Anyone charge or discharge their radios over the winter? Is it better to charge it periodically or leave it turned on in a box to run down the battery?
Keep it Going…
…that’s the recommendation of a friend who just salvaged a Uniden VHF for us. The radio had been left on charge for months and months without being used, which totalled the batteries. He jury-rigged a new battery pack for us, and delivered a working radio yesterday.
His suggestion - keep it around (NOT on the cradle), turn it on frequently for weather checks, etc., and run the batteries down - then charge again, and repeat the cycle. He also recommends occasionally charging it at half-depleted, or thereabouts, which he says helps avoid the memory effect. The two worst things, he says, are to keep it charging in the cradle all the time, or else letting it lie discharged for months at a stretch.
This is usually good advice, though
sometimes a manufacturer will contradict it. I have a little Norelco beard trimmer that has gone 3 years on the original battery instead of Norelco’s projected one year, just because I run the battery down close to zero in use before recharging. NiCads, possibly NIMH, may like this treatment. I’m not so sure about rechargeable lithium.
Depends on battery
You may want to read the advice at
http://www.batteryuniversity.com
where you will learn more than you want to know about batteries, their care and feeding.
I suspect nearly all Li-Ion batteries in VHF handhelds die of old age before they die from too many charges so you might as well use it all the time for whatever. Otherwise, putting battery in a cool place (frig OK) is a good longtime storage option.
“Memory Effect” in consumer products…
is a myth that is long overdue to die. It simply cannot happen. A quick Google search will provide the specifics. When batteries lose their capacity, it is inevitably due to:
a) over-charging, which irreversibly damages them
b) running them completely flat, which can damage some battery types
c) normal degradation with use
what is this thing of which you speak?
the … “off” season?