green shell too, which produces a tri-tone camo. After tests the paint was found to be quite
resilient to damage. Thanks to Nuno for the tests and the following photos:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UV-3R/photos/album/297298078/pic/list
Is there a replacement type for the battery?
The battery pack is a standard NP60 type which is used in many digital cameras of Sony, Nikon
and Ricoh. NP60 is available from many spare part dealers but check the indicated capacity
before purchasing. The stock pack has 1550 mAh (18 menu version) capacity. Note that the
Casio NP60 battery is not the same type....
How long does it take to charge the battery?
Allow between four and five hours. The LED on the charger will change from red to green when
the battery is fully charged. You can disconnect the charger before the battery is fully charged
and use the rig without detriment to the battery. However, the first charge must be a full one.
Battery care and charging
There is a charging controller chip inside the radio but if you charge a battery in the base
there is no controller and it then relies solely on the safety chip in the battery. The wall power
adapters with color changing LEDs (green/red) sense current flow and change colors when
the internal battery safety chip shuts down and do not actually have a charge controller. Some
cheap replacement batteries may not have this chip. Some users have installed a MAX1811
charge control IC in the charging base. See the picture section and search the messages for
MAX1811. In Europe maybe it’s cheaper to use MCP73831.
The battery used is a Li-ion type.
For longevity of this type of battery it should be recharged
when the battery level has fallen to just one third full i.e. one little bar left in the battery
icon
. Li-ion batteries do not like being fully discharged before charging and their lifespan will be
reduced. Also, they do not like being left in a fully charged state in hot conditions. See Battery
University for full details.
ANTENNA
What is the antenna connector type?
The UV-3R mounts a SMA-Female antenna connector, therefore you need to buy SMA-Male
terminated antennas. You may also get BNC(f)-to-SMA(m) adapters to use your existing whips
UV-3R FAQ v. 2012-01-27
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