Standard Horizon Hand Helf VHF-Minor Successes

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

FWIW, I had a similar problem with an old SH over a decade ago. SH were quite sympathetic. They did still offer a new pack at an exorbitant price and we commiserated on how that was necessary (after all, supporting packs for 20 years ain't cheap) but not really a good option. They event sent me a 12v cord for free, so at least I could use it off the 12v on the boat. But I also found that Bulldog Battery and the NiCad Lady could rebuild the pack for me (there were no battery chain franchises then, and they tend to be overpriced today) except, I needed the radio "now" for an upcoming race. I owund up putting in 2000mA premium NiMh AA cells, instead of the original rugged standard 600mA NiCd cells it was made with. Yes, the radio takes 4x longer to recharge fully...it also runs 4x longer on the new battery pack. Which is still working nicely. The new radios with LiOn battery packs certainly are sweet, but there's no really good backup or alternate for them, especially when the "backup tray" only is for AAA cells instead of AA. AAA cells just don't have enough power to be useful for much of anything. But the industry seems to love them, they keep people deluded. Ergh, happy.

Now that I think of it I didn't fix the EPIRB. I found a used one for sale cheaper then the battery and ended up sending the old one to Hellosailor who told me the story of fixing it. Is she still in operating order HS?

[seabreez]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

In 2001 we purchased a Standard Horizon HX260S hand held VHF to carry in our inflatable and sailing dinghies when "out and about". The radio was relatively inexpensive but waterproof, floatable, and very sturdy and has served us well. Moreover, it seemed like the battery--a rechargable 730mAh pack--rarely ever ran out and only needed a recharge every few months.

Given the foregoing, last week I was distressed to discover that, although predictable after 15+ years, our battery pack would no longer hold a charge. I was more distressed to discover that Standard Horizon no longer makes/has replacement battery packs for the HX260S radio and was told by one of their tech's that I should discard the old unit and replace it with a newer model (at no minor cost). Considering that I have a "back-up" pack that lets one use 6 standard (non-rechargable) AA Batteries that wasn't happening but I really liked the rechargable pack. So, for the sake of the exercise, I used an Exacto knife and very carefully cut the cover off the back of the old rechargable pack, only to discover that rather than some exotic Ni-Cad battery, it merely contained 6 AA rechargable Ni-Cad's taped together in a block.

With that, I took the battery pack to our local Batteries+Bulbs outlet where their tech's made up a replacement pack of 6 NUN 1100-AAF batteries (1100 mAh) for a grand total of $23.00 USD (compared with the $95 wanted by Standard Horizon when the CNB 260 battery packs were available). Reattaching the cover merely required a few dabs of Crazy Glue in the corners of the cover and we're back in business but with a much greater capacity battery pack.

I suspect the same can be done with many of the older model hand held VHF's and perhaps other similar gear powered by rechargable battery packs, rejuvenating the equipment and saving the cost of replacement with equipment that is often times less robust than the older models albeit absent the latest bells'n whistles (which may be extraneous anyway).

FWIW...

This is doable for many tools also. Save a bundle and get more power that will last longer and make things stronger. I have been doing this for years for portable VHF and power packs for cordless power tools.

[Mickyzip]

I did the same repair using 1200mh but the charge socket stopped working and is sealed. so removing the backplate and with a home made variable charger clipped directly to the two battery terminals solved the problem. the plate can be slid back on the pack, and then refitted to radio. Has worked very well for a year sofar.

[BillyBobtx]

yeah youtube is full of people taking dead cordless tool batteries apart and soldering in new ones.

me? not on a bet. and i am sure my insurance company would thank me.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by BillyBobtx

yeah youtube is full of people taking dead cordless tool batteries apart and soldering in new ones.

me? not on a bet. and i am sure my insurance company would thank me.

Knowing one's own limitations is good, but i doubt that your insurer gives a crap about this activity!

Jim