Battery Life

The Track Box Passive contains 3x 4000mAh 3.7V Li-Po batteries with a total capacity of 45Wh, this offers expected battery life between 12-18 hours.

The Track Box Active contains a single 4000mAh 3.7V Li-Po battery with 15Wh capacity offering a battery life of 3-5 days when stationary or 1 day when moving. 

Battery life will be reduced if transponders are continuously in range since the reader must process these chip reads and transmit them to the server. For example, if a test transponder is left in the antenna field for the whole day then you should expect shortened battery life. 

Battery life can be extended by setting the box to Slow Mode, or by enabling Standby Mode.

To maintain the longevity of batteries, please do not store batteries when almost or completely empty for longer periods of time. For safety reasons, when a battery is deeply discharged (below 3V), it cannot be recharged and will need to be replaced.

Charging

Active

To charge Active Track Boxes the boxes can be stacked in a set of 10, and a charging plate is mounted to the top box which is secured by magnets. The screws in the Track Box Active allow the charge to be distributed throughout the boxes. 

Charging time is 5 hours using the provided 15V power supply unit, or 10 hours if using a standard 12V power supply. 

If the boxes are not all charging then check the screws are not overtightened, when overtightened they may not make contact with the box below preventing it from charging, this is most common when the O-Rings are not fitted. 

Passive

The Track Box Passive uses the same connector type as Loop Boxes and supplied with the Track Box (Active), an additional splitter is provided allowing 2 Track Boxes to be charged simultaneously. 

Charging time depends on the status of the reader.

Reader OFF (Standby Mode) - 6 hours

Reader ON (Reading Transponders) - 10 hours

The Track Box can only charge when the temperature is between 0°C and 40°C.

External Power Input

It is possible to connect Track Boxes to an external power supply such as a 12v battery or solar panel. 

When connected to an external power source the Track Box will completely use the power input before switching back to the internal battery. If using an external battery then the Track Box will stop drawing power when the input drops to 10.5V in order to protect an external PB battery.

It is also possible to connect the Track Box to a solar panel, particularly useful for permanent installations. The Track Box has a dedicated Solar Mode which is further explained in the article below.