Heads up from Sparky, the radio guy

Don Taylor says:

After getting information that the radio in Blanik 809S was weak, I checked it out yesterday, and indeed we have a problem. The radio transmits a satisfactory carrier, but the audio is very weak. These Terra radios are old and not repairable due to the unavailability of parts. I am looking into replacement options, but it could take several weeks before we have something new installed. In the meantime, I'd recommend that instructors and/or students and private pilots take along a handheld radio to use.
On another note, when I went out to the hangar yesterday to work on the radio, I was surprised to find the ground station battery to be charging on the glider radio battery charging shelf. This probably occurred at the end of soaring on Sunday April 10. Unlike the glider batteries, which are 14 volt sealed lead acid batteries, the ground station battery is a 12 volt wet cell. The charging voltage and cycle is completely incompatible with the glider battery charger. THE GROUND STATION BATTERY MUST BE CHARGED ON AUTO/MOTORCYCLE BATTERY CHARGER ON TOP OF THE WORKBENCH. I checked the systems and I don't think any damage was done, but we could have ruined either the battery or the charger. CREW CHIEFS, PLEASE CHECK HOW THE BATTERIES ARE REPLACED ON THE CHARGERS AT THE END OF THE DAY.
One possible explanation for the snafu could have been that the groundstation battery charger was almost hidden under a private pilot battery charger and battery that was sitting on top of it. And there was all kinds of junk sitting in front of the charger, making it almost obscured. I set the private battery charger to the side.
Haveaniceday.