MORNING STAR OBSERVATORY
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WINDCAMP 3000mah LiPo Battery and Stand

This is the 3000mah Lithium Polymer (3S) battery from WINDCAMP. It included a new battery door cover with charging port and a wall-wart charger.  It doubles the battery capacity of my FT-817 compared to the original NiMH battery, but has certain limitations: according to the instructions the radio can run from either the LiPo battery or external power, but the battery switch MUST be off when external power is connected to the radio. The battery can only be charged through the charging port in the battery cover, and NEVER from the radio's built-in charging circuit. And it should be charged using only the supplied charger unit or equivalent LiPo-capable charger.
Picture
The battery and cover install in place of the NiMH battery. The new cover is aluminum and good workmanship, although the English instructions printed on it are a little "confused". 

With the cover open the charging board is visible, mounted to the back. The wiring needs to be stuffed down in the space under the board and beside the battery to get the cover to snap closed.
Picture

WINDCAMP FT-817 Acrylic Stand

I also purchased the WINDCAMP black acrylic stand for the FT-817. It angles the display up from the table, making the FT-817 much easier to see and operate. It's a nice quality stand and has a cutout in the base specially to access the charger port and battery switch for the LiPo battery.
Picture

Picture
On the rear of the stand there is a small vertical piece of acrylic that acts as a backstop for the radio. When I added the heatsink to the rear of my FT-817 it butted against this backstop keeping the radio from sliding far enough onto the stand to allow the LiPo charger to be connected underneath.
To fix the issue, I laid a small block of wood across the piece of acylic "fin" and knocked it off with a "fine adjustment tool", otherwise known as a hammer. I reglued it to the stand in the open space between the heatsink and SO-239 connector. The glue marks where the fin was originally attached are visible to the right in the photo. Now the radio slides in as originally intended.

The "glue" is really a solvent that melts the acrylic pieces together.
Picture

Picture
After moving the backstop the charger port and battery switch are easily accessible from the bottom of the stand.

Last updated 4/29/2017
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  • Home
    • Contact
  • Astrophotography
  • Observatory
    • New Observatory
    • Lancaster Dome
    • ExploraDome
  • Equipment
    • Accessories >
      • RA Drive Corrector
    • CCD Cameras >
      • Orion Starshoot Pro
    • Mounts >
      • Orion HDX110 (EQ-8)
    • Telescopes >
      • 1956 Questar 3.5
      • Astro-Tech AT6RC
      • Celestron C-11 XLT
      • Zhumell 152mm Refractor
  • Projects
    • C11 XLT Mods
    • Dome Automation
    • Orion SSPRO Camera >
      • Disassembled Views
      • Noise Reduction Mod
      • Temp Controller Mod
    • Ultima 8 Mods
    • Zhumell Refractor Mods
  • Non-Astronomy
    • Amateur Radio >
      • Accessories >
        • Station Boom Microphone
      • Ameco >
        • Ameco AC-1
        • Ameco OCM
        • Ameco PT-2
        • Ameco R5A
      • Vintage Equipment >
        • Knight Kit T-60 Transmitter
        • Heathkit SB-102 Station
      • Yaesu FT-817 >
        • Yaesu FT-817ND
        • LDG Z-817 Autotuner
        • Windcamp LiPo Battery
    • Antique Radios >
      • Building A Radio Workbench
      • Radio Dial Neon Clock
      • Radios >
        • Boat Anchor Radios >
          • BC-348N Receiver
          • Collins 51J4 HF Receiver
          • R-392 HF Receiver
        • Echophone EC-1
        • Eltz Radione 2
        • Knight Kit Span Master II
        • Panasonic RF-5000A
        • Silvertone Model 4465
      • Test Equipment >
        • Hickok >
          • Hickok 19X RF Generator
          • Hickok 225K VTVM
          • Hickok 288X RF Generator
        • Simpson >
          • Simpson Genescope
        • Supreme Instruments >
          • Supreme Model 385 Automatic
          • Supreme Audolyzer
          • Supreme Vedolyzer
        • Military Test Equipment >
          • BC-221-AF Frequency Meter
          • LM-21 Frequency Meter
          • TS-323/UR Frequency Meter
          • TS-465 C/U Sweep Generator
          • TS-505D/U VTVM
        • Other Test Equipment >
          • Tektronix 326 O'scope
        • Radio Analyzers >
          • Rider Chanalyst
        • Tube Testers >
          • Alternating Current Sink
          • Drug Store Tester
          • Hickok 550X
          • I-177 Tube Tester
          • MX-949 Adapter
          • Precision Model 10-12
          • Supreme Model 385
          • TV-3C/U Tube Tester
    • New Homestead >
      • 2015 - 17 Getting Started
      • 2018 - Log Home Progress
      • 2019 - Finishing Up
    • Star Trek Communicator