TM 11-5820-890-10-3
CHECKING AND SETTING LIFE CONDITION OF PRIMARY BATTERY
Manpack and dismount radios. These are battery powered radios. A ’Battery Life Indicator" gives you an estimate of
remaining life, and a clocktype chart makes it easy for you to determine at any time how much of the normal 20 hours of
battery life has been used. For combat and critical missions, when having to stop to change the battery could be a serious
problem, you should replace your battery when the indicator reads " 11" or higher. This means you are throwing out a
battery with some remaining life, but that is expected in critical situations. For training, it is necessary to conserve
resources, and the battery should be used until it is drained of power.
It is particularly important that you record battery condition when you are taking your radio out of operation and entering
battery condition when placing your radio into operation. In a training situation, the ’ Battery Life Indicator" helps you
predict when your battery will be drained and a replacement required.
a.
Check battery life condition: Set FCTN to SQ ON; then press BATT.
b.
Write down battery life condition shown on display. Under normal circumstances, the battery may be used for up to
20 operating hours (remember RT duty cycle is 9:1). To determine remaining hours of battery life, refer to the table on
page 231. Replace the battery as soon as possible if the display shows 11 or higher. Display will show "00" when any
battery is installed or RT FCTN had been set to STW .
If you must change or remove battery, perform steps b (1) and b (2). If you wish to set battery life condition, go on to step
c.
(1) Set FCTN to OFF ; then remove battery. Log battery life condition displayed in step b on battery if it is to be kept
for future use.
(2) Replace battery. Perform battery and battery box procedure; then go on to step c to set battery life condition.
c.
Log the number displayed in step b on the battery tag or decal.
d.
Press CLR (display shows two lines).
e.
Press number buttons (enter number on tag or decal). This must be a two-number entry (00 10). Display shows the
number you entered.
f.
Press Sto/ENT (display blinks and shows the number stored).
g.
Set FCTN to SQ ON.
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