the pack and they would replace it. I did that and included a detailed description of the problem. After 3 weeks with no word on what happened (I sent the pack via priority mail and it was delivered in 2 days) I called. Spoke with the woman on the phone others have described. In short I called her 5 or 6 times. Each time she promised to look into my problem and call me back. Never a returned call. After 5 weeks she finally said they had found a bad cell and were fixing the pack. The sent the repaired pack and it works fine now.

Unfortunately the BP-217 I just got from them for my Icom does not work properly either. I purchased two and one charges to 8.4 volts and lasts all day and one charges to 7.4 volts and lasts about 2 hours. I am dreading sending this thing back. I do not believe I will be ordering anything from them again. They just do not seem to have any sort of customer service at all.
K8WV Rating: 2003-09-04
Ok, maybe Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've purchased from Batteries America twice, once by e-mail, once at a hamfest.

The hamfest purchases were fine. Good products and fair prices. I purchased a couple of Icom HT accessories and some high capacity NiMH AA batteries. I'm quite pleased. But I made no demands. If the product was on the table, and I wanted it, and if I handed over the money, no problem.

The e-mail purchase did go that well. I ordered two items, a NiMH battery for an old Wilson HT, and a memory backup battery for an old Azden PCS3000. The NiMH battery didn't quite fit. It was a bit too thick. But I could get it in, and it lasts forever. Good enough.

The Azden battery is more difficult. First, it is extremely hard to find anywhere. But BA advertised it for sale, so I ordered it along with the Wilson battery.

After about 2 weeks the Wilson battery arrived, but no mention of the Azden item. I send two e-mails asking if it was an oversight, backordered or unavailable. I have never received a response. Oddly, I attended the hamfest while waiting for the e-mail order and spoke with a BA rep about how happy I was to find the battery in their (extensive) listings. He knew all the specs and said he was glad they could help. But it never arrived.

To their credit BA did not charge for the undelivered item. But I do expect some explanation about partial deliveries. I certainly expect a response to a customer inquiry.

I'll buy at hamfests, but not otherwise. It's a customer service issue.