Battery power

A couple of moths ago I bought a new radio, Yaesu FT-897D, the plan is to operate portable, whether it be camping or backpacking. Power is always the problem when you are operating portable some campsites have power some do not, so I am trying to come up with a good source of power for the radio. When it comes to battery power the selection is vast with pros and cons for each type of battery. I researched the new Lithium polymer batteries with what looks to have very promising applications to power the radio. A company called Antigravity Batteries makes a 6.6 Ah battery that only weighs 14 ounces. I just got the battery in the mail and have not had time to test yet, I called the manufacturer to discuss the application that I am going to use the battery for. They stated that there should be no problems with using the battery to power the radio they just cautioned not letting the battery go below 10.5 volts as to not damage the battery. I will post the outcome of further testing! 73 Tabb

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I did some testing this week with the Antigravity battery, looks like it should work. I get about one and a half hours out of the battery before it needs to be recharged. I made some QRP contacts this week on 17 meters running about 15 watts, you can check my logbook to see the stations worked every thing on the 25th was worked at 15 watts, and I also made some QRP to QRP contacts. I received the battery cut off switches this week also. One of them is rated to cut out at 11.7 volts dc so that is the one I will probably use. The charger works nicely to as it charges the battery back up in about 10 minutes. If I have two batteries I can be using one and charging the other at the same time. The next project will be to package it in a nice portable assembly, pictures to come! Should make a nice lightweight setup!