User's Manual

17 ADL Vantage/ADL Vantage Pro/ADL Vantage 35
effects of vibration on the radio receiver board.
Antenna connector
The integrated antenna connector provides an industry standard TNC-female RF
connector that is compatible with a wide range of mobile whip antennas. Pacific Crest
also sells cables that connect the radio
to remote antennas.
Battery care
The ADL Vantage Battery/Charger kit includes a 12 V, 12-AHr, battery. The ADL Vantage
Pro Battery/ADL Vantage 35 Charger kit includes a 12 V, 35-AHr, battery. Both are deep-
cycle, deep-discharge, sealed lead-acid batteries, also known as portable power batteries.
Both batteries provide all-day operation for the respective radios and can be recharged
approximately 300 times over a period of three years if proper care is maintained.
A deep-discharge battery will last longer if it is never fully discharged during use and
always fully charged before storage. If the battery is discharged entirely, the capacity will
diminish. The ADL Vantage Pro and ADL Vantage 35 radios will maintain the transmit
power level as the battery voltage is reduced. Transmitting at a high power level for a long
period of time may cause the battery to reach the automatic shut off level before eight
hours of use and will need to be recharged.
If you use your own battery, select a deep-discharge battery with a minimum capacity
of 30 AHr. If necessary, you can use an automotive battery, but it will be damaged by
repetitive discharge/charge cycles. An automotive battery will lose capacity in just a few
cycles. Pacific Crest does not recommend this practice.
To protect the battery from over-discharge, an ADL radio will flash a low voltage warning
when the input voltage declines to 10 VDC. If the voltage continues to decline, the radio
will shut itself off at 9 VDC. At 10 VDC, the LEDs on the front of the radio will flash twice,
pause, flash twice again, pause, etc. indicating low input voltage. If a radio has shut itself
off because of low input voltage, it will automatically turn itself back on when the voltage
returns to 9 VDC or higher.
The 10 V warning and 9 V shut-off levels are the factory defaults. If you wish, you can use
ADLCONF software (Radio Link - Advanced screen) to configure other power levels. The
minimum shut off level for an ADL Vantage Pro or ADL Vantage 35 is 9 VDC and cannot
be changed. You can input a lower value for the ADL Vantage, but please be advised that
values lower than 9 V might permanently damage your battery.
Charging
The charger supplied with the radio Battery/Charger kit provides two-stage charging and
must be connected to the battery following every full day of operation to ensure good
battery life and performance. The first stage quickly charges the battery to capacity, and
the second stage trickle charges the battery to maintain a full charge. It is important
to recharge your battery every time it is used. Do not allow a battery to remain in a
discharged state any longer than necessary.
It is important to periodically charge any battery that is stored for an extended length of