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v8.6
External Battery Module
The operating mode determines the daily time that the system will be charging a node:
•
Position 1 will set the charging time to 5 minutes per day
•
Position 2 will set the charging time to 15 minutes per day
•
Position 3 will set the charging time to 30 minutes per day
During the charging period, the Plug & Sense! node will be recharged at the maximum charging current, which
is 300 mA. The operating mode must be selected before turning on the EBM. The selector will be read just after
turning on the device and the button LED will blink accordingly to the selected mode (one blink for position
1, 2 blinks for position 2 and so on).
If the mode needs to be changed, it is necessary to turn off the EBM
first, otherwise moving the selector will not have any effect.
Moreover, it has to be taken into account that
temperature variations might induce small time drifts due to the tolerance of the internal electronic components.
Figure:
Selector on the 3 different positions
If the Plug & Sense! charging current needs to be monitored, please use the example
The current flow trough the Plug & Sense! solar panel connector will be printed on screen. Besides, take into
account that
the EBM will start the selected charging period 5 minutes after turning it on.
As can be inferred from the previous lines, the EBM battery life will be larger in position 1 than in position 3. To
estimate the battery life, consider that the maximum allowed charging current through the Plug & Sense! solar
panel connector is 300 mA (it becomes smaller when the Plug & Sense! battery is near to 100%). Moreover, take
into account that environmental conditions like temperature or the battery self-discharge may affect also to the
EBM lifetime.
