Member Owned Radios (The toughest HT?)

[Craswell]

First a conflict of interest statement. This is a side biz that I started when I got discouraged with the lack of radios / people familiar with them because they didn't own one. So yes, I pay bills selling refurbished equipment to CAP members (So your warned) I also am a zealot for ES and designed the Flex Yagi you maybe are using that gives the LPER a bit better range and a more narrow cut. So - While I am a member of CAP this does not represent anything official from CAP. 

I saw this youtube video while spending some time in the UK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuXwq7lWdiU
I've joked that the EFJ 5100 is tough but do no pound tent stakes in with them. This thing?!? Looks like you can drive trucks over it without damage. I knew I had to have one. I did some research on the equipment acceptable (NTIA Compliant) list and got the testing doc for the Thales / Racal 25 aka PRC6894 and made a case for it to be on the list and was given the word that it was acceptable (Along with another radio I dug up)

Good timing because I have regularly bought up old EFJ radios surplus from GSA (Gov Surplus Auctions) and refurbish them but these are becoming more difficult to find and the price higher and higher. In any event as much as I love my EFJ stuff I really wanted one of these for myself. The main problem is that (if you watch the entire video) The good battery is unobtainium.  The designers make the rechargeable batteries converse with the radio and the fancy smart charger. Similar to the new Motorola scheme (grrr) So charge it X times?  The battery is done. If you plug in 12 Volts with say the Clamshell pack of AAs it won't let you run at high power. So... My girlfriend (3D designer of note) and I (Reverse engineer of some note) have made up a battery using the new monster 21700 LiIon cells (The new Tesla Battery 4,000 - 5,000 mAh) which gives significant more Umph for its size and better then even a 6 cell 18650 (1,800mAh x 2) Pack that the PRC148 used.  *At least the ones I took apart. I've been working on the software to fine tune them but they seem to be pretty good even used. BTW the battery has a BMS that shuts down at 3.2V (Keeps the Battery healthy) handles crowbar short circuits (A spark and the battery output shuts off until you pry off the screwdriver you welded to the battery terminals. Over Temp shutdown, Does Balance and best of all charges by plugging in any ordinary source of 12V DC. If the supply is high enough current the charger take a little under 2 Amps and does about 80% in 2 hours and maybe 3 or 4 to top it off and reduces the current it takes until its zero. Oh! and it won't overcharge (Once topped off it goes to trickle charge mode)  If you charge with say a 500mA wall wart the full charge takes about 9 hours but this works fine and its really easy on the batteries.  The packs have a charge state button so you can pick up a battery and know if its good to go. If you plug into a Cig lighter to charge you can operate the radio while charging! And it of course my gadget tells the radio its ok to run at full power. Its got built in AES Crypto and does NOT need a KVL keyloader to load AES keys. *The normal program software does it!  16 Zones *Banks of 16 Channels like the 5100 / 5300. Just starting to build these up but if you want to see what we are doing check https://refurbatron.bigcartel.com/products 
Soon to have a "real" site at refurbatron.com once my girlfriend does her HTML magic.  *The BigCartel site is ummm my efforts and is why this looks so poor.  Note there is a refurbatron page on Facebook but this is not often visited so if you need to contact me phone or email (505)333-9301 refurbatron@gmx.com  I work late so call as late as 11pm Central aka 23:00 hours. Early mornings I've a veg. Did the Oh Dark 30 for too many years.