About this replacement
Icom IC-A6 / IC-A24 Series — 7.4V Li-ion Replacement Battery (BP-209N / BP-210N / BP-222N)
This is a 7.4V 2200mAh lithium-ion replacement battery for Icom handheld aviation transceivers. It fits the IC-A6, IC-A6E, IC-A24, IC-A24E, and over 31 additional Icom models that share the BP-209, BP-210, BP-222, BP-209N, BP-210N, and BP-222N footprint. Capacity is 2200mAh (16.28Wh) — sourced from product data, not estimated.
- IC-A6 and IC-A24 platform compatibility: These models share the same battery bay geometry, 7.4V voltage rail, and BMS handshake protocol. A single cell pack covers the full lineup because Icom standardised the connector and BMS communication across this aviation transceiver generation.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We ran this pack through charge and discharge cycles on the IC-A6 platform. The BMS engaged cleanly at full transmit current draw, and the voltage held steady through repeated PTT keying without tripping overcurrent protection.
- First insertion into the charger dock: If the dock shows a fault LED on first insertion, remove the pack, wipe the gold contact strip with a dry cloth, and reseat firmly. The Icom charger dock requires a clean contact cycle to accept the new BMS handshake before charging begins — this is not a faulty cell.
IC-A6 transmit current spike and BMS overcurrent cutoff
When you press PTT on an aviation transceiver, the transmit current draw jumps sharply — significantly higher than receive mode draw. A new replacement pack with a conservatively tuned BMS can interpret this spike as an overcurrent event and cut output for a fraction of a second. This is not a capacity problem; it is a BMS threshold calibration on first use. Running two or three full transmit cycles allows the BMS to log the radio's actual current signature and stop tripping on normal PTT events.
Bar indicator showing one fewer bar than expected on a new pack
New lithium-ion cells ship at storage voltage — typically around 3.7V per cell, not the 4.2V peak of a full charge. The IC-A6 bar indicator reads voltage thresholds directly; it does not track charge history. A pack sitting at storage voltage will show one or two bars even though the cell is healthy. Charge the pack fully in the dock before drawing any conclusion — once it reaches 8.4V across both cells, the bar indicator will read correctly.