Juniper Systems Allegro DOS Manual - Manual (Page 37)

Allegro DOS Owner’s Manual 37
How Battery Gauging Works for the NiMH Rechargeable Battery
The Allegro employs a circuit that watches how much charge is
added to or removed from the rechargeable battery.
For the battery gauging to work correctly on the Allegro, the
following values must be known about the NiMH battery pack:
- Charge percent
- Capacity
The battery gauging is set in the following ways:
The charge percent and capacity values are set at the factory for
the battery pack. Once you fully charge the battery pack using
the AC charging adapter (the pack is shipped in a discharged
state), the gauging is automatically set correctly. You do not need
to set it manually.
When you remove and insert a battery pack, a popup window
appears asking you to select the charge percent and capacity. The
popup window is described later in this chapter under Setting
Battery Gauging From the Battery Popup Window. Please note that if
either of these values are incorrect, the gauging is not accurate.
The battery gauging is an estimate. It works well in applications
where the Allegro is used and charged every day. When it is not used
much and goes several days between charges, the gauging may not
be as accurate in refl ecting the true charge of the battery pack. The
accumulated error can be up to 5% per day. To avoid errors, keep
the Allegro attached to the AC charging adapter when you are not
going to use it for a few days. This practice prevents the battery pack
from self-discharging. The battery stays fully charged and the battery
gauging refl ects the correct status of the battery pack.
How Battery Gauging Works When Using Alkaline Batteries
Alkaline batteries have a better slope to the voltage discharge curve
than NiMH batteries. Because of this, the voltage can be read directly
to gauge the battery charge percent.
The gauging may vary depending on the grade and brand of the
batteries being used. For best results, we recommend you use the
new types of alkaline batteries such as the Duracell Ultra
™ and
Energizer Titanium ™ . Also, temperature and loading affect alkaline
battery voltage and may cause the gauging to behave differently in
different environmental conditions.
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