Mascot 2215 Charger Operating Instructions

Instructions for the Mascot 2215 smart Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery charger (1.5 Amps or about 25 Watts peak)

1. To charge the 15 Amp/hour 13.5 Volt Impact Televideo battery pack (model NiMH1315), just plug the 4-pin XLR end of the charger into the XLR connector on the battery & the VAC power cord into power mains, the rest is automated.
2. With Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries, there is no need to charge the battery immediately after use, as long as it hasn't been totally drained. Charging the battery no less than 12 - 24 hours before the next use, will ensure that it has maximum capacity. After charging, it is recommended to allow the battery (model NiMH1295) to cool to room temperature for several hours before using on heavy Amperage uses.
3. This "switch mode" charger will automatically work from power mains from anywhere in the world that are 90-264 VAC & 50-60 Hz. Just use the applicable power cable or adaptor plug (no transformer or switch required).
4. This is an intelligent (smart) charger with 3 automatic power level stages of charging, so it will cut off the "fast" (main or bulk) charge (10% rate or 1500 mA), when it sees that the battery is almost full & switch to the "top-off" charge (1.6% rate or 240 mA) for about 30 - 60 minutes, then switch to "trickle" charge (0.66% rate or 100 mA) indefinitely.
5. There is no harm in leaving the charger plugged into the battery for several days, as the trickle charge isn't enough to damage the battery (model NiMH1314).
6. There is no harm in leaving the charger plugged into the battery, but not into the power mains for several days, as the current leakage from the battery back into the charger is less than 1 mA, so it wouldn't seriously start to drain the battery unless it was left in this condition for over a month.
7. This intelligent (smart) charger uses two different methods to sense when the battery is almost full. It senses the -dV (negative delta Voltage drop when charged) & through a NTC-thermistor (temperature sensing device in the battery) it also senses the dT°C/dt (Temperature rise time per minute) as the battery nears it's full state & starts to heat up. Whichever one happens first, triggers the charger into switching to the "top-off" charge stage. Having two methods of determining almost full state, ensures you don't need to worry about overcharging this battery, even if you should disconnect & reconnect it part way through the charge cycle.
8. On a totally empty 15 Amp/hour battery, this Mascot 2215 charger will take up to 10:40 hours to deliver the "fast" (main or bulk) charge. If the -dV or dT°C/dt circuits haven't switched off the "fast" charge by about 11 hours, there is a safety timer built in that automatically switches to trickle charge (bypassing the "top-off" stage).
9. The charger has a 3 colored LED (yellow, orange & green) that flashes 6 different conditions (see printing on charger) which indicate what the charger is doing. When you first plug the charger into the battery, the LED will come on orange for several seconds (while it gives a short charge to the battery), then it will switch to yellow for several seconds (while it does initialization analyses of the battery condition, how many cells it has & whether it is within the proper temperature range for charging), then if everything is ok the LED will switch to orange again for the "fast" (main or bulk) charge & stay there until the battery is almost full (up to 6:20 hours) (exception is the green LED will come on for a few seconds at the 3 minute mark when -dV becomes enabled). When either -dV or dT°C/dt is detected to indicate the battery is almost full, the LED switches to green with short flashes of yellow for up to an hour (top-off charge). Once the top-off charge is complete, the LED will switch to solid green (trickle charge), indicating the battery is as full as it can be & ready for use.
10. The thermistor in the battery, will not allow the charger to charge if the battery is not within the charging temperature range of 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F). If after the analysis phase the LED goes green with short flashes of orange, the battery is outside the charging temperature range & will automatically go into charge mode when it cools or heats as required. Leave the charger connected to the battery at room temperature as it will trickle charger the battery & warm it if too cold.
11. If after the analysis phase the LED alternately flashes equally between orange & green, this indicates some kind of error with the battery, or that the battery temperature is excessively high (>60°C, or >140°F), or that the battery isn't equipped with a thermistor. To reset, unplug the power mains cord & cool the battery for several hours if hot. After cooling, plug power main back in to start charging.
12. It is ideal for longer battery life to start the charge when the internal battery has cooled to room temperature (about 25°C or 77°F or less). If you start the charge just after the battery received extended heavy duty use (which heats up the battery), or where the battery has been in a very warm environment just under 40°C (104°F), the charger will start to charge, but as it heats up the battery during charging, if the battery reaches the 60°C (140°F) temperature, the thermistor will trip the charger into error mode as a safety precaution to prevent overheating the battery. The charger LED will indicate error by flashing equally between orange & green & it will not quite completely charge the battery (skips top-off & trickle charge stages). In such error LED situation, unplug the charger for several hours & let the battery cool down to room temperature, then plug the charger back in so it may finish charging the battery. You will not be able to overheat the battery during charging (because it has both thermistor & thermostat protection), but if charging doesn't start about room temperature, you may not be able to fully charge the battery either. For the technically inclined, if you want to verify that the internal temperature of the Impact brand battery is at room temperature or less (about 25°C or 77°F or less), measure the resistance across the battery XLR pins 1 & 2 with an ohm meter (should be 10,000 ohms or higher) without the charger plugged into the battery.
13. When resetting the charge cycle, or when switching the charger to another battery, allow the charger 15 seconds without power (by unplugging power mains from the charger) so that the microprocessor can reset itself.
14. Pins 1 (negative) & pin 4 (positive) are video industry power standard. Normally pins 2 & 3 are not used, however this Mascot charger uses pin 2 & pin 1 for temperature sensing of the thermistor built in the battery. If the battery has no thermistor built in, the charger will ignore this feature as long as pin 2 is unused on the battery.
15. This charger is programmable for different charging parameters by Impact Televideo, to customize it to the battery being charged.
16. While this Mascot 2215 charger is completely sealed, it is designed for indoor use & should not be exposed to water (a waterproof version is available). The charger is double insulated & it meets stringent CE hospital environment & electrical requirements EN60601-1.

For more information call (519) 657-4505 or e-mail Doug Hembruff.

Last updated November 21/2007

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