Icom BP-200 Two-Way Radio Replacement Battery 9.6V 700mAh

Icom IC-A5 / IC-A23 / IC-T8 Series — 9.6V Ni-MH Replacement Battery (BP-200)

This is a 9.6V, 700mAh nickel-metal hydride replacement battery for the Icom IC-A5, IC-A23, IC-T8, and IC-T8A handheld transceivers. It replaces OEM part numbers BP-200, BP-200H, BP-200L, BP-200M, and BP-200XL. The battery fits the same physical pocket and uses the same contact layout as the original pack.

• IC-A5 and IC-A23 aviation transceiver fit: These models share the same battery bay depth, contact pitch, and BMS handshake voltage. The BP-200 form factor covers both the aviation and amateur radio variants in this lineup without adapter modifications.
• Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this pack through repeated PTT transmit bursts on the IC-A5 bench unit. The BMS held steady through the transmit current spike without triggering overcurrent cutoff, and the cell voltage recovered cleanly between keying cycles.
• First-insertion contact cycle on the Icom dock: If the charger dock shows a fault LED on first insertion, remove the battery, wipe the gold contact strip with a dry cloth, and reseat firmly. The Icom platform requires a clean contact cycle to accept the new BMS handshake before charging begins.

Why the IC-A5 drops TX power mid-transmission on a fresh BP-200

Ni-MH cells ship at storage voltage — typically 1.0–1.1V per cell, which puts a 9.6V eight-cell pack around 8.2–8.8V at rest. The IC-A5 transmit stage draws a sharp current spike the moment PTT is pressed. If the pack hasn't completed at least one full charge cycle, that spike causes a voltage sag that pushes the radio into reduced-power TX mode. This isn't a fault with the battery — it's the radio protecting its RF output stage. Run a full charge before first use to bring each cell to its proper 1.2V nominal before operating.

Bar indicator showing one fewer bar than expected after swapping in a new BP-200

The IC-A5 and IC-T8 use a simple voltage-threshold bar indicator — each bar corresponds to a voltage band, not a capacity percentage. A new pack at storage voltage reads lower than a freshly charged one, so the radio displays one or two bars even though the pack is not depleted. The fix is not a recalibration — the indicator has no fuel gauge IC to reset. Charge the battery fully, confirm the dock shows green, and the bar display will reflect the correct resting voltage above 9.4V.