How to make DIY Li-ion 18650 Battery Packs for your Ham Radio QRP rigs

This video is about Ham Radio and how to make quick , easy and powerful battery packs for the field ham radio activities. I show three 12V battery packs comprised of various Li-ion cells of 18650 type. First battery pack is made of 3 generic Li-ion 3400 mAh cells with the integrated Protection Circuit Board (PCB) into each single cell. This allows for using a very simple battery holder in order to make a battery pack. I use this simple pack to power-up my Raspberry Pi-4 computer while outdoors. It lasts for incredible 9 hours of continuous work. I will show in my next videos how to make a DC/DC power adapter for the Pi-4.
Another power pack is based on Panasonic Li-ion 3400 mAh cells with no PCB integrated. I explain how to use the external PCB in order to guarantee the Battery Management System is in place. The max current load in this pack is limited to 4A of continuous load due to the factory specs.
The last battery pack is a real QRP Power House at 12V 5Ah capacity and the continuous discharge load of up to 20 A! The pack is made of six 2500 mAh cells all-in-all connected together like two packs of 3 cells in parallel which makes the total capacity of 5 Ah. In my next videos I will tell you more on how to best use each of these packs in the field or other portable.
All the components for these packs like battery holders, PCB, metal strips for interconnection etc. could be easily obtained via Amazon or many other trade portals. Here are some of my affilliate links (if you buy via this link, I will get a small commission at no cost for you):
18650 Battery cell spacers
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18650 Battery Holders (spring type)
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18650 PCB (3S 20A)
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Nickel strips for soldering/spot welding
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You may want to wrap the packs into a heatshrink sleeve which I didn't have one, or to put into a nice little box and equip the pack with a small LED voltmeter. Good luck! Let me know what was your experience! A propos, all what I show in this video is made by me and for me, if you do something similar you do it at your own risk! Please consider subscribing to my channel if you are up to more info on battery packs and other Ham Radio stuff! 73! Linas LY2H

[@randalltom9750]

Linas, I love your videos... I've bought an enclosed battery holder, with a BMS, with a 5.5mm 2.1mm But the battery of choice for me is the TalentCell 12v 3aH. This works great with my KX2. The KX2 will automatically draw from the source of highest voltage. The TalentCell mates perfectly with my QCX Mini(s), QDX, and QMX transceivers... I love my QCX Mini with the K6ARK CapKey mod! It's very compact and portable!

[@Linas_LY2H]

Thanks Randall! You've got a nice setup with this versatile power bank including the 5V port! 73! Linas LY2H

[@andywatts4774]

Thanks for a great video, very interesting

[@bojanrimanic6010]

Dear om tnx for this video. Very usefull. Can you please explain how do you charge this battery packs? Tnx.

[@Linas_LY2H]

Hello Bojan, thanks for watching! I charge my packs with special charger designed for Li-Ion batteries, it's made by Tenergy company and is rated for charging 3S packs ( those made of 3 18650 cells in series). It could be a charger made by any company, it's just important they were dedicated for Li-Ion packs, not for any other type. Also, the charger must produce the correct voltage for your battery pack. So, if the pack is made of 3 18650 cells in series (3S pack) its max voltage will be 12.6 V ( 3X4.2V=12.6V. 4.2V is a max voltage of 1 fully charged cell). It means, the charger must also produce 12.6 V (NOT MORE, overcharging could be dangerous for lithium batteries). Normally, the voltage should be written on the charger's case. The charging current should be 2A for these cells for normal charging. The charger should provide Constant Current and Constant Voltage (CC/CV type of charging algorithm). This is very important because it guarantees that charging will stop as soon as the battery reach its maximum voltage (12.6 V). Normally, if there is written on the charger it's designed for Li-Ion batteries, it will automatically be of the right type. As always, if you Google for "charging 18650 li-ion battery" you'll find lots of interesting reading :). Hope, this helps! 73! Linas LY2H

[@bojanrimanic6010]

@@Linas_LY2H thank you for explanation. Just one more thing. Do you use the same cable on the battery pack for charging the batteries as well as for connecting to the KX2 or is there another cable for charging it. I don’t see additional charging cable in the video and this is confusing me :)

[@Linas_LY2H]

@@bojanrimanic6010 No, there is no other cable for charging only. The original KX2's battery which comes with the radio is also of the same 3S pack type and it only has 1 cable both for charging and using. It means, you can not use the battery and to charge it at the same time in this type of packs. As in KX2, you need to disconnect the battery from the radio and connect it to the charger for charging. I think, it's related with the type of the BMS used with the pack. Frankly, I have never seen any other type of BMS then this for small 3S or 4S battery packs. But on big batteries , like my new 48V e-bike battery, there are two ports installed, one for using , one for charging. But there are many other e-bikes batteries with just one port, and you have to disconnect it from the bike for charging. So, it's an interesting topic, thanks for raising the question!

[@bojanrimanic6010]

@@Linas_LY2H Tnx Linas, everything is clear :)