Some time ago, on the Elecraft mailing list, someone mentioned that an outdoor supply house was selling lead-acid battery packs for $15 or $20. That sounded like a decent deal, so I bought one, and as soon as it arrived, stuck it on the shelf.
I didn’t have time to futz around with it during the maiden voyage of my KX1, but yesterday, I charged it up. Today, I built the cable to hook it up to my KX1 (ligher plug to small DC connector).
Fully charged, the output of the battery pack, which consists of two 6V, 4.5 amp/hr batteries connected in series is about 12.5 V. With this supply, the KX1 puts out 4.0W. Very cool.
The disadvantage, of course, is that the battery pack is much bulkier than the internal batteries, but it’s a tradeoff. If you don’t plan on taking the KX1 backpacking, it’s a tradeoff you might want to make, too.
In surfing around for information on the battery pack, I notice that the manufacturer is selling reconditioned units for $18. That’s a pretty good deal considering that it comes with all the accessories, including a wall charger, a car charger, and a carrying case and shoulder strap.
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