Pacific Crest ADL Sentry, User Manual

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18 ADL Sentry User Guide
Battery care
The ADL Sentry Battery/Charger kit includes a 12 V, 12-AHr, battery. The battery is deep-
cycle, deep-discharge, sealed lead-acid battery, also known as portable power batteries.
The battery provide all-day operation for the respective radio and can be recharged
approximately 300 times over a period of three years if proper care is maintained.
A deep-discharge battery will last longer if it is never fully discharged during use and
always fully charged before storage. If the battery is discharged entirely, the capacity will
diminish. Transmitting at a high power level for a long period of time may cause the
battery to reach the automatic shut off level before eight hours of use and will need to be
recharged.
If you use your own battery, select a deep-discharge battery with a minimum capacity
of 30 AHr. If necessary, you can use an automotive battery, but it will be damaged by
repetitive discharge/charge cycles. An automotive battery will lose capacity in just a few
cycles. Pacific Crest does not recommend this practice.
To protect the battery from over-discharge, an ADL Sentry will flash a low voltage
warning when the input voltage declines to 10 V DC. If the voltage continues to decline,
the radio will shut itself off at 9 V DC. At 10 V DC, the LEDs on the front of the radio will
flash twice, pause, flash twice again, pause, etc. indicating low input voltage. If a radio has
shut itself off because of low input voltage, it will automatically turn itself back on when
the voltage returns to 9 V DC or higher.
The 10 V warning and 9 V shut-off levels are the factory defaults. If you wish, you can use
ADLCONF software (Radio Link - Advanced screen) to configure other power levels. You
can input a lower value for the ADL Sentry, but please be advised that values lower than 9
V might permanently damage your battery.
Charging
The charger supplied with the radio Battery/Charger kit provides two-stage charging and
must be connected to the battery following every full day of operation to ensure good
battery life and performance. The first stage quickly charges the battery to capacity, and
the second stage trickle charges the battery to maintain a full charge. It is important
to recharge your battery every time it is used. Do not allow a battery to remain in a
discharged state any longer than necessary.
It is important to periodically charge any battery that is stored for an extended length of
time. Storing batteries for an extended time in a discharged state damages them and will
reduce the capacity of the battery. To recharge a user-supplied battery, select a charger
of appropriate type. A battery charge designed for use with a deep-cycle, deep-discharge,
sealed lead acid battery may damage an automotive battery. An automotive battery
charger may not fully charge a deep-cycle, deed-discharge, sealed lead acid battery. Never
recharge any battery while it is connected to a radio as it could damage the radio and/or
the battery.