IMPRES Charger question

[SirJ]

I have a 6 bay impres charger for the XTS series radios and it says on the bottom label Ver. 2.0
Now I have inserted Li-Ion XTS2500 and XTS5000 batteries and some nicad and nimh batteries and there all working fine. I do want to grab some displays for this to get a better visual guide as to what battery is doing.
Do/Should I upgrade the firmware? My motto is If it aint broke dont fix it.

 

[NotATechGuy]

I would upgrade it (if you have the capability) to at least 3.9 (3.11 is the newest) because 2.0 is pretty old. If you are going to install displays in them you should match the firmware. I believe it says in the manual for the displays what version the charger must be. I'd have to take a look.

 

[SirJ]

I would upgrade it (if you have the capability) to at least 3.9 (3.11 is the newest) because 2.0 is pretty old. If you are going to install displays in them you should match the firmware. I believe it says in the manual for the displays what version the charger must be. I'd have to take a look.

That would be great if you could let me know on the displays. I was thinking I could build a data cable but unfortunately a special RIB box is needed. Not surprising thanks Mother M.

Is there a module I'm the charger I can remove to send out to get this upgraded or does it require the whole charger being shipped? If I can install 1 display at the bare minimum and it works I'll be more then happy.

 

[NotATechGuy]

I did not see anything about display firmware vs. charger firmware. To upgrade the firmware on Impres chargers and displays you need RLN5671A. To update the firmware in a MUC you need to take the top housing off to access the ports where you plug in the IMPRES Field Programmer. It's easier to bring the whole unit to someone who will perform the update. Taking each board out of the MUC exposes it to all kinds of problems for transport or shipping. You would need to ensure a ESD safe environment while outside of the MUC. My advise is to buy a display, plug it in, power it on and see if it works properly.

 

[mikewazowski]

There's a separate connection on the display board to upgrade it.

The "RIB" is much more than an interface box. Functions more like a SmartRIB in that it stores the charger and display firmware internally which eliminates the need for a computer once loaded.

 

[SirJ]

Can anyone confirm if the display modules you can get in the MUC will read data on a NON IMPRES battery?

 

[NotATechGuy]

Can anyone confirm if the display modules you can get in the MUC will read data on a NON IMPRES battery?

Negative. It will display "Non-Impres battery". There is no data to read since there is no impres chip.

 

[SirJ]

Negative. It will display "Non-Impres battery". There is no data to read since there is no impres chip.

Thank you for answering my question.

 

[allend]

Does anybody know if there was a difference in firmware versions from

V3.4 to V3.9 and then to the latest V3.11 ?

I can't seem to find the release notes on it.

 

[SCPD]

Don't have any off hand but I do know from version 3.4 and up you can buy the adapter tray that slides into them and charge apx impress in them.

 

[n3obl]

3.11 fixed an issue where apx radios charging with radio on would turn off battery icon i believe.

 

[Fireattack484]

This is slightly off topic, but I know I'll find the answer here. . . If you are using all Impress batteries and all Impress chargers, there is no point in having a BMS because that's the whole point of the Impress system, correct? In other words, the BMS wouldn't do anything the Impress system isn't already doing?

 

[SirJ]

This is slightly off topic, but I know I'll find the answer here. . . If you are using all Impress batteries and all Impress chargers, there is no point in having a BMS because that's the whole point of the Impress system, correct? In other words, the BMS wouldn't do anything the Impress system isn't already doing?

I'm pretty sure BMS does a little more. Impress just allows the radio to communicate with the radio etc. I could be wrong on the BMS, I don't own one have wanted one tho. Because it can show information on all battery chems.
I think the impres thing is a hack job, other commercial radios just show ur battery percentage. Atleast it would have been nice to see that with non chipped ****.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[N4KVE]

Does anybody know if there was a difference in firmware versions from

V3.4 to V3.9 and then to the latest V3.11 ?

I can't seem to find the release notes on it.

3.4 is fine for everything. 3.9 fixed a problem for people who insist on leaving their APX in the charger all day long while the radio is on. Since I don't do that, or have an APX, I leave mine at 3.4. My XTS's are fine with that.