ADC box and/or Battery Issues

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stephgorka
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Joined: Sat Aug 03, 2013 12:42 am

ADC box and/or Battery Issues

Post by stephgorka »

Hello, we were hoping someone had some info on the following issues we have been having.

Our ADC box will not stay on, despite being connected to the battery. When we initially hit the power button, the battery light turns on to indicate battery power but the power and CM range lights on the ADC box flicker for a second and then remain off. When we jiggle the connector between the battery and the ADC box, the lights will flicker but will not stay on. Something similar happens for the Optic light button- it will flicker when you jiggle the connector but will not stay on.

Another issue we notice is that both of our batteries seem to have lost charge very quickly. We took the battery off the charger (the light was green indicating it was ready and fully charged) and when we re-connected it to the charger about 1 hour later, the light was orange and has remained that way. These batteries are only a few months old, have never been fully drained, and are always kept on the charger.

Does anyone have any suggestions on fixing this issue? We have a bunch of participants scheduled this week and re-scheduling would really disrupt our study. Thanks!

Coen
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Re: ADC box and/or Battery Issues

Post by Coen »

AD-box shut-off happens because the safety circuitry detects a short-circuit. Check system with and without electrode-sets plugged in: if the system works with unplugged electrodes, then the problem is most likely (but not absolutely certain) located in the electrode set. Causes:

1) Damaged electrode connector assembly. Inspect electrode-plug for bend pins, inspect AD-box receptacle for damage. Pins can often be straightened. A damaged AD-box receptacle means that replacement of the top board is inevitable (return AD-box to BioSemi).

2) Electrode gel in electrode connector assembly. Dried-out electrode gel can cause a (nearly) invisible conductive layer between the contacts. Electrode-plugs can be cleaned with distilled water, and dried with alcohol (ethanol). AD-boxes with polluted receptacles have to be returned to BioSemi (in some case we can clean, in most cases we have to replace the top board). Never attempt to clean the AD-box receptacles yourself (it may cost you an entirely new AD-box, this is not a warranty issue !).

3) Short circuit inside the AD-box. We have never actually seen this in practice, theoretically possible but very unlikely.

Battery issue: brand new batteries will sometimes accept a residual charging current for a long time even when fully charged (charging light remains on for a long time). This behavior disappears after a few charge/discharge cycles (and charger switches to "ready" soon after a full battery is plugged in). If this behavior bothers you, then return the charger for a firmware upgrade (chargers delivered after summer 2012, marked with "firmware 2.0" on the bottom label, already have the latest firmware).

Best regards, Coen (BioSemi)

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