Impres batteries and XTS radios

[shildebrandt]

I have been using Impres batteries NNTN4437B NiMH on our XTS 3000s' and 5000s'. I haven't been getting the sevice life from them that I expected. I use to take my NiCads and put them through a Cadex cycle machine every month and get 3-4 years out of them. When we switched to the Impres with our new radios, I was excited to be not manually cycling all these batteries. The guys will change out the battery in the morning and turn the radio on only when they need it. After 30 minutes of listening, it starts to beep at them.

Now, half of our radios have the battery capacity that you can read and detemine if you need to change it out. The battery can sit in the radio for 24 hours with no use.

I just sent back 13 batteries under warranty to Motorola and got 13 brand new ones. I hate to do this every 6-12 months, but it seems to be the way to have fresh batteries and not have my peers throwing beeping batteries at me all the time.

Any one have the same problems or am I doing something wrong?

[misawatech]

I just started checking into these batteries as alot of our users are complaining about abnormal battery life. The one thing I found is that these batteries must be charged, for a certain amount of time, in an Impress charger before the first use. The way I read the instructions says if you don't do this the batteries lose their Impres capability and become simple Lithium batteries.

There is a section in the 5000 tuning software to set the "chirp" time of the battery. You set your power supply for 6.9v and press the calibrate button in the software. This programs the battery's chirp threshold.

[wavetar]

There is a known issue with XTS3000 radios with older firmware giving the exact symptoms you describe. Do you know if seems to be limited to the 3000's, or are the batteries doing the same thing with the 5000's?

[shildebrandt]

Yes, they seem to be doing it with our 3000s' alot more, our 5000s' are our second radio on VHF and not used as much as our older 3000s' on 800. Can the older radios be flashed with the upgrade to keep this from happening?

[escomm]

yes, but a firmware refresh is about $75 per radio. you may want to contact your motorola rep and try to get motorola to take care of the upgrades "gratis" ... you might have to tell him you're considering aftermarket batteries if they can't step up to the plate

this assumes there is no current FSB or SRN, which there may very well be, which would make this a moot issue

[shildebrandt]

What is FSB or SRN?

I have a guy looking into getting them flashed and covered under the agreement with our dispatch center.

[RADIO43]

Also check SRN1463A....


Has to do with XTS3000's and Premature Low Battery Alerts...

[wavetar]

A quick fix to try is to cover the center pin on the battery with a piece of mylar or electrical tape. Then see how the battery acts with an XTS3000. The problem is stray capacitance on the center pin causes the 3000's to think the battery is low, even though it isn't. Covering the pin solves the issue, otherwise a firmware upgrade is needed if the radios are below 7.20.00.

By the way, SRN = Service Repair Note, FSB = Field Service Bulletin...basically release notes from Motorola confirming a common issue, usually with a fix noted as well. The SRN for your battery issue is below:

TECHNICAL INFORMATION /COMMERCIAL, GOVERNMENT & INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS SECTOR
If applicable, enter this information or note this bulletin number and subject material in the appropriate equipment instruction manuals and
make necessary schematic diagram changes. Enter this bulletin in the correct MASTER and CLASSIFIED INDICES for future reference.
Labor and/or parts warranty reference is limited to products sold and in use in the United States. For products sold
and in use Internationally, this bulletin is for informational purposes only. Radios that are Agency Approved must
follow designated agency guidelines.
SRN-ISO
This SRN supersedes SRN1463 SRN - 1463A
APC - 326, 620
August 2004
Informational Only
Distribution: Service: MOL: Two Way Portable
From: Accessories and Peripheral Solutions Team
Subject: XTS3000 PREMATURE LOW BATTERY ALERT/ DISTORTED OR NO TX AUDIO
Symptoms:
The XTS3000 units may experience premature low battery alerts and/or distorted TX audio when used with IMPRES “smart”
battery packs NNTN4435, NNTN4436, NNTN4437, HNN9031, HNN9032, and NTN9862.
Potential Problem Chargers:
All XTS3000 with firmware prior to R07.20.00 that uses the IMPRES “smart” batteries NNTN4435, NNTN4436, NNTN4437,
HNN9031, HNN9032, and NTN9862.
Cause:
This is due to stray or parasitic capacitance on the center data pin of the IMPRES battery packs. This capacitance can cause an
oscillating condition on the data pin, which can make the radio misinterpret and indecisive about what battery pack type is
connected to the radio. The radio software may revert to clamshell battery defaults, which is a higher low-battery alert
indication threshold and low-power output. Premature low-battery alert indication will be the result, even though full capacity
of the battery is available.
Also, if the parasitic oscillation frequency falls within the audio bandwidth, this may modulate the transmitted signal and will
be demodulated by the receiving unit as undesired audio noise.
Corrective Action:
Option 1 - Use of Battery Insulator kit RLN5649A. The kit includes battery contact insulators and instructions on how to
apply them to the battery center contact. Kits are available at no charge. Contact AAD @ (800)422-4210 for availability.
Option 2 - Upgrade software with enhanced Clamshell detection software (version R07.20.00 or greater). Please contact
Subscriber Support Team @ 800-927-2744 to obtain information to obtain the upgrade kit.
Informational Only. No Labor or Warranty Implied or Intended.

[jbella]

We are beginning to have the same issue with brand new XTS5Ks. All the Impres batteries were fully charged in Impres chargers and cycled a couple times before they were put in the field. At shift change, my battery read 100%, so I left it on. By 1 p.m. after transmitting maybe 3 times for a total of less than a minute I was at 50%. By 8p.m. with no additional transmitting I was down to 20% (leaving the radio on at minimal volume). My personal Astro Saber lasts a lot longer than that.

Does anyone know if humidity affects the Impres more than other types of batteries? The last 2 weeks have been extremely humid, and that coincides with our system and radios being put into service.