User's Manual

Chapter 2: Getting to Know the EP10
Monitoring the Battery and Maximizing Run Time
EP10 Hand-Held (Windows Embedded 6.5) User Manual 23
2.7 Monitoring the Battery and Maximizing Run Time
As Lithium-Ion batteries age, their capacity decreases gradually, and they are generally con-
sidered depleted after approximately 2 years of use (less than 60% of original capacity
remaining). Keep in mind however that heavy usage or operating the EP10 at temperature
extremes will shorten the battery life.
Lithium-Ion batteries do not require conditioning cycles and the EP10 battery system (in-
cluding chargers) requires no user interaction to maintain peak performance.
To maximize the run time of your batteries, consider the following:
• The display backlight is a large drain on the battery. Try to keep its brightness as low
as possible.
• The EP10 is ‘event’ driven – that is, when it is not in use, the EP10 reverts to sleep
mode (even when it appears to be running), saving battery power. Events include a key
press, touchscreen taps and scan triggers. Power consumption is reduced if you avoid
unnecessary events, and allow the EP10 to sleep as much as possible.
• The battery is a ‘smart battery’ with built-in intelligence.
Tapping on the Power icon under Start>Settings>System tab displays a dialog box that pro-
vides detailed information about the battery status of the battery installed in your EP10.
• When the EP10 is switched off, it goes into a low-power, suspend state but continues to
draw a small amount of power from the battery. This should not be an issue unless the
EP10 is left in suspend state for more than a week – for long-term storage, the battery
should be removed.
2.7.1 Storing Batteries
Long term battery storage is not recommended. If storage is necessary:
• Always try to use a ‘first-in first-out’ approach to minimize storage time.
• Lithium-Ion batteries age much faster at elevated temperatures. Store batteries at tem-
peratures between 0° C and 20° C.
• Always charge batteries to at least 40 to 60% before storing them. Batteries can be
damaged by an over-discharge phenomenon that occurs when an empty battery is stored
for a long period of time such that the cell voltage drops below a lower limit.
• To minimize storage degradation, recharge stored batteries to 40 to 60% every 4 or 6
months to prevent over-discharge damage.
Note: When the battery is at 50% capacity, a ‘low battery’ warning is displayed. When the
battery is at about 10% capacity, a ‘very low battery’ notification bubble appears.
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