Battery Usage - GME GA9800 Instruction Manual

BATTERY USAGE

The time taken to discharge the battery pack will depend on how you use your TX6200. The
1200 mAh battery pack is powerful enough for a full days use under average conditions.
Conserving Battery Power
The TX6200 has built in power saving features to help you get the maximum amount of
time between charges from your Ni-MH battery pack. If you need to operate your TX6200
in a situation where you require maximum battery life (e.g. a remote site where there is no
convenient recharging facility nearby), the following hints can greatly reduce the amount of
power drawn from the battery pack.
Sleep Mode: The TX6200 will automatically enter the 'Sleep' mode after around 20 seconds of
inactivity (i.e. no transmission or reception).
While sleeping, it will still check for incoming signals but it will draw only about one fifth of the
power from the battery. As soon as a signal is received or any keys are pressed, the TX6200 will
wake up again. This sleep function is automatic and by itself can greatly extend the battery life
in standby mode by many hours.
Quiet Mode: If 'Quiet' mode is selected, the TX6200 will remain 'asleep' on Quiet channels
even if they are busy unless your Selcall Ident is received.
Scanning: The TX6200 draws more power from the battery when scanning than when
monitoring a single channel. This is because it must wake more often to monitor each channel
for activity. You can squeeze that extra bit of life from the battery by avoiding any unnecessary
scanning. In addition, scanning several channels increases the chance of finding a signal
thereby keeping the receiver awake and the squelch open more often.
Low Transmit Power Setting: The transmitter has both High and Low power settings. If you
are only operating over short distances, are in a reasonably high location or are close to a local
repeater, try using the LOW transmit power setting. This reduces the transmitter power from 5
Watts to 1 Watt, effectively tripling the 'talk' time available.
General: Continuously monitoring a busy channel will reduce the battery life since incoming
signals will keep the receiver awake and the squelch will stay open for longer periods of time.
This will draw much more power from the battery pack. If you are expecting to receive a Selcall
on a busy channel, program that channel for 'Quiet' operation and select the Quiet mode. The
TX6200 will then stay 'asleep' until your Selcall Ident is received.
TX6200 User Instructions Page 39