{"id":62875,"date":"2025-05-10T07:15:48","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T11:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=62875"},"modified":"2025-05-10T07:15:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T11:15:48","slug":"a-bit-more-about-batteries-for-emergency-radios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/a-bit-more-about-batteries-for-emergency-radios\/","title":{"rendered":"A bit more about batteries for emergency radios . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM<\/strong><\/p>\n

A friend, Bob, is a professional in the two-way radio business with deep experience and expertise. I mentioned to him this post<\/a> and told him about my strong preference for radios that would run on off-the-shelf alkaline batteries.<\/p>\n

He had a few things to say about batteries for emergency radios that I thought might prove instructive for those interested in the subject:<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in the day, NiCAD batteries were known to develop \u2018memories,\u2019 when they would be recharged without being fully discharged.\u00a0 The strategy with them was to allow them to fully discharge and then recharge them.\u201d\u00a0 The best work-around was to have two batteries, one fully charged and ready to go when the current one went \u201cdead\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy contrast, if you deep discharge a Lithium Ion battery, sometimes the charger will see the low voltage and will not try to recharge \u201cbelieving\u201d that one of the cells is dead. Best practices with Lithium Ion is to regularly exercise the batteries and not let them sit as they will deep discharge to a low-voltage level resulting in the inability of the charger to effectively recharge them<\/p>\n

He adds, \u201cTo my knowledge, almost every single instance of a Lithium Ion battery catching on fire in the charger was because the charger used was not the one that came with the battery. Bottom line: use only<\/em> the charger that came with the battery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bob says his strong preference for rechargeable batteries is Nickel Metal Hydride, which don\u2019t seem to develop a memory and can be stored in a charged state for many months.<\/p>\n

He concludes: \u201cThe best bet for emergency radios that may not be used for long periods are alkaline batteries. They offer the best shelf life.\u201d<\/p>\n

And there you have it from a radio professional whose advice I trust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM A friend, Bob, is a professional in the two-way radio business with deep experience and expertise. I mentioned to him this post and told him about my strong preference for radios that would run on off-the-shelf alkaline batteries. He had a few things to say about batteries for emergency radios that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[599,3],"tags":[486,4500,9323],"class_list":["post-62875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-emergency-preparedness","category-news","tag-batteries","tag-emergency-preparedness","tag-jock-elliott-kb2gom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-gm7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":64710,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/configuring-the-news-cruiser-for-your-emergency-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":62875,"position":0},"title":"Configuring the \u201cNews Cruiser\u201d for your emergency radio","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"November 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Rob, W4ZNG, endured three weeks without electricity on the Mississippi Gulf Coast as a result of Hurricane Katrina. When he and I spoke about his experience (and what any one of us might want in our \u201cfertilizer hits the fan\u201d radio kit), he mentioned that during\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/news-cruiser-frequencies-004-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/news-cruiser-frequencies-004-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/news-cruiser-frequencies-004-1024x768.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62824,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/emergency-radio-you-bet\/","url_meta":{"origin":62875,"position":1},"title":"Emergency radio? You bet!","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"May 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Recently, this blog featured great coverage of the use of battery-powered radios during the recent blackout in Europe. It was a serious business: electric power, cell phone networks, internet, all gone in a moment, followed by an instant information vacuum. Battery-powered portable radios and local broadcasters\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Midland-NOAA-Weather-Radio-e1508778538544.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Midland-NOAA-Weather-Radio-e1508778538544.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Midland-NOAA-Weather-Radio-e1508778538544.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Midland-NOAA-Weather-Radio-e1508778538544.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53014,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/the-fertilizer-hits-the-fan-radio-kit\/","url_meta":{"origin":62875,"position":2},"title":"The fertilizer hits the fan radio kit","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"June 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Murphy\u2019s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1st corollary: Even if anything can\u2019t go wrong, it still will. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2nd corollary: It will go wrong in the worst possible place at the worst possible time. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Most devastating corollary: Murphy was an optimist.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Emergency Preparedness"","block_context":{"text":"Emergency Preparedness","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/emergency-preparedness\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/ivan-hurricane.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/ivan-hurricane.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/ivan-hurricane.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60817,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/10\/from-the-archives-when-the-fertilizer-hits-the-fan-radio-kit\/","url_meta":{"origin":62875,"position":3},"title":"From the Archives: When the fertilizer hits the fan radio kit","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"October 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Murphy\u2019s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1st corollary: Even if anything can\u2019t go wrong, it still will. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2nd corollary: It will go wrong in the worst possible place at the worst possible time. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Most devastating corollary: Murphy was an optimist.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/ivan-hurricane.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/ivan-hurricane.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/ivan-hurricane.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60038,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/checking-out-the-ccradio-solarbt\/","url_meta":{"origin":62875,"position":4},"title":"Checking out the CCRadio SolarBT","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"June 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM The syllables coming through the headphones were unknown to me. Clearly it was a language, but not one that I knew. So I logged it: 2\/18\/24, 1101Z, 1660 kHz, unknown language, orchestral music. (I later found out it was a Korean language station from New Jersey.)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/14-047-1024x819.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/14-047-1024x819.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/14-047-1024x819.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51852,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/02\/jock-explores-the-essential-listening-post-part-ii-when-the-lights-go-out\/","url_meta":{"origin":62875,"position":5},"title":"Jock explores \u201cThe Essential Listening Post Part II – When the lights go out”","author":"Thomas","date":"February 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: When the lights go out: The Essential Listening Post \u2013 Part II By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM What\u2019s the most valuable commodity in an emergency? Information. Without information, it is very difficult to make decisions of what actions you should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CCRadio-2E-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CCRadio-2E-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CCRadio-2E-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CCRadio-2E-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CCRadio-2E-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62875"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62888,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62875\/revisions\/62888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}