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9 Battery Management
Any Braille System except for the Braille Star 80 features four rechargeable NiMH round
cell batteries. If you are using the Braille Star 80, you can skip this section. The Braille
System will operate for about 20 hours with new, fully charged batteries. This maximum
run time decreases as the batteries get older. The average useful life of a battery is
approximately 2 years with constant recharging and discharging.
Batteries are subject to aging, which can be aggravated under adverse conditions. This
situation prevails if seemingly fully charged batteries operate for only a short time period
before they need to be recharged. You can do a few things to reduce this effect:
Try to always let your batteries discharge completely before recharging them again.
Always use the recharging device integrated into the Braille System.
9.1 Types of Batteries
The Braille System utilizes four batteries with the following technical specifications:
Type NiMH (nickel-metal-hydride)
Size round cell (AA)
Rated Voltage 1.2 V
Rated Capacity 2100 mAh
These batteries are regular, commercial rechargeable batteries, which can be purchased
at any appliance store or from Handy Tech. However, please make sure that you are
purchasing batteries with this exact designation. The only permissible deviation from the
above specifications is in the rated capacity. It is best to always replace all four batteries at
once. The rated capacity of the four batteries must be the same. If batteries with a different
rated capacity are used, this will falsify the battery capacity status display and may affect
the battery-powered operating duration.
It is possible to install non-rechargeable batteries of the same ratings in the Braille System
instead of the rechargeable batteries. However, it is very important that there be no
attempt to charge these batteries, i.e. the power supply cable must not be connected to
the wall outlet. This could cause the batteries to burst and destroy the recharging circuitry.
9.2 Battery Charging
The Braille System contains integrated, intelligent recharging circuitry for charging the
batteries. Recharging starts automatically when the power supply delivered with your
Braille System is connected to a wall outlet.
Recharging lasts approximately three hours if the batteries were empty. The Braille
System features electronic recognition and interpretation of the end of recharging, as well
as of the permissible discharge. This way, the batteries can neither be overcharged nor
excessively discharged. The power supply may therefore remain connected for longer
periods of time.
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