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A well-performing battery is an essential part of a HAM radio Go Box that you most certainly want to have.
Did you know that most amateur setups don’t perform well mainly because they don’t have an appropriate battery to power them?
In this post, we’ve provided our top picks for the best battery for a HAM radio Go Box. We also discuss what type of battery you should buy depending on what setup you have.
Winner
This rechargeable battery performed extremely well when we tested it under different conditions. It’s pretty compact and lightweight too, which means it can easily fit into a variety of Go Box setups.
Runner Up
This is our top lead acid battery pick since it fulfills the needs of people who want to run high-current applications. Our tests found it to be extremely durable, even under harsh conditions.
Also Great
This radio is for you if you want something robust and long-lasting. We tested this product for a month and it ran throughout it on the same set of batteries. It’s also super lightweight.
Now that you know a little bit about our top picks, let’s delve deeper into their features to find the most suitable one for your HAM radio Go Box.
Best Battery for HAM Radio Go Box – Top 3 Reviews
#1: Best Overall Battery for HAM Radio Go Box – Miady 12V 6Ah Miady Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery Review
We found this Miady rechargeable battery to be incredibly impressive for a number of reasons during our testing. Firstly, it’s extremely lightweight and compact. This enables it to fit easily and integrate itself into many versatile HAM radio Go Box setups.
It’s small but very long-lasting.
According to Miady, the battery is able to sustain 2000 cycles of charging and recharging. This is leagues beyond traditional lead acid batteries that require replacing after 100 to 300 cycles.
The only drawback of this battery is that since it’s not a lead-acid battery, it won’t be suitable for high-current applications. However, its smaller and lighter form enables it to be a handy addition to many barebones and creative Go Box setups.
Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy the Miady 12V 6Ah Miady Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery
Power capabilities: As mentioned earlier, the battery is not suitable for high-current applications. However, it is easily able to power anything that works with a 6-amp current.
Portability: This aspect is definitely where this battery excels. It’s super easy to fit into your setup, no matter how compact it is. Furthermore, the low weight ensures that your HAM radio Go Box won’t be too difficult to carry around.
Lithium battery or lead acid battery: It’s a Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery that is rechargeable. The battery is extremely long-lasting and is great for most amateur Go Boxes.
Pros
- Highly reliable for low-current applications
- More environmentally-friendly
- Long-lasting and durable
- Compact and lightweight
- Decently priced
Cons
- Cannot power high-current applications
Best Overall Battery for HAM Radio Go Box
The best overall battery for a HAM radio Go Box is the Miady 12V 6Ah Miady Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery thanks to its versatility and compact size.
#2: Best Lead Acid Battery for HAM Radio Go Box – Weize 12V 12AH Sealed Lead Acid Battery Review
If you have a HAM radio Go Box that needs a lead acid battery rather than a Lithium one, then this product is definitely worth considering. Throughout our testing, we were impressed with its durability in particular.
It’s shock and heat-resistant.
Not only that but it’s weather-resistant too to ensure it can stand up to rain, snow, sleet, and sunshine.
Hence, it’s a great HAM radio battery that can survive in harsher conditions with ease. With a 12V output voltage and 12-amp rating, it performs much better with high-current applications than lighter-weight batteries.
It’s a lead acid box battery that is designed particularly for more advanced HAM radio Go Box setups.
Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy the Weize 12V 12AH Sealed Lead Acid Battery
Power capabilities: As mentioned earlier, this is a 12V 12AH sealed lead acid battery. It’s able to easily power high-current applications within most HAM radio setups.
Portability: Since it’s high-powered, it’s not lightweight at all which means that portability might be an issue. It works well with advanced HAM radios but just make sure that it doesn’t encumber your setup too much.
Lithium battery or lead acid battery: It’s a sealed lead acid battery that does not require maintenance, is leak-proof, and also, gas-free.
Pros
- Leak-proof
- Maintenance-free
- Shock and heat-resistant
- Long-lasting
- Works well with high-current applications
Cons
- Heavy and bulky
Best Lead Acid Battery for HAM Radio Go Box
The best lead acid battery for a HAM radio Go Box is the Weize 12V 12AH Sealed Lead Acid Battery thanks to its durability and high-power compatibility.
#3: Best Battery Pack for HAM Radio Go Box – TalentCell LF120A1 12V LiFePO4 Battery Pack Review
When it comes to Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, this is one of the best currently available in the market. With better specifications of 12V and 12Ah, it can easily run advanced HAM radio operations.
We stress-tested this HAM radio battery for over a month and were extremely impressed by its durability and stability. Not to mention the fact that it’s lightweight which makes it super easy to fit with HAM radios of all sizes.
It can also be recharged with a solar power charger.
This can come in extremely handy when you go on outdoor trips or camping.
Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy the TalentCell LF120A1 12V LiFePO4 Battery Pack
Power capabilities: As mentioned earlier, it’s 12V and 12Ah which means it can easily power more advanced HAM radio applications.
Portability: Even though it’s high-performing, the product itself is fairly lightweight as far as HAM radio batteries go. It doesn’t increase the overall weight of your HAM radio Go Box by too much.
Lithium battery or lead acid battery: Unlike sealed lead acid batteries, this is a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery which is much safer for the environment. Not to mention that it’s much safer for you as well.
Pros
- Rechargeable with a solar power charger
- Sturdy
- Stable output voltage
- Lightweight
- Can easily power advanced HAM radio applications
Cons
- Expensive
Best Battery Pack for HAM Radio Go Box
The best battery pack for a HAM radio Go Box is the TalentCell LF120A1 12V LiFePO4 Battery Pack thanks to its high-power compatibility and portability.
Best Battery for HAM Radio Go Box – Buyers’ Guide
Before you decide which battery to get for your HAM radio Go Box, it’s important to first assess what your particular needs are.
For example, if you’re an amateur that’s just starting out, you won’t need a high-power battery for more advanced HAM radio operations. Instead, you can get away with a cheaper HAM radio battery that operates at lower power.
Similarly, there are many other factors that you must assess and account for to find the right battery.
These factors include:
Price
As briefly mentioned above, the higher power you go for in your HAM radio battery, the higher its price will be. However, if you’re an amateur, you don’t really need to worry about spending too much. You should opt for a lower-power battery at that stage anyway.
In most cases, lead acid batteries are cheaper than Lithium batteries.
However, even though they are cheaper, they have a variety of drawbacks. Lead acid batteries are not as safe as Lithium ones. Furthermore, they also don’t last as long.
In most cases, we do recommend that you raise your budget enough to be able to afford a Lithium battery rather than a lead acid one. The only exception would be if you need a lead acid battery for specific HAM radio operations.
Power Capabilities
Depending on how advanced the HAM radio operations are in your Go Box, you’ll need to buy a battery with appropriate power. If the HAM radio operations you want to perform require 12 amps, then you’ll need a battery that is able to provide that.
Of course, as we mentioned earlier, high-powered batteries can be more expensive.
If you’re a beginner, you can get away with buying Lithium batteries that are simply able to provide enough power for 6-amp operations. In most cases, this is more than enough.
| Every Go Box has different power requirements. |
Hence, it’s very important to perform a quick assessment of all the HAM radio operations that you’ll most likely be performing. Once you have a list, you’ll have a much better idea of how much power you need.
If you intend to expand your Go Box in the future to include more advanced operations, then it can be a good idea to buy a higher-powered battery. That higher-powered battery may not serve you right now but it will come in handy once you add more advanced operations.
A little planning like this can go a long way to streamline your Go Box custom setup and can also save you money and effort.
Portability
Of course, your Go Box battery needs to be lightweight and portable. You never want the weight of the battery weighing your Go Box down since you’re the one who’ll be carrying it around.
Outdoor trips can go on for days or even weeks. You don’t want to be carrying that thing around for that long, do you?
In most cases, opt for a Go Box battery that weighs less than 10 pounds.
You can find plenty of great products within this weight range that are also high-powered.
Sometimes, you may need a battery for certain HAM radio operations that is fairly heavy and bulky. In this case, it’s a good idea to assess your HAM radio Go Box setup and streamline it to make it as light as possible.
If a heavy battery is a necessity, what’s something else that can be replaced to counteract its weight?
Lead Acid Batteries or Lithium Batteries?
Next, you must decide whether you want to opt for a lead-acid battery or a Lithium-based battery.
The rule of thumb is that unless you need a lead acid battery for particular HAM radio operations, you should always opt for a Lithium-based one. This is because, in most cases, Lithium-based batteries are almost always better than lead-acid batteries.
Here are a few reasons why:
- Lithium batteries last much longer than lead-acid ones. The former gets worn out after approximately 2000 cycles whereas the latter is done after 100 – 300 cycles.
- Lithium batteries are much more lightweight.
- Lithium batteries are much smaller in size.
- Lithium batteries have a much slower discharge rate.
Hence, always opt for a lithium-based battery system unless you have a specific reason to use a lead-acid battery.
LiPo or LiFePO4?
Once you’ve decided that you’ll opt for a Lithium-based battery, then you must decide whether you want a LiPo or LiFePO4 battery.
LiPo stands for Lithium Polymer whereas a LiFePO4 battery is a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery.
LiFePO4 (or LiFePo) batteries are usually the right choice here since they are much safer than LiPo batteries. When it comes to everything else such as performance and durability, they are pretty much the same.
Hence, always try to opt for a LiFePO4 battery over a LiPo battery.
Best Battery for HAM Radio Go Box – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are some uses for a HAM radio Go Box?
A HAM radio Go Box can be useful in a variety of situations such as harsh weather conditions and natural disasters. When power gets cut off, a HAM radio with a backup battery can often be your only source of communication with the outside world.
Furthermore, they can also be utilized on expeditions and outdoor field trips.
How long do HAM radios last on a battery backup?
Naturally, this will depend on how advanced your HAM radio operations are and how much the battery is powering it.
Depending on the configuration, your HAM radio can last as little as a few hours up to 2 – 3 days.
How do I connect my battery to my HAM radio?
Connect the first wire to the positive terminal of the battery with the help of a terminal lug. Then, connect the other end to one side of the fuse block.
Next, connect a second wire to the other side of the fuse block. The other side of this wire will connect to the positive terminal on your HAM radio.
Can I power my HAM radio with a car battery?
Yes. However, it’s not recommended and should only be done so in emergency situations.
A car battery can usually power a HAM radio for anywhere between 4 – 8 hours. However, you don’t want to deep discharge your car battery; this is something they are quite prone to. Hence, it’s a good idea to keep the HAM radio use limited to 2 to 3 hours.
If you’re interested in finding out the best car ham Radios, check out our complete guide.
What size battery does a typical HAM radio need?
Modern HAM radios operate at 13.8 volts DC. This means you can easily power them with the help of a 12V battery without employing the use of a power supply.
This is why 12V Lithium batteries have become so popular when it comes to powering HAM radios.
What is a charge controller?
A charge controller is a component that regulates the voltage and amperage provided to your HAM radio. Any excess power is sent back to your box battery to ensure it does not get overcharged.
Find out everything there is to know about radios. types of radios and more on our website.
Final Verdict
That’s it for our top product picks for the best battery for a HAM radio Go Box.
The testing lasted more than a month and the debates lasted many weeks. However, we’ve finally decided that our top pick is the Miady 12V 6Ah Miady Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery.
It’s a LiFePO4 battery which means it’s safer compared to LiPo and lead acid batteries. The battery is also available at a reasonable price compared to most LiFePO4 batteries. Furthermore, it’s highly versatile too thanks to its compact size and low weight.
What battery do you use to power your HAM radio Go Box setup? Let us know in the comments section below.
