44
PS 699
FEB 11
F
or several years now, the non-rechargeable, lithium battery, BA-5390A/U, NSN
3037, with state of charge indicators (SOCIs), have been powering a whole lot of
commo equipment.
An SOCI will let you know how much charge is left in a battery. But there’s a
critical component to this process. That component is you! You must know how to
read the SOCI to know what power you have available.
The SOCI for both these
batteries
has
a
fve-light
indicator
located
on
the
label face of the battery.
To fnd battery strength,
push the button next to the
lights and hold it down. The
lights work from a “lamp-
ramp” circuit, which means
they will slowly surface to
full green illumination.
Release the button and the lights will dim and go out. They will also dim and go
out if you hold the button down longer than seven seconds.
IF all fve lights come on and stay on when you push the button, you have at least
a 90% charge in the battery. If four lights come on, you’re looking at a 70% charge;
three lights is around 50%; two lights, 30%; and one light about 10%.
Here’s a little known Fact, but one worth knowing. When all fve lights are out, you
may have a little power left to get you over a critical hump when the equipment is
needed. However, the time of this extra power varies and is short and should not be
depended on for anything but an emergency situation.
It is also important to note that the SOCI on non-rechargeable batteries does not
measure battery life lost from sitting on a shelf and not being used. So, a battery that
has not been used may show you fve green lights, but you might not have anything
close to 90% power.
has a SOCI, but it’s very different than the ones on non-rechargeables. This battery’s
SOCI has two sections, each with fve black liquid crystal display (LCD) bars located
on the connector face–the top–of the battery.
These displays are on all the time. There is no button to push.
The LCD bars are graduated to show 100%, 80%, 60%, 40% and 20% increments
of remaining energy. Both displays are independent, and each measures the energy
remaining in one section of the battery. If one malfunctions and goes blank, don’t
worry. Chances are both sections of the battery are charged and drained at the same
rate. Just color over the bad one with magic marker and rely on the remaining display.
What’s more is that the displays are actually smart! They show the true capacity. This
means that as your BB-2590 ages, and no longer holds the same energy as when it
was new, not all bars will light up after a full charge.
Lithium Batteries…
Just How Do You Read SOCIs?
Push button to see
SOCI on BA-5590A/U
just what
does that
screen
tell us?
I think it means only
warrant officers can
use that battery?
On the bb-2590/U, check
the LCD bars to see The
STaTe of charge.
699.44-45.indd
1-2
12/20/10
3:24 PM
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