This has to be one of the most unique radio-charging setups I have ever heard of. Gene KJ6BRR privately emailed me earlier this week, asking me what I thought of his setup.

He owns an FT-60R. He rarely uses it - and doesn't carry it around with him. An occasional event or drill - that's all. But he wants it 100% charged and ready to go when he DOES need it. Here's what he has done.

He built a little "charge station" shelf in the garage, and hooked up the FT-60's wall wart to the garage door opener's AC outlet. And every time the garage door is opened - four times a day - the radio received four-minute charges.

He also performs a "cycling" of his battery pack every 60 days (running the radio until it won't power on, then charging).

After a year-and-a-half of this, his voltage indication is still quite high. When he performs his "cycling," the pack seems to not have lost a bit of capacity.

He asked me for my opinion of the setup. "Wonderfully innovative ... slick ... and it WORKS for you ... " are phrases that immediately came to my mind. NOT for EVERYone - but for Gene's life with his FT-60R, he is ready to go at a moment's notice!

Clint Bradford