Batboard

I recently acquired (came with a used radio) an Impres charger (model #WPLN4114AR) and I noticed that it is v1.20 (not like my other v3.40). There's other numbers there which I'm not sure what they are: 303 337673 and also 2291MKM01

Are there any concerns with a revision that old? (I have mostly Ni-Cad and Ni-Mh batteries). I do have one Impres battery, but I'm thinking I should be charging it on my newer v3.40 charger, though).

Also, what is the A/B switch for on the bottom of the older charger? It's no on my newer unit.

Thanks in advance for the replies!

I've heard that a certain revision under 3.40 was known to brick the battery's IMPRES abilities rendering the IMPRES features unusable. Not sure what the exact revision was. As far as the A/B switch I believe it was supposed to help reduce noise heard in the RX of a radio whilst charging. If you have a manual handy I believe it makes reference to this.

Thanks..I'll try to find one. The only manual I have is for my newer v3.40 charger. I thought that this particular charger required that the radio be switched off when charging? (unlike the XTVA charger which lets you keep the radio on).

It is my understanding that the older firmware revisions caused problems with newer batteries. Basically, newer high capacity Impres batteries for XTS series radios have a feature that prevents over-discharging the battery to protect it from premature failure. Firmwares older than 3.40 do not recognize this feature and in some cases the charger will think the battery has failed and it will not charge. If you have older NiCd or NiMH batteries with a capacity less than 2000mAh you should be fine with the older firmware.

So then this older firmware (v1.20) is perfectly OK with Ni-Cad and Ni-Mh batteries? (Motorola OEM and other) It's just the *newer* Impres batteries that aren't good for it, right?

First please take a look at this website from a reputable dealer, it explains the issues and where I am pulling some of my information from.

First, Impres technology allows special Impres batteries to be automatically maintained. This means that a battery is properly charged and kept at maximum charge without shortening the usable life of the battery. A battery's usable life is shortened by over charging after the battery is full. The Impres charger detects when the special Impres battery is full and keeps it at maximum without overcharging. The Impres charger will also run a conditioning cycle once in a while. A conditioning cycle completely discharges a battery and recharges it to full from zero. This conditioning cycle makes sure the battery is operating in tip top shape and allows a proper display of the amount of charge left in the battery. If the Impres compatible radio knows the amount of charge left it can prevent premature "chirps of death."

Any non-Impres battery charged in any version of Impres charger will charge without the benefits of the Impres technology. So any aftermarket batteries or non-Impres /\/\ batteries you may have will charge fine in any Impres charger.

The firmware is important only when dealing with Impres Motorola branded batteries. From the article, you should be able to use the 1.20 version charger with older NiCd and/or NiMH Impres batteries as long as they are less than 2000mAh. Please reference the part numbers listed in the article to see if you have an affected battery.

I hope this helps and please ask about anything that is not clear.

Affected Chargers

RLN4884B XTS/Jedi 12V DC Travel Charger

NTN9176C 12V DC Vehicular Charger

NTN1667A, NTN1668A, NTN1669A Tri-Chemistry Charger

NTN1177C, Astro Multi-Unit Chargers (NiMH Only)

NTN7209A Single-Unit Charger (NiMH Only)

Curiously enough, none of these chargers are Impres

Also, I have found that Impres batteries that have over discharged can many times be recovered by putting the battery on a legacy (non-Impres) charger and allowing it to charge the battery for 15-20 minutes. This will usually give it enough juice for the Impres charger to do its thing.