Hello all.

Well, I finally talked to a Customer Support Rep from Kenwood today about my
problem with the lythium ion battery pack for my THF6A, and he gave me the
answer that some of us suspected.

Specifically, you may recall that I tend to use the THF6A as a base unit,
most of the time.  I run it with a 2-amp regulated power supply.  In line
with my earlier experience with other HT's, I simply did this with the
battery pack still on the radio, thinking that no harm should be done, since
when I turn the power supply off with the rig connected, the rig shuts off
as well.

The Kenwood rep said that, although in many other cases like this, I'd be ok
with this strategy, the THF6A is the first Kenwood HT that has been designed
to charge the battery while it is connected to an external DC power source,
such as a car battery or DC power supply.

So, in short, I guess I basically cooked the battery pack while running the
unit as a base station on a long-term basis via the external power supply.

So, now that I apparently am looking at replacing my lythium ion battery
pack, my next question is where can I get one at a reasonable price.  I know
that Kenwood sells one for $79, but I have seen Maha packs for as low as
$49.95, I think.

Any help here would be appreciated.

In the meantime, I'm now running the THF6A as a base unit by putting the
empty extra battery case for double A. batteries on the unit.  This is what
the guy from Kenwood suggested.

Let's all learn from my experience--I hope it will help some folks not make
the same mistake I did.

Best 73 from Tom Behler:  KB8TYJ