How to charge an ELT Battery

[edubb811]

Can anyone tell me how to charge an elt battery? thanks

[Eclipse]

Assuming it is the standard battery, you can't.  It has to be replaced, and they aren't cheap.

A lot of units have converted their ELT's to standard C-Cells, which will fit in the same space.

[SarDragon]

Can anyone tell me how to charge an elt battery? thanks

Are you speaking of (A) a unit intended for installation in an aircraft, or (B) the practice unit you have at your squadron?

For (A), that's a real ELT, and no, the battery is not rechargeable.

For (B), it's not an ELT, it's a Practice Beacon. Works the same, but has different tags, and operates on a different frequency. Its battery, as supplied from the maker, is not rechargeable, either. But, as Eclipse has stated above, many have been converted to operate on standard C-Cells, which are available in rechargeable versions.

Learn and maintain the distinction in terminology. It can become important in the operational world.

[a2capt]

..and if it's B, and you crack open that wad of styrofoam, you'll see that it's off the shelf C batteries spot welded together, and certified since Pointer basically sells the same battery for TSO'ed or trainers.

Some units have modified them to use a 7.2V R/C car battery, and the typical charger for that is available from Radio Shack even.

[Spaceman3750]

My squadron Pointer has a rechargeable - if you don't know or don't have a charger take it to a local battery place and they should be able to help you out, every battery is different.

[N Harmon]

For (B), it's not an ELT, it's a Practice Beacon.

[...]

Learn and maintain the distinction in terminology. It can become important in the operational world.

This is worth repeating. Always call a practice beacon a practice beacon, and never an ELT. Everyone should get into the habit of doing this.

As to the original question, you can modify the practice beacon to use standard batteries. We have done so with ours. Just be aware that doing so will void your warranty.

Here is some info:

http://cap-es.net/ES%20Electric%20Technology/Practice%20Beacon%20Modifications.htm

[ol'fido]

About 20 years ago now, we had a guy who took a "practice beacon"(picky, picky) and converted it to run off a semi truck battery because the other batteries kept going dead during practice missions. Blew out the finals in the radio.

[starshippe]

   i have an orange "thingy that goes beep in the night." it has a colorful past.

   it requires 6v, so i use a rechargable 6v lead acid battery. i'm not too worried about it giving out any time soon.
   
   as long as u use the proper voltage, u should be able to find a usable rechargable battery. with a good battery installed, measure how much current your unit pulls. say, 100 milliamps. from that u know u can expect, from a 1200 mahr battery, for instance, to get 12 hours use before a recharge is required.  i would mark the voltage and current drain on the unit. but i'm a bit of a geek.

   thanks for this preparation. its quite frustrating to find out, the morning of the sarex, that the "thingy that goes beep in the night" battery is dead. kinda like the frustration of having df units arrive at the sarex with dead batteries, and no spares. sigh.


bill