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Depending on the model of radio up to three different types of battery chemistry are now available to provide the most effective solution. Each has been designed to optimise a different set of the important parameters; size, weight and service life.

These are:

• Lithium Ion (Lilon)
  
  
• Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH)
  
  
• Nickel Cadmium (NiCd)

In order to ensure that these battery types, each based upon a different chemical technology, are correctly and safely charged and function properly, the Professional Series batteries contain a small Integrated Circuit that identifies its key parameters to the radio and to the charger.

Lithium Ion (Lilon)

These batteries utilise the most modern chemistry and provide the highest power at the lowest weight and contain a built in protection circuit. However, these batteries are not recommended for use at the extremes of temperature due to a marked increase in capacity.

For safety reasons these batteries must be charged in a 'smart' charger designed for the specific cell characteristics. All Motorola Professional , Compact and Commercial Series radios are suitable for the Lilon batteries.

Advantages

• Lightest weight of all batteries
• State of the art chemistry
• No memory effect
• Highest potential number of charge discharge cycles

Disadvantages

• Longer charge times

Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH)

More recent technology which operates similar to and provides the same capacity as Nickel Cadmium batteries in a low weight package.

Advantages

• Lighter weight than comparable Nickel Cadmium batteries
• Less prone to the memory effect than Nickel Cadmium
• Fewer toxic metals used - environmentally friendly

Disadvantages

• Self discharges at approximately 30% per month when stored. Nickel Metal Hydride will not operate at as low temperatures as Nickel Cadmium.

Nickel Cadmium (NiCd)

This well proven chemistry provides the best performance at extreme temperatures but suffers from memory effect and provides the lowest power to weight ratio.

Advantages

• High number of charge discharge cycles
• Good performance at low temperatures
• Easy to recharge after prolonged storage
• Capable of sustained high rate of charge and discharge

Disadvantages

• Memory effect will develop if battery is not fully discharged at each cycle
• Battery does not perform well if it is left sitting in the charger and is only used for brief periods of time
• Must be recycled by manufacturer safely since Cadmium is toxic.

Selecting the Right Battery

The selection of the correct battery for a particular application will depend on many factors. A typical procedure for battery selection is shown below:

• Identify how many hours of operation are required
• Identify if the product will be operated in an intrinsic safe environment
• Identify the required operating temperature range. For example, inside all day in an air conditioned office, inside a food freezing plant, work in a coal mine
• Having chosen the required performance, select the most appropriate radio battery combination
• For most effective radio performance use only genuine manufacturer branded batteries

Battery Chargers

Rapid, tri-chemistry battery chargers have been developed with a distinctive new appearance in single and six unit versions. These "intelligent" chargers are able to detect the battery type and the amount of charge left in the battery which ensures batteries are charged for exactly the right time.

Additional charging indications provide meaningful information about the status of the charging. In order to minimise the costs of changing to the new professional series radios, there is a replacement single unit "charger pocket" available to upgrade existing GP900 and GP300 chargers that use the listed power supply units:

Benefits

• One tri-chemistry charger can be used for every battery in the product range, a Cost effective solution
• Rapid charging times allow more batteries to be charged during a work-shift.
• Easy to use - batteries cannot be inadvertently put into the "wrong" charger
• Easy to use - indications provide useful information.

Motorola GP340 Battery Specifications

Memory Effect

Continually not fully discharging a battery causes an accumulation of very tiny gas bubbles and the formation of irregular shaped crystals which adhere to the cell plates.

These irregular shaped crystals drain the battery of its true capacity capability. The result is the battery will only charge to the level at which it was last discharged. For example, a person over many months routinely uses 70% of the battery capacity.

In a Nickel Cadmium battery that originally had a run time of 8 hours the run time could be reduced to only 5.6 hours after memory effect had set in. To avoid the memory effect, use all of the available battery capacity completely.

Note : Nickel Metal Hydride batteries are less prone to memory effect and Lithium Ion batteries do not exhibit this effect at all