Yaesu FTxD high capacity battery-pack

[3930dave]

I was on a quest a little while back (I'll cross-link this to that older thread), and had the tremendous luck to snag one of Kevin's made in USA packs ! It's over twice the capacity of what Yaesu offers, and is a big help with Range-Anxiety (not just for EVs!) on these digital radios.

I hadn't bought an AR radio in a very long time, so treated myself to a Yaesu FT5D this Summer. (Honest , my better-half doesn't read TBN !).

For the hams on here, who want/need a Yaesu xD battery pack, I've found a gem....

BP-Y14L v6 | Yaesu FT2 FT3 FT5 | 5Ah Capacity | USB-C Charging | Extended Run Time – W0AEZ Radio Gear

My first time dealing with Kevin, and found him straight-up and responsive to deal with. As disclosed on his site, this is a side-business for him, but I corresponded with him often enough that he reminds me of some other close friends of mine, who don't sleep much !

Given the hassle with border-shipments, I've come across USA companies (including large ones) that just won't ship to Canada. I get why, the clearance paperwork can be a PITA, repeatedly. So, I was over the moon after I contacted him and found that he was willing to ship to Canada.

I asked for a USPS/Canada Post shipment, after an inital paperwork problem (not unexpected) that was resolved at no cost other than time, my battery arrived with no-extra Duty or Customs charges. YMMV other Canucks; deal with the govt 10 times on the same transaction and you may get 6 different outcomes....

What I posted on his site today:

"Just back, from a 1 week camping trip. Although the cells may not have even settled to final capacity yet, I'm quite happy with my purchase. 1 week of extensive scanning and monitoring, and also some 5w range-testing; I'm pleased with the performance. I found Kevin great to deal with, and will be buying more products from him. I once again want to thank him, for taking on the challenge of dealing with a non-USA customer, and I encourage other International customers to contact him about shipping to your country. He has crafted a unique product here (that Yaesu should have offered in the first place !), and looks to support the global ham community. Best Regards, Dave."

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Reviews..... I look for appropriate balance when reading reviews, and want to reciprocate here....

Some guys nit-pick like they are judging Pebble Beach, and I'm mostly not like that. Kevin is a good communicator - describes the reality of low-volume 3D casings well - if somebody is looking for exact factory-matched finish, move along...

Me, as long as the case is structurally solid and functional, it's a Don't Care for me. YMMV, but the case itself is fine IMO.

What I did correspond with him about is the battery terminals. A limitation of the material he is using at this time is that some deformation can occur during assembly. It's fun being around a startup like this... it reminds me of my Olde Days..... I've only started dealing with him recently, but have seen him implement rapid business improvements and website changes in this short-time. In that spirit, I made a suggestion on material to prototype on future terminals. The sense you get reading his site for the first time is correct, he is committed to iterative design-improvements.

My OCD kicks in a bit, on terminal contact-area, but that comes from being around REALLY high-current contacts in a different world. I agree with the discussion Kevin and I had concerning the contact-materlal he is using currently (pun intended).

I did some 5w range testing with my FT5D, and agree, no impact on performance in this application.

In the picture attached, you can see the deformation in the left-contact. This is a fantastic product for these FT radios, and I only offer this feedback as full 411, and perhaps to save Kevin some time dealing with a duplicate query. I would not hesitate at all, to buy this product as produced now (I plan to buy another in the future, when he can get ahead of his present backlog).

Rgds, D.