I recently purchased a Yaesu FT-65 handheld radio and quickly discovered it had no 12 VDC power port like other handheld radios I've seen. The charging cradle uses a 12 VDC wall wart for power, and the radio sits in the cradle to charge, there's no power input port on the radio itself. At least I couldn't find one. I went looking for a cable to plug the charging cradle into an automotive accessory power outlet, AKA cigarette lighter, from the manufacturer and found none. The manual makes no mention of this as an option. I contacted Yaesu using their website and didn't get a response, not yet anyway. This leads me to think that I should not attempt to make a cable to connect the charger base to an automotive accessory port, at least not without some voltage regulation.
Just how sensitive is the Yaesu FT-65 charging cradle to voltage variation from the 12 volts specified? It's typical for Amateur radio gear to be able to take in a fairly wide range, such as the 11.5 to 15 volts seen from a healthy automotive battery that's under load and while charging. I'd like to be able to charge the radio while traveling from an automotive accessory port but not damage anything while doing so.
Anyone know what voltage range the Yaesu FT-65 charging cradle will safely take? Is there a third party adapter for this that will regulate the voltage from an automotive accessory outlet to a "clean" 12 volts?