Appendix B – FAQs
Software
Can I run a life cycle test on my battery?
Yes. Change the repeat count in a BAR that cycles the battery to a large value (99,999 for example). Have the
charge or discharge actions only write to the results file every minute or so in order to reduce the size of the results file.
When the life time test is over (either by the number of cycles or the battery capacity), view the results file in the
Battery Analysis Results Viewer (File menu) and select Write Report (Results Viewer File menu). This will write a
comma separated table of capacity vs cycle number which can be loaded into your favorite spreadsheet. Note, a long
life test can take a few minutes to display. It’s best that you not view it while a battery test is running since you can
lose communications. Use a second computer, or start up a second instance of UBA Console for viewing the results
file.
How complicated can I make a Battery Analysis Routine (BAR)?
You can make a BAR as complicated as you want. We’ve even had customers make them with nested loops where
the inner loop simulated the load on their device (for example 5 seconds low load and 1 second high load for a two-
way radio) and the main loop did a life cycle test. The only limit is screen size, and you can get around that by using
routines.
Battery Testing
How do I know how many cells are in my battery pack?
In order to get the number of cells in a battery pack, divide the battery pack’s nominal voltage (usually printed on the
pack) by 3.6V for li-ion cells, 1.2V for NiCd/NiMH cells or by 2V for SLA cells.
My battery pack has four 1000mAh cells in series. What’s the pack’s capacity?
In this case, the packs capacity is 1000mAh. It would be 4000mAh had the cells been in parallel.
What’s the quickest I can test a battery?
Well you can do a Quick Test in just a few seconds which measures your battery’s internal resistance. This tells you
how bad the battery is, but not how good it is. A high internal resistance means a battery is in poor shape, a low
internal resistance gives little indication about its capacity.
If you have the time, a full battery discharge is best. This can be done in as little as 1 hour (or 30 minutes if you don’t
mind stressing your battery a bit), provided the battery is initially fully charged and the load current is within the UBAs
capabilities. Unless the battery is designed for high rates of charge and discharge, discharging or charging it in less
than one hour is not advisable as it unnecessarily stresses the battery and gives low capacity results. A full charge-
discharge cycle can take as little as three hours on a NiCd, NiMH, li-ion or li-polymer battery and as long as a day on a
SLA or gel cell battery. If you have a specific test requirement feel free to contact our technical support department for
assistance.
Can I test primary (non rechargeable) batteries with my UBA?
Sure. But you can only discharge them and the test is destructive (i.e. you can’t use the battery again, except, of
course, as a paperweight).
The UBA Let's Get Started Guide
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