Section 3 Docking Station & PC Software Operations
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SMT-200 Operations and Technical Manual 2.00/R1
3.2.1 Battery
Charging
The Docking Station has two completely independent charging circuits. One circuit is for the spare
battery. This connects to the front of the Docking Station. The battery slides onto the mount so the
contacts mate together. The other circuit is for the battery on the SMT-200 and connects via the rear
Centronics 24 Way connector to the SMT-200 main connector. The batteries can be charged
independently or at the same time. Charging status for each battery is shown by the LEDs on the
Docking Station.
Power on
LED COLOUR
RED
ORANGE
GREEN
Charge circuit 1 (main battery)
Charge circuit 2 (spare battery)
Maximum
charge rate
Controlled
charge rate
Trickle
charge
When a battery is connected to either charging circuit the Docking Station charging circuits will asses
the battery state. If the battery is in a discharge state it will apply a full rate charge which will be
indicated by the charge LED illuminating red. This reduces the time needed to charge the battery to a
minimum. Once the battery has reached approximately 95% of its full capacity it will switch to a current
monitored mode. This state is indicated by the LED illuminating orange. Once the battery has received
a full charge the charging current is reduced to a minimum to keep the battery topped up. This state is
known as trickle charging and is indicated by the LED illuminating green. In this state the battery is
fully charged and can be removed from the Docking Station. No harm will result if the battery is left to
the Docking Station on a trickle charge indefinitely.
A fully discharged battery will take approx. 3 to 4 hours to recharge. If the battery is attached to the
SMT-200 and the SMT-200 is in use this time will increase. This is simply because part of the
available charging current is being used to drive the SMT-200 electronics.
NOTE
: Geophone testing is not recommended while connected to the docking station.
Once charged the battery should give up to 4 hours of operation in normal use before it needs to be
recharged. This depends on a number of factors. More current is consumed when a test is being
performed and excessive use of the backlight will reduce the operational time available before
recharging is required.
In normal use the SMT-200 will monitor the state of the battery and will automatically shut the unit
down if the battery voltage drops below 10.7 V. If this happens the SMT-200 battery should be
recharged as soon as possible.
If the docking station is on when the battery is connected there is a chance that the charging circuit
may need to be reset to initiate the fast charge cycle. To do this simply turn the docking station off,
wait a few moments and then turn on again.
3.2.2 PC
Interface
The other function of the Docking station is to interface the SMT-200 to a PC. To connect the
SMT-200 to the Docking Station for data downloading or recharging it is advisable to first ensure the
power is off on the docking station and SMT-200. Connect the PC to the docking station with the 9 pin
D9 to D9 connector supplied. Next connect the SMT-200 to the docking station with the Bendix to
Centronics 24 way cable supplied. Switch on the power to the docking station. If there is a battery
connected to the SMT-200 the LED on the docking station will illuminate after a short pause and
indicate the status of the battery. Start the software on the PC.
