Gallery

[DU2XXR]

The Yaesu FT-60 (sometimes marked as Vertex or Standard, depending on market and production origin) is one of my go-to radios when it comes to prepping.

I've owned I think 2 dozen of these in total in my life as a radio amateur--many of which have been sold to fellow radio enthusiasts and friends. Right now, I have two units, and one each stored in the glovebox of my and my household's two vehicles, mostly as backup to the mobile radios installed therein and for emergencies.

Why? The FT-60 (along with similar platform radios) supports a 6-cell AA battery case for backup/emergency power. When you run out of charging options and even solar power is slow to charge, you can simlpy use 6 alkalkine batteries, which gets you full output power of 5 watts.
These are readily available at convenience stores, hardwares, etc. Many have a shelf life of several years which means you can stock up. There are even cheap but good options on e-commerce sites.

I can even use AA NiMH rechargeable batteries like Panasonic Eneloop or Fujitsu, or any reliable brand batteries. I can either use a separate charger for these. A simple "hack" (see last picture) even lets me charge these NiMH batteries with the radio's own plug-in DC adapter. The FT60 battery pack itself is still readily available in the market but having AA options takes care of potential obsolecense. The radio model itself is 19 years old now (launched 2004) but still available in the market brand new!

There are other radios that I have that also have AA battery cases, but for those, the power and life are significantly shorter. The smaller VX6 (submersible) radio only takes 2 AA batteries, which can only output less than half watt of RF power. The digital radios FT1, FT2, FT3, and FT5 have a 3-cell battery case, but that only maxes out at 1 watt of power. They are good for monitoring and listening (since these radios can listen to AM, FM broadcast transmissions, and even audio from TV channels).

Being able to transmit at higher power can make a difference when using a handheld radio with a rubber-duck antenna.

What's good is that Yaesu radios can operate on a wide variance of voltages, from 4 to 16 volts! The full 5 watt output is achievable with at least 7 volts.

There are other radios and brands that also have their own backup AA battery cases, as well, including Icom and even Baofeng radios (3rd-party cases). With any gear, YMMV! And it's best to be able to practice using them outside of an emergency so you know it actually works as planned and intended.

What are your communication options for when the grid goes down or gets congested? Any alternatives or other tips?








#radio #amateurradio #communications