SH HX870 “battery save” function?

[Rowglide]

I just got a GREAT deal at Annapolis sailboat show...
HX870 dsc/gps VHF
$184.99-$15.00(west marine bracelet on Sunday$15 off purchases over $100) then an additional $40 mail in rebate from Standard Horizon
They practically paid me to take one!

BUT
As I am going through the manual and features, I am stumped by the “Battery Save” options of OFF, 50%,70%,80%,90%.
There are easy instructions on how to set choice but what is it? What does it do? Is this a transmit power feature or a gps power down....
No luck searching SH website or owners manual.

[hellosailor]

Usually that puts the radio briefly to sleep while it is in standby (receive with squelch up) mode. Sometimes that will result in a little nagging "tick...tick...tick..." as it powers on and off, sometimes it will eat the start of a call. If it doesn't annoy you, it will extend run time.

SH has great customer service, you can call them for the specifics on anything about any of their products.

[kerrydeare]

Originally Posted by Rowglide

... I am stumped by the “Battery Save” options of OFF, 50%,70%,80%,90% ... a transmit power feature or a gps power down...

The latter. It adjusts how often the GPS position updates (the GPS uses quite a bit of power in the HX870).

For details, check this helpful users site:

https://groups.io/g/hx870

[Rowglide]

Originally Posted by kerrydeare

The latter. It adjusts how often the GPS position updates (the GPS uses quite a bit of power in the HX870).

For details, check this helpful users site:

https://groups.io/g/hx870

Nope, GPS has a separate "power save" function.
It has been confirmed as a "sleep" mode for radio

[kerrydeare]

Originally Posted by Rowglide

... It has been confirmed as a "sleep" mode for radio

Details:

https://groups.io/g/hx870/message/35

[Rowglide]

So now I need to decide how much "Power save" (GPS) and how much "Battery save" (Radio) to use to maximize my battery life while still maintaining great performance of both...

Look out battery...

[Bawlmer]

I have a HX870 for 2 years now. I got it at the boat show also. It is an awesome radio but it will eat batteries. The charge is good for barely 8 hours. I consider this a trade off for all its functionality. You can extend battery life by slowing down the GPS update intervals. I have mine strapped to my inflatable vest so I keep mine on full for MOB use. You can reduce the GPS update intervals if you use it more casually and extend the battery life between charges.