About this replacement
Icom IC-80AD / IC-91AD Series — 7.4V Li-ion Replacement Battery (BP-217)
This is a 7.4V, 1900mAh (14.06Wh) lithium-ion replacement for the Icom BP-217. It fits the IC-80AD, IC-91A, IC-91AD, and IC-E80D, along with several other Icom handheld transceivers in this family. The cell dimensions match the original pack at 57.60 × 48.30 × 21.80mm, so it seats correctly in the radio body and charger dock without modification.
- IC-80AD and IC-91AD platform fit: These models share the same battery bay geometry, contact layout, and 7.4V voltage rail. The BMS handshake protocol is identical across the group, so one pack covers all of them without any firmware or connector differences to manage.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this pack through charge and discharge on IC-series hardware. The BMS responded correctly to transmit-current spikes at PTT press, and the protection circuit tripped cleanly at the expected low-voltage cutoff threshold without dropping the radio mid-cycle.
- First insertion into the charger dock: If the dock shows a fault LED on first insertion, remove the pack and wipe the gold contact strip with a dry cloth. Reseat it firmly — the Icom dock requires a clean contact cycle to complete the BMS handshake before charging begins. Storage voltage on a new cell is typically below the dock's ready-state threshold, so this step is not optional.
IC-80AD bar indicator reading lower than expected on a new BP-217
New lithium-ion cells ship at storage voltage — usually around 3.6–3.7V per cell, not full charge. The IC-80AD uses a voltage-threshold bar indicator, so a new pack at storage voltage will show one or two bars short of full. This is not a fault with the pack. Charge the battery completely in the dock before the first use and the indicator will read correctly.
Radio cuts out or drops to low TX power mid-transmission on BP-217
VHF/UHF handhelds draw a sharp current surge at PTT press — the IC-80AD can pull over 1.5A during transmit. If cell impedance is elevated, voltage sags under that load and the BMS may interpret it as an undervoltage event, cutting output power or dropping the radio entirely. A pack that behaves normally on receive but faults on transmit points to high internal impedance, not a charger issue. Check resting voltage after a full charge — it should read at or above 8.2V before suspecting the dock.