So I’m buying an icom I m24 without a battery. Can I just use an auto adapter to use it? Do I need to buy a battery to have that installed for it to work?
Hope that question makes sense…
It’s a vhf marine radio ht
Your question makes perfect sense, but the answer is not clear. Most 12v adapters are chargers, meaning they will not power the radio on their own. What you would need is called a battery eliminator, which takes the place of a battery. Unfortunately, due to the internal battery used on the M24, they don’t make a battery eliminator for it.
You can test it by plugging in a charger to the top port and see if the radio turns on. The problem is that even if it turns on, it may not transmit because a charger is designed for a slow low-amp charge and two way radios need momentary high amperage when transmitting. Plus, you would lose the waterproofing capabilities.
Unless some one else tests it and tells me I am wrong, I would say no. On the other hand, replacement batteries are cheap and plentiful for that radio. I have one myself (but is stored away for the winter.)
Thanks for your help! So I guess I will buy a car adapter/charger for it first and see if it turns on it, (just want it to use mobile after all)
Then move to a battery after that if it doesn’t work…