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MEGA-817 |
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The MEGA-817 is a state-of-the-art 10,000 mAh NiMH battery pack that offers a compact and lightweight means of powering the FT-817 or FT-817 ND for extended periods. The MEGA-817 is ideal for long backpacking trips, Field Day, etc. This battery pack manufactured by W4RT Electronics has the following specifications.
The MEGA-817 has a power cable included that plugs into the external power jack on the FT-817(ND). You can run at full power (5 W) by pressing the power selection switch until the icon has 3 blinking bars showing. There is no need to remove the internal OPP-817+ battery pack when using the MEGA-817. If you have both of these power sources for your FT-817(ND), you have about 12,500 mAh of capacity available! How long you can operate clearly is dependent upon how much you transmit and at what power, but if you just operate in the receive mode, you can listen for around 32 hours! So how does the MEGA-817 compare to the SLA (gel cell) batteries? Basically, the SLA batteries have about 1350 mAH/pound and 135 mAh/cubic inch while the MEGA-817 has about 3100 mAh/pound and 325 mAh/cubic inch. In other words, the MEGA-817 packs the same charge in about 43% the volume and weight required of SLAs! This compactness can mean a lot when you are traveling or packpacking. Also, SLA don't have over-current or over-temperature protection like the MEGA-817. |