New TAC 1 Systems Lithium-Ion Polymer Batteries & Chargers Available For M/A-Com / Harris Radios!

Transcription

1 TAC 1 Systems is proud to introduce our new Lithium-Ion Polymer battery for the M/A-Com / Harris Jaguar, P5100, P7100, P7200 and Unity series portable radios. For many years, battery run time has been a chief complaint for this series of radios. Due to the physical size limitations of the battery, 2700mAh Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries were the highest capacity batteries available for many years. For users working extended hours, longer shifts or transmitting more than average, a second fully charged battery had often been a necessity to carry them through their day. Those days are over! Our new Lithium Ion Polymer battery utilizes 3300mAh cells to deliver extended runtime for those who need it most. TAC 1 Systems Li-Po Batteries Offer The Following Benefits Longer Run Times 94% higher capacity than Ni-Cd, 22% higher than Ni-MH. Care & Maintenance Free Unlike nickel based batteries, Li-Po batteries do not need to be fully discharged before charging and do not suffer from Memory Effect or Self Discharge and never need to be reconditioned. Redesigned Battery Case Allows For Safe Charging Li-Po batteries should only be charged in lithium compatible chargers. Our redesigned battery case will not fit into older Ni-Cd/Ni-MH chargers. Chargers Offer Forward and Backward Compatibility Our redesigned charger cup will charge our redesigned Li-Po battery as well as batteries built on the Old Style plastic housing. Non-Proprietary Design Keeps Your Options Open Some manufacturers build their Li-Po batteries and chargers to be proprietary in nature. Our batteries will charge in later model OEM chargers or other manufacturers chargers with the redesigned cup. Likewise, our Quad-Chem charger will work with batteries from all manufacturers, regardless of cell chemistry. See The Following Pages For Details Or Call Us Today To Discuss How Li-Po Can Benefit You!

2 Why Lithium-Ion Polymer? Lithium-Ion Polymer (Li-Po, Li-Poly) offers several benefits and substantial performance enhancements over nickel based (Ni-Cd, Ni-MH) and the closely related Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) cell chemistries. Here are a few of the reasons why. Higher Energy Density by Weight & Volume Li-Po cells have double the energy density of Nickel cells and 20% greater energy density than Li-Ion cells by weight and volume. Therefore, a battery utilizing Li-Po cells will have a higher capacity (mah) and outperform a Ni-Cd, Ni-MH or Li-Ion battery of the same size or weight. Li-Po Cells Do Not Suffer From Memory Effect or Self Discharge They re Maintenance Free Memory Effect and Self Discharge are 2 phenomena that occur in Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries and are the main causes of lost capacity (mah), diminished run time, shortened service life and premature failure. Memory Effect is caused by the build up crystalline structure on the cell plates. This build up reduces the surface area of the cell and causes a decrease in overall capacity. Memory occurs naturally during the charging process and is accelerated by improper charging (Not fully discharging before charging, or by overcharging). Newer, more sophisticated and generally more expensive chargers can slow but not stop or reverse this process. Slowing and reversing Memory can be accomplished by regular (Monthly or quarterly) exercising on a battery analyzer/conditioner. However, these machines are very expensive and the process of fully discharging, analyzing and conditioning batteries is very time consuming. Self Discharge is a chemical reaction that reduces the stored charge of a battery while it is not in use and affects all batteries to some degree. Non-Rechargeables are affected least and maintain their rated capacity for years. At the opposite end of the spectrum are nickel (Ni-Cd, Ni-MH) rechargeable cells. These cells will self discharge 20-30% of their stored energy in 1 month, with 15% being lost in 24 hours after being charged! To give an example if a 2700mAh, Ni-MH battery is left in the charger hours after the charge has terminated, its capacity at the time it is put into use would be 2295mAh, not 2700mAh. This can also affect batteries put to use immediately after charge termination, as the battery will Self Discharge throughout the shift in addition to the discharge demands from powering the radio. Self Discharge becomes even more of an issue when a battery already suffers from Memory Effect. If the 2700mAh battery in the above scenario is already diminished to 2300mAh from Memory, the user would be walking out the door with a 1955mAh charge. Li-Ion and Li-Po batteries on the other hand do not suffer from Memory Effect and have very low Self Discharge rates (~5% in the first month, 1-2% in the first 24 hours after charge termination). Because of this, Li-Ion and Li-Po do not need to be run all the way down before recharging and are not harmed by charging them before they are fully discharged. Also because of this, there is no need to Recondition Li-Ion or Li-Po batteries. Users with a battery analyzer can still gauge the overall capacity of these batteries, but the time consuming process of regular monthly or quarterly battery maintenance will no longer be an issue.

3 Safety Considerations It is critical to only charge Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Ion Polymer batteries in compatible chargers. All Lithium based packs (Or at least any reputable ones) are built with safety circuitry that includes a temperature fuse. If the safety circuitry is bypassed or defeated, the results may be less than desirable. On the severe end, overheated batteries experience thermal damage that begins with melting, which if not noticed and mitigated can progress into a fire or explosive venting! To prevent our Li-Po battery from being charged in an incompatible charger, we have redesigned the plastic case to make it physically impossible for the battery to fit into older, incompatible OEM drop-in chargers. Other vendors utilize the old original style plastic case in their Li-Po batteries. This creates a number of safety and financial issues. First, it means that their Li-Po batteries cannot be partially phased into a fleet without the possibility existing that the Li-Po batteries will at some point end up in an incompatible charger. Most prudent, safety minded users would not want the risk associated with that scenario. TAC 1 Systems Li-Po Batteries And Chargers Are Not Proprietary. Certain manufacturers have designed their Li-Po battery and chargers to be proprietary in nature through the use of Smart chips and unorthodox wiring schemes. When an organization buys into such a system, the manufacturer and vendor hold all the bargaining chips and can dictate price and delivery schedules while the user is left with no option but to Hurry up and wait and pay what they re told to pay as their equipment is not compatible with competitors products! In one test, we found that a certain brand of charger would Reject Li-Po batteries that did not match the brand of the charger by giving Faulty battery readings. When put into a non-proprietary charger, the battery took a full charge and powered a radio with no problems. Upon disassembly and analysis, it was found that the only Li-Po battery that would be accepted was from the same manufacturer as the charger. In a separate testing scenario, a competitors battery was found to have the functions of the 4 charge contacts assigned in a different order than what is considered to be the Standard configuration by other manufacturers. The charger that was designed to be used with this battery was also wired in a configuration to match the battery that came with it. When a number of their competitors lithium batteries, which all were wired in the Standard configuration were charged in this charger, thermal damage including burning and melting of the circuitry, char marks on the divider between the circuitry and cells and melting of the plastic case occurred within 5 minutes of the beginning of the charge cycle. The only Li-Po battery that did not suffer thermal damage was from the same manufacturer as the charger. Our investigation of this thermal damage showed that it was caused by the charger Force feeding charge current through the inappropriate contacts on all Li-Po batteries tested Except the matching brand of course. We strongly disagree with these tactics and practices and believe that user s options should never be limited to 1 vendor. Especially at the cost of safety. Making The Change The unfortunate reality regarding this particular make and model of radio is that most of the OEM chargers are not compatible with lithium batteries. With other vendors Li-Po solutions, this usually means that users must make an All or nothing purchase to upgrade their entire charging system to be compatible with lithium before issuing Li-Po batteries in any meaningful quantity. With our redesigned battery case and backward compatible chargers, users have to option of phasing in Li-Po to their radio fleet without the worry of potentially dangerous charger issues. Whether phasing in, or wholesale replacing your battery and charger system, TAC 1 Systems offers flexible pricing and terms customized to meet each specific users needs and means.

4 R LP Specifications: Part #: Fits: Replaces Rated Voltage Rated Capacity Cell Chemistry Charge Rate Internal Configuration: Warranty: R LP M/A-Com / Harris Jaguar, 700P, P5100, P7100, P7200 and Unity Series No OEM Equivalent 7.4 VDC 3300mAh Lithium-Ion Polymer (Li-Po, Li-Poly) Rapid Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) cells strap-welded together. Flexboard technology employed. Gold plated contacts. All internal components cushioned for shock/impact resistance. 24 Months for manufacture defect. 18 Months for 80% of the rated capacity and all electrical components under normal use and case damage through normal use (Broken clips etc.) Safety: To prevent use in older incompatible chargers, the R LP battery utilizes a revised plastic housing that is intended to not allow the battery to physically fit into drop-in chargers designed to charge the original style battery plastic. Current limiting circuitry and thermal protection is also utilized for use in hazardous locations. The R LP battery is manufactured to meet all criteria necessary to be used with intrinsically safe, non-incendiary devices for hazardous locations. This battery meets the criteria for intrinsically safe Class I, II, III. Division I, GP C,D,E,F,G. Non-incendiary for Class I, Division 2, Groups A, B, C, and D. Disclaimer: The R LP battery is designed to ONLY be used with Lithium Polymer (Li-Po, Li-Poly) compatible chargers. Use in a charger not specifically labeled as Lithium Polymer compatible may cause permanent and irreparable damage to the charger, radio (If attached) and battery, it s cells and/or circuitry. For your reference, the original Harris / M/A-Com chargers as of this date ARE NOT specified as Lithium Polymer compatible. Although our battery housing has been redesigned to prevent it s use in incompatible chargers, this is only a preventative measure an we make no guarantee that the battery can not be used in an incompatible charger. Great care should also be taken by the users to prevent the R LP battery from being used in an incompatible charger. As there is no OEM equivalent, Factory Mutual (Third Party Certification Firm) does not certify this or any other manufacturers Lithium Polymer (Li- Po) battery for this model radio to be intrinsically safe. The above safety statement is a self certification that the battery is manufactured to the standards set for intrinsically safe portable radio batteries.

5 TAC 1 Systems Quad-Chemistry Drop-In Chargers Non-Proprietary, Rapid Quad-Chem chargers support Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, Li-Ion and Li-Po batteries from all manufacturers. Using adaptable pods, these chargers can be configured for use with virtually all 2-way radios (new and old). Pod for M/A-Com / Harris Jaguar, 700P, P5100, P7100, P7200 and Unity series radios will accept both our new revised battery case as well as the original style plastic giving users forward and backward compatibility. Step down circuitry allows DC chargers to be safely wired directly into a vehicle's harness. DC Charger models include mounting brackets, cig plug power supply. Single slot DC model includes an adjustable Velcro strap with quick release buckle to hold radio securely in place. 110 VAC Desktop Model 12 VDC In-Vehicle Model 110 VAC Slim 6-Slot Model Standard 6-Slot Model (AC & DC versions available)