XPR6580IS Batteries

[axel]

Hi all,

Are there any other batteries that will work with the 6580IS, or am I stuck paying $150 per battery for the IP67 approved batteries? I have a stinking suspicion that Motorola really didn't want any battery other than the IS batteries being used on an IS radio.

Not being someone who needs the radio to be IS, I've so far managed to "convince" a standard gen 1 trbo battery to fit on the radio and power it up. Of course it's not pretty or desirable, but considering the radio was only slightly more than free I'm not going to pay almost three times as much to get a battery that I'll never use to its full intent.

Wondering if anybody else up in Canada is running these radios and if they know of any tricks to get a cheaper battery.

Cheers all!

 

[Ice-T]

Sorry, they are the only available battery that Motorola manufactures for the IS radio. I don't know if an aftermarket manufacturer offers one.

 

[axel]

Figures. I doubt there's an aftermarket option either.

Seems like the cheapest I can find them for is $70 plus $30 shipping direct from China. Oh well.

It's surprisingly easy to make a standard XPR battery fit. Other than some exposed chassis on the top and bottom it powers on just fine and can read impres data perfectly. I've heard later firmware versions prohibit the use of non-IS batteries, so no firmware upgrades for me.

 

[medic550]

Yes do not bump the firmware if you order new. The one specific to those models is not available anymore and the new one does not like the new firmware causing alarms. I ended up using a piece of tape to cover the data contact for the battery.