User's Manual

Lotek Biotracker Receiver User’s Manual Page 17
Receiver Use
Tracking in wet weather
You do not need to protect this receiver from the rain. The membrane keypad on the top
panel is completely waterproof, as is the battery compartment lid. All front panel
controls and connectors are sealed on the inside of the receiver box so that water can
not reach the receiver electronics. When they are not in use, the open sockets
(headphones, serial port and charger) should have covers fitted to prevent water
entering them. Spare covers are included with the receiver, and more can be supplied
on request.
If any of the open sockets get wet, please dry them out in air (or with a hair dryer) as
soon as possible.
Batteries
The empty battery symbol in the top right of the LCD indicates when the battery needs to
be recharged. When the battery is OK this symbol is NOT shown. It only appears when
the battery has about 10% of its capacity remaining. There is no ‘full battery’ symbol.
The receiver has a variety of power supply options to suit the needs of any radio-tracking
project. Apart from the external power supply, there is an internal battery which can
take a number of forms. As supplied, the receiver is fitted with a battery pack that can
be recharged from any 12V 500mA DC supply via the external power socket. This
battery pack contains four ‘A’-size Nickel Metal-Hydride (NiMH) cells built in a single
block with a re-settable ‘poly-switch’ and temperature-sensing thermistor to prevent
short-circuit damage and over-charging. It will run the receiver for about 28 hours on a
single charge, and it takes about 10 hours to charge from a completely discharged state.
When facilities for recharging are not available, the 4A battery pack can be replaced by a
holder for four AA cells. The cells used in this holder can be either primary (non-
rechargeable) or rechargeable NiCads or NiMH cells. If rechargeable AA cells are used,
they have to be taken out of the receiver for charging. As a safety feature – to prevent
accidental charging of primary cells which may explode – only the 4A battery pack
supplied with the receiver can be recharged in situ. During battery pack charging the
ambient temperature must be between 5 and 35°C. The battery pack may not charge
fully outside these temperatures.
If you are using the receiver for many hours each day, and have access to a charging
power supply (e.g. mains electricity or a car battery) we recommend that you use the
rechargeable 4A battery pack. If you do not have access to a charging supply, then you
have the choice of primary cells, or rechargeable cells that have to removed from the
receiver for replacement or recharging. The main factors to consider when deciding
whether to use primary or rechargeable cells are: 1) rechargeable cells do not last as
long as primary cells, and 2) rechargeable cells self-discharge at a high rate and thereby
lose their capacity even if not used. If the receiver is used infrequently or for only a
short period (e.g. for a few hours per week) it is better to fit primary cells. Using
rechargeable cells reduces waste.
Remove the battery if the receiver is to be stored for more than 3 months, because the
circuitry draws a very small amount of current even when switched off, and it is good
practice because of the risk of leakage from exhausted primary cells. Rechargeable
batteries that have been stored for 3 months or more should be recharged before use.
This applies even if the battery was fully charged after it was last used, because
rechargeable batteries have a high self-discharge rate.
The receiver memory is retained indefinitely even when the receiver has no battery.