About this replacement
Icom IC-F52D / IC-F62D / IC-M85 — 7.4V Li-ion Replacement Battery (BP-290 / BP-294)
This 7.4V, 3300mAh lithium-ion battery replaces the Icom BP-290 and BP-294 packs. It fits the IC-F52D, IC-F62D, and IC-M85 two-way radios. Voltage and form factor match the OEM spec — the pack seats and locks the same way as the original.
- IC-F52D, IC-F62D, and IC-M85 compatibility: All three models share the same 7.4V rail, battery footprint, and BMS handshake protocol. One pack covers the full platform — no hardware modification needed.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We ran this pack through charge and transmit cycles on the IC-F52D. The BMS accepted the charger handshake on first insertion, held voltage under PTT load, and tripped protection correctly at the low-voltage cutoff threshold.
- First insertion contact check: If the charger dock shows a fault LED after inserting a new pack, remove the battery and wipe the gold contact strip with a dry cloth before reseating. The Icom dock requires a clean contact cycle to complete the BMS handshake before it will begin charging.
IC-F52D transmit cutout on a new BP-290 pack
New lithium-ion cells ship at storage voltage — typically 3.6–3.7V per cell, not full charge. When you key up for the first time, the transmit current spike can pull the pack voltage below the BMS overcurrent threshold before a full charge cycle has run. The radio interprets this as a fault and cuts the RF output. A full charge cycle before first use brings both cells to 4.2V each and gives the BMS enough headroom to handle the PTT current draw without tripping.
Bar indicator showing one fewer bar than expected after fitting a new pack
The IC-F52D uses a voltage-threshold bar indicator — each bar maps to a voltage band, not a calculated capacity percentage. A new pack at storage voltage sits in a lower band than a fully charged one, so the radio correctly displays fewer bars. This is not a fault with the cell. Charge the pack fully in the Icom dock until the LED goes green, then reinsert — the bar display will read at the top of the scale at 8.4V across the pack.