Many of us can relate to the frustration of enjoying a long ride only to discover that our device has run out of battery - no more music, conversations with co-riders, or navigation guidance. People worldwide often wonder how we calculate battery life figures and why charging your device is crucial, even when it’s not in use. What’s the deal with this, how does it function? And what is talk time? By the end of this article, you’ll clearly understand your Cardo device and its battery life.
Lithium-Ion batteries are at the heart of our devices and are incredible pieces of technology: they are also used in day-to-day electronics, like smartphones, laptops and earbuds, as well as in our products.
Lithium batteries don’t have a set expiration date, and their lifespan depends on how you charge them, use them, and store them. Over time, though, battery life is expected to naturally decrease.
There are some key topics to discuss if you want to understand how to get the most out of your battery:
Our Packtalk battery packs 850 MilliAmps (mA) of power. Like a water fountain, a battery has a fixed capacity. It’s the way we use it that makes all the difference: standby mode, music playing, DMC intercom or all of it combined. Eventually, depending on the way we use the communicator, our battery will run out.
Each hour of DMC transmission consumes about 70mA, all-inclusive. Do the math, and you’ll see why we rate our 850mA Packtalk battery at 13hrs talk time. We even tested it in the field - just to be sure.
In the same way playing music takes 55mA per hour, a phone conversation consumes 45mA per hour, and merging music replay with DMC conversation consumes a combined 85mA every hour.
A Lithium-Ion battery is the most popular means of powering modern-day consumer electronic devices - from your phone, laptop, or communicator. It’s a wonderful piece of electro-chemistry, but like anything in real-life, it isn’t perfect.
If you charge the battery under very cold conditions or try to fast charge it with a too-powerful charger it could lead, in some extreme cases, to a short-circuit of the entire battery. If you happen to like fireworks or just love to watch things burn - congratulations!
If you leave the battery discharged for a long period of time and then try to charge it at this state, again, in extreme cases, a short-circuit and a fireworks show may occur. Luckily, modern power cells are equipped with protection mechanisms to prevent this from happening.
The more charge and discharge cycles a battery undergoes, the more the capacity of the battery will go down. A normal Lithium-Ion battery should be good for many hundreds and even thousands of charging cycles. But as the saying goes, nothing lasts forever. On average, a lithium battery like the one you find in a Cardo device can experience a capacity reduction of about 20% after one year of typical usage. After a year, the degradation slows down. This percentage may vary depending on usage patterns, environmental conditions, and other factors. Gradual reduction in battery capacity over time is a natural occurrence and does not signify any defects in the battery or the device.
The good news is that you can slow down the deterioration pace considerably by following these easy-to-implement practices:
Although it’s typical for your battery’s capacity to decrease gradually, we aim to have you enjoy the best experience with our products. Should you encounter any unexpected or rapid battery degradation, please let us know by reaching out to our customer support.
