How do you know if your laptop needs a new battery?
Organizations servicing portable equipment need simplified battery testing. The difficulty of testing batteries is brought on by the proliferation of batteries, both in volume and diversity of models. With most standalone battery test equipment, servicing batteries with conventional methods is complex and time consuming. This task will only get more difficult as new battery models are added, almost weekly. New chemistries are being introduced which have different service requirements.
Manufacturers of battery test equipment are responding by introducing software packages that run on a PC. Many new systems enable operating the battery analyzers through a PC. Such products bring battery maintenance within reach of the untrained operator.
Cadex Batteryshop┢ is a system that integrates with the Cadex 7000 Series battery analyzers. Although the analyzers are stand-alone units that can think on their own, the software overrides the analyzer to adjust the settings, and stores the test results obtained from the batteries. Figure 12-2 illustrates such a battery maintenance system.
Here are examples of how a computer-assisted battery testing system can simplify operation. To service a battery with Cadex Batterystore, for example, the user selects the battery model from the database, clicks the mouse, and the analyzer is automatically configured to the correct battery parameters. Programming the analyzer by scanning the bar code identifying the battery’s model number is also possible.