8
West Mountain Radio
Operating Manual
The jumper selection shown would
be correct for a Gel Lead-Acid battery
that is 50AH. This is the standard
configuration for the
Epic
.
These jumpers are only checked when
the unit is powered up. It is, therefore,
recommended to only change
jumper position when everything is
disconnected.
In order to set the charging parameters, remove both jumpers and use the USB
interface on page 10.
System Checkout
When the power supply and battery are connected, and the
Epic
is driving a
radio, a quick checkout procedure should be followed:
·
Run your radio, and unplug the power supply. The radio should operate
without interruption now from the battery.
·
Plug the power supply back in, and the radio will now be powered from the
supply. If you have an ammeter on the supply it will show current.
An in-line meter, such as PWRcheck by West Mountain Radio, may be used to
measures volts, amperes, watts, ampere-hours, and watt-hours simultaneously.
Place the PWRcheck in series with the battery to get an accurate reading of the
charge current. Unplug the load from the
Epic
to measure the battery’s charging
current. Refer to the charging circuit description to verify the different states when
measuring the charging current.
Epic PWRgate Charger
The charging circuit is a smart battery charger. The charging circuit, which is
always connected to the battery, uses the power supply as the current source.
It charges the battery automatically by knowing the battery’s voltage. It also
changes charging state if the power supply goes from “off” to “on”, following
a power outage, and it also changes state if the battery voltage drops when
supplying heavy current (such as transmit). These conditions are interrelated to
provide proper charging automatically.
The charger is a safe battery charger. It supplies the rated current if the battery
is heavily discharged. Current drops in a smooth and progressively diminishing
manner as the battery nears full charge. Note, that the charger has feedback and
it cannot overcharge a 12 volt battery, provided the jumpers are set correctly.
Also, it will not charge a battery that has a dead cell.
Pb
Pb-AGM
Li
1A
5A
10A
Summary of Contents for Epic PWRgate
Page 14: ......
