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I finally purchased the 1800mAh extended life battery for the Yaesu VX-8r this week. I now realize that this is probably the single most important accessory for this radio, and I should have purchased it right from the beginning. I take the HT to work with my fairly often, using to listen to music in the background from local broadcast FM stations or the local police, repeater, whatever. With the GPS disconnected and APRS modem turned off, the standard battery would only last from about 9 AM to 4 PM. With the extnded life battery, I get another 5 hours or so out of the radio, and I don't even bother disconnecting the GPS now.

The size of the 1800mAh battery isn't all that much bigger, either. Sure, it fattens the radio a little bit, but it's really not obtrusive. Here are some pics that show the size comparison of both batteries:

Standard Battery


Extended 1800mAh Battery

Nice write-up. I've been using my VX-8R quite a bit lately. Like you, I take it to work to listen to and participate in some ragchew in the morning and during lunch. The battery barely lasts a workday for me, so this is my biggest complaint in regards to the VX-8R. I may have to invest in one of those extended batteries.

The standard battery is a backup battery now too. Looks like you have about 20+ hrs of operation now. BTW, the cd-41 cradle can charge the battery without the radio attached.