2.
You have a 1.0A power supply which doesn't supply enough current to power both channels at their maximum
charge current. You should enter 1.0 as the power supply current in the UBA's calibration file. The setting of
the Power Supply Current radio selection box is important. If Evenly divide between channels is selected
then each channel will get up to almost 500mA charge current. If Share as required between channels is
selected then one channel can use almost the full 1A charge current and the other channel gets nothing.
Notes:
•
If you enter in power supply rating higher then what your power supply can provide then you risk damaging
your power supply.
•
If your power supply can't provide the maximum current to each channel and you have checked the Share as
required between channels radio button then you should only run one battery analysis at a time. Otherwise
one channel can have little or no current available for charging. The software isn't able to delay starting a
charging cycle on a channel until the required current is available.
•
If you are running the UBA off of two power supplies, one for the UBA's electronics and one for charging (i.e.
the UBA5-30V) then enter a negative number, i.e. -3.0 if you have a 3A power supply. The negative sign
means that the power supply is not powering the UBA's electronics and no margin need be made for that.
•
The UBA uses the peak current from each channel for sharing the power supply current. So if one channel is
on PWM charge (i.e. the charge current is pulsing) the peak current is used. This is very conservative and will
be looked into in the future.
•
If you are using the UBA exclusively for testing primary batteries then set the maximum power supply current
to 0.001 (1mA), not 0. The UBA will then never turn on the charger
5.2. Importing Results into a Spreadsheet
You can import the results file (.uba file) into a spread sheet for further analysis or graphing.
Microsoft Excel
In Microsoft Excel, select Open... (File menu). For Files of type: choose Text Files (*.prn *.txt, *.csv), type “*.uba”
into the File name: box and press Enter or click Open. Choose a results file and click Open. In the Text Import
Wizard dialog box choose Delimited, click Next and then select Comma as the delimiter. Click Finished.
A faster method is to add a “.csv” file extension after the “.uba” on the results file (i.e. My Test.uba.csv). Double click
on the file and Excel will start up and import the results file.
In the private section on our web site you’ll find a macro for Excel that imports and graphs results files automatically.
OpenOffice.org Calc
In OpenOffice.org Calc, select Open... (File menu). For Files of type choose Text CSV (*.csv, *.txt), type “*.uba into
the File name box and click Open. Now locate the file you want to import. The Text Import window will pop open.
Choose Comma for the Separator options and click OK. The UBA results file will be imported into Calc ready for
graphing.
5.3. Warnings
The negative battery inputs on both channels are connected to the ground on the PC and to the ground/earth on the
UBA power supply. Only test batteries that are floating (i.e. not connected to anything). We sell a self powered RS232
opto-isolator designed specifically for the UBA that will isolate the UBA from the PC’s ground for testing batteries that
aren’t floating (contact us for assistance).
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The UBA Let's Get Started Guide
