Instructions for Smart Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) Battery Belt

Model NiMH1295 12 Volt (114 Watt/hour) & Charger

By Impact Televideo

Maximum battery output capacity is best achieved if charging occurred, or was topped up, within a day before use (allow several hours for the battery to cool after charging if used for heavy Amperage applications).

There is no need to charge this battery immediately after use, as long as it isn't totally drained (charge within a day before next use).

Disconnect battery from the equipment it is powering, when Voltage drops below 10 Volts or light starts to dim significantly. Most video equipment cuts itself off before that anyway (10.5 to 11.5 Volts), but some equipment does not have auto cut-off circuitry (such as lights). If you drain this battery well below 10 Volts, you could cause damage to the batteries by reversing the polarity of some cells & thereafter you will get reduced Voltage & less life from this battery.

Use only the Mascot 2415 (3 Amp), or 2215 (1.5 Amp), or 2515 (1.5 Amp DC) NiMH chargers sold, wired & smart programmed specifically for this battery. In any case, never use a smart NiMH charger higher than 5 Amps & never use a charger intended for a different battery chemistry such as Lead Acid, Ni-Cad, or Lithium. Use of an improper charger could result in battery damage or reduced output & lifespan.

This battery has a thermistor (temperature sensing device) built in, which interfaces with the Mascot 2415, 2215 & 2515 chargers sold by Impact Televideo, that tells it when charging is complete. It also tells the charger if the battery is outside the normal charging range of 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F) & prevents charging if battery is not in this range (charger LED will be green with short flashes of orange).

There is a safety thermostat built in the battery that opens the circuit if battery temperature gets excessive. It will automatically reset once the battery has cooled sufficiently.

There is a 13 Amp polyswitch built inside the battery, which acts like a self resetting circuit breaker (once the short or overload has been removed). Design is for peak loads up to 156 Watts.

This is a nominal 12 Volt battery (10 cells) which is ideally suited for 12 Volt DC incandescent lights and most pro & semi-pro video applications.

Ideal maximum power draw should be limited to about 6 Amps (72 Watts) on a continuous basis, but peak draws of up to 13 Amps (156 Watts) can be allowed for a couple minutes. Capacity of 114 Watt/hours is based on a 23 Watt draw rate for 5 hours. Higher Wattage draw rates than this will diminish Watt/hour capacity, as well as draw down the Voltage level to unacceptable levels for some equipment. For example, a 100 Watt 12 Volt DC light running constantly, may drop under 12 Volts after 10 minutes, but should last up to 57 minutes total before it drops below 11 Volts on a new, fully charged & formed battery. To get maximum capacity if battery hasn't been used for several months, exercise it once or twice by draining it (not below 10 Volts) & recharge.

There is one 4-pin XLR in-line professional connector which can be used for powering equipment, or for charging with Mascot chargers 2415 (3 Amp), or 2215 (1.5 Amp), or 2515 (1.5 Amp DC). Pins 1 (negative) & pin 4 (positive) are video industry power standard. Normally pins 2 & 3 are not used, however the Mascot charger & this battery (model NiMH1295), uses pin 2 & pin 1 for temperature sensing.

This battery is optimized to discharge in the range of -10°C to 40°C (20°F to 104°F). It is possible to use the battery outside this range, but capacities will be diminished. If using the battery for a continuous heavy load (70 Watts or more), it is desirable to start using the battery at a lower temperature than the maximum 40°C (104°F) allowed, to leave head room for the battery to heat up without tripping the thermostat. If possible, let the battery cool to room temperature for several hours after charging is complete.

Recommended storage temperatures are between 5°C to 25°C (41°F to 77°F).

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 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.

The battery is attached to a belt with a quick snap connector, but you can also use it on most ordinary belts. Take care not to drop the battery when undoing the belt.

After the "fast" (main or bulk) charge (31.5% charge rate, which won't be longer than 3:10 hours using a Mascot 2415 charger on a totally drained battery), the charger will automatically switch when almost full to "top-off" charge (4.4% charge rate) for about 30 minutes & then to "trickle" charge (1.04% charge rate) indefinitely. 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 NiMH1295).

No need to worry about memory problems, NiMH battery chemistry has almost no memory retention at all.

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Last updated August 22/2007

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