ravtrack.com » Personal Locator http://ravtrack.com/GPStracking Real-Time GPS Tracking BLOG Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:29:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 ATLAS PL Personal Locator Battery Performance http://ravtrack.com/GPStracking/atlas-pl-personal-locator-battery-performance/237/ http://ravtrack.com/GPStracking/atlas-pl-personal-locator-battery-performance/237/#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:32:19 +0000 JS http://ravtrack.com/GPStracking/?p=237 The ATLAS PL Personal GPS Locator operates off of two internal Lithium-Ion battery packs. Combined, the two batteries deliver 6.8 – 8.6V to the internal radio circuitry.  As the ATLAS PL is used, the batteries discharge, the battery voltage drops, and the RF power will slightly decrease.

Below is a table showing typical RF power output verses battery life.

Time (Hrs) Cell Voltage Pack Voltage % Battery Remaining   RF Power Output TX Current
0 4.30 8.60 100%   5.0  
1 4.10 8.20 92%   4.7 2.9
2 4.00 8.00 83%   4.6  
3 3.90 7.80 75%   4.4  
4 3.85 7.70 67%   4.4  
5 3.82 7.64 58%   4.3  
6 3.80 7.60 50%   4.3  
7 3.75 7.50 42%   4.2  
8 3.70 7.40 33%   4.2  
9 3.68 7.36 25%   4.1  
10 3.65 7.30 17%   4.1  
11 3.50 7.00 8%   3.9 2.8
12 3.40 6.80 0%   3.7  

The above data is represented graphically in the following chart:

Atlas PL battery voltage chart

 

The time duration that the ATLAS PL will operate before its batteries must be recharged is dependent upon the GPS mode and the position transmission/update rate.

Below is a chart showing approximate battery life.  The Green line is if the PL is operating in GPS mode 2, 4, or 9 with the UHF radio receive enabled.   The Blue line is GPS mode 9 with the receive disabled (Transmits position only).

pl_batterylife_1

pl_batterylife_2

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