SDS100/SDS200: SD100 Battery question (I think I know th answer)

[PWScan]

My SDS100 is about 6 years old. In my early days I used it both mobile and stationary (desktop). After about a year, I went strictly desktop and kept in plugged in to the mini USB charge port. For years. I just recently tried unplugging it and of course that low battery warning came up right away and a I powered it off. So... My battery is toast. It is not swollwen and doesn't look at all damaged in any way.

Is there any way to try and recondition the battery, Or do I just chalk it up to user error and buy a new one when I want to go mobile again?


Also, I did some research here in the forum. It appears if I want to run "desktop" with it plugged in all the time, I can use the micro USB port for power and it won't charge the battery. Is this true? And if so, can I presume that it won't harm a new battery should I decide to repalce it?.

Thank you.

 

[Ubbe]

When it is powered off and you connect the mini USB, does the LED light up up as red for charging or green as if the battery is toast and doesn't have any inner resistance anymore anf goers directly to full voltage over 4 volts?

/Ubbe

 

[PWScan]

When it is powered off and you connect the mini USB, does the LED light up up as red for charging or green as if the battery is toast and doesn't have any inner resistance anymore anf goers directly to full voltage over 4 volts?

/Ubbe

Ubbe: Thanks for the reply.
Powered off, mini usb connected. LED is red. WHen powered on (and still connected to mini USB), voltage is 3.24 to 3.27. If I disconnect Mini USB, I get the "battery low" warning (recording and playbck not available" warning. It says Press E to continue. I do that and it goes balnk. No "writing to SD card message". Does this help with diagnosing?

 

[dmfalk]

First off, when turned on after plugging in, the battery does not charge unless it's set to charge while on in settings. When it's set to charge while on, it uses up a lot more energy to do both charging and powering the scanner, and operating the scanner isn't usually optimal under such circumstances.

My suggestion: let it charge while off for 6-10 hours, until the light turns green, and then see what happens. I suspect you're assuming that it's charging while plugged in when you're using the scanner. This isn't the case.

FYI, it should read 4.12V when fully charged. Once charged, it should give you 6-8+ hours of battery life until it's time to charge again. (Suggestion: if you haven't yet, get a battery charger with second battery. The $70 for the charger with battery is money well spent.)

 

[Ubbe]

Battery charging takes 500mA and running the scanner takes at most 750mA so if you have selected in the scanners menu to do charge while on it will require 1.25A from the USB source. Some cables, or power supplies, have voltage drops at that high current and the scanner could then indicate "Low bus voltage" and refuse to stay powered on and you will have to charge when you do not use the scanner and in its power off mode.

I power my scanner using its micro USB connector that only power the scanner and do not charge it. Then I have another mini USB cable that I connect when I also need to charge the battery. Using two different USB ports from a computer will give enough power to both charge and power the scanner but using only the mini USB might be too much to handle from one single USB connector.

/Ubbe

 

[PWScan]

DMFalk & Ubbe, Thanks for replying. I (think) I did what you asked. I set the scanner to charge while on and enabled it. I kept the scanner powered off overnight and took a few measurements over the course of the evening and the next morning. If I understand the system/measurements correctly, I think my battery is probably OK. I'll know more after using it not powered in for a while. Hopefully my attachments will come through.
It looks like it charged fully overnight. Green LED in the morning whne I checked it. Batt voltage is 4.27.

See attached.

Thanks for the help.

 

[PWScan]

It appears my battery is not damaged. Probably due to the setting of "charge while on" being disabled> I am pretty sure it just ran dry over the course of the past few months of being on 7/24.

My question is: What is the best way to operate my scanner (pretty much 7/24) and not damage the battery?

Continue as I have, and just shut it off every few weeks and let it recharge overnight? Or just set it to "charge while on" and forget about it?

Is the integrated charger smart enough to know the correct charging profile for the battery (type/size) and will automatically shut off or go to a "float" charge when the battery reaches its full charge so as not to damage the battery?

Thanks

 

[nessnet]

It appears my battery is not damaged. Probably due to the setting of "charge while on" being disabled> I am pretty sure it just ran dry over the course of the past few months of being on 7/24.

My question is: What is the best way to operate my scanner (pretty much 7/24) and not damage the battery?

Continue as I have, and just shut it off every few weeks and let it recharge overnight? Or just set it to "charge while on" and forget about it?

Is the integrated charger smart enough to know the correct charging profile for the battery (type/size) and will automatically shut off or go to a "float" charge when the battery reaches its full charge so as not to damage the battery?

Thanks

All LiIon batteries have to contain charging control circuitry.
If they didn't, LiIon batteries would be (are) essentially small pyrotechnic devices.

 

[PWScan]

Thank you. So this boils down to/remains:

What is the best way to operate my scanner (pretty much 7/24) and avoid damaging the battery?

Continue as I have, and just shut it off every few weeks and let it recharge overnight? Or just set it to "charge while on" and forget about it?

 

[hiegtx]

Thank you. So this boils down to/remains:

What is the best way to operate my scanner (pretty much 7/24) and avoid damaging the battery?

Continue as I have, and just shut it off every few weeks and let it recharge overnight? Or just set it to "charge while on" and forget about it?

I leave mine at "charge while on". Remember that if you connect a power source, whether from a PC's USB port, or a separate USB power adapter, and it does not have enough power to both charge the battery as well as scan, the 'charge while on' will be set as disabled. The scanner needs something between 1.5 and 2 amps of external power to both charge and scan.

 

[Ubbe]

Is the integrated charger smart enough to know the correct charging profile for the battery (type/size) and will automatically shut off or go to a "float" charge when the battery reaches its full charge so as not to damage the battery?

There's no intelligence in the charger circuit. It charges with 500mA until the voltage are sufficient, somewhere around 4.2V and then turns off charging without any float or idle current topping it off. It will self discharge and after some months it will need to be charged again.

Life cycle of a battery are counted in full charge cycles, so if you charge from 90% to 100% it will count as 1/10 of a charge cycle. If you wait until the battery is almost dead it will charge from maybe 10% up to 100% that will count as almost a full cycle. So it won't matter how you charge but repetitive 10% charges will always have your battery ready to be used and it only gets warm for a short period of time while a longer charge time let its temperature rise to values that can be more damaging.

There's no memory effect in these kind of batteries that could be seen in NiCd batteries that they "remembered" how much power they had given, from 100% to 90% and then charged again multiple times and could then drop rapidly from 90% to 10% power. These are Li-Ion cells and if you did one 10% to 100% charge then the time from the last charge you did will probably require 10 charges with a 90% to 100% charge and both ways will have used up one charge cycle of the battery life over the same time period.

When charging in the scanner the battery will have no air circulation but using the external charger will have the battery in the open where air can flow freely and cool the battery.

/Ubbe