Thursday, February 24, 2011

Motorola Battery Care & Tips

We get lots of questions asked about battery care of two-way radio batteries, Motorola put together a nice handout we will be including in future battery shipments from Wiscomm. We have also included a copy of that content below.


These battery tips will help you obtain optimized performance and a longer life cycle from your Motorola rechargeable battery.

1. Charge your new battery overnight before using it. This is referred to as INITIALIZING and will enable you to obtain maximum battery capacity.
a. Nickel Cadmium or Nickel Metal Hydride: 14-16 hours.
b. Lithium Ion/Polymer: 1 to 2 additional hours after the charger light turns green.

2. New Motorola impres batteries, when inserted into a Motorola impres charger, will indicate a calibration cycle by displaying a steady Yellow indication on the charge status indicator.  Allow this calibration process to complete by not removing the battery from the charger until it has completely charged and displays a steady green indication.

3. In order to minimize capacity loss and cycle life reduction, new, NON INITIALIZED batteries must be stored in well ventilated, cool and dry locations. Batteries stored in these conditions may be stored:
a. Nickel Cadmium up to 2 years.
b. Nickel Metal Hydride up to 18 months.
c. Lithium Ion/Polymer up to 18 months.

4. If used batteries are to be removed from service for extended periods (greater than 30 days) they should be discharged to about 50% of their capacity before storage in a cool, dry location.

5. Batteries which have been in storage for more than two months should be fully discharged and recharged.
a. Nickel Cadmium or Nickel Metal Hydride: 14-16 hours.
b. Lithium Ion/Polymer: 1 to 2 additional hours after the charger light turns green.

6. When using a Motorola rapid charger, leave the battery in the charger for an additional 1 to 2 hours after the steady green light appears. (Applies to non-impres batteries only.)

7. Do not leave your radio and fully-charged battery in the charger when not charging. Continuous charging will shorten battery life. (Do not use charger as a radio stand.)

8. Only charge a battery when it needs it. If it is not fully discharged, do not recharge it. We suggest that you carry a spare. This is the most cost effective solution for users requiring longer operating time.

9. Do not return fully charged non-impres batteries to the charger for an "extra boost." This action will significantly reduce cycle life. Repeated short cycle charging of non-impres batteries will shorten battery life. (Do not use charger as a radio stand for non-impres batteries.)

10. Stabilize batteries to room temperature (72ºF) before charging. Charging below 40ºF and above 104ºF will decrease cycle life.

These simple care instructions help protect your rechargeable batteries from extreme charging temperatures and enhance their performance and useful life.

If you have any questions on how to care or manage your battery inventory, please contact us today. We have implemented innovative programs for numerous public safety agencies.


Monday, February 14, 2011

Is your Motorola radio narrow-band ready?

We have been watching with amazement on how other dealers are scaring customers into buying new radios, and DIGITAL radios none the less to meet the upcoming January 1, 2013 deadline to be narrowband compliant.

Here is a listing of radios that are OK to narrowband:
Portables - Motorola P1225, HT1000, MT2000, MTS2000, JT1000, HT750, HT1250, EX500, EX600, XTS2500, XTS3000, XTS3500, XTS4000, XTS4250, XTS5000, CP110, CP125, CP150, CP185, CP200, PR400, PR860, MT1500.
Mobiles - Motorola M1225, Astro Spectra, CM200, CM300, PM400, CDM750, CDM1250, CDM1550, XTL1500, XTL2500, XTL5000, PM1500.

Here are some of the more popular radios that are NOT OK to narrowband:
Portables - Motorola P200, HT600, MT1000, GP300, GP350, P100, P110, SABER, SP50, HT50.
Mobiles - Motorola MaxTrac, MaraTrac, GM300, M100, M216, M208, SM50, Syntor, Spectra, Micor, Mitrek.

In a future post we will cover in plain English who this affect and who this does not affect. Please do not get yourself talked into scrapping a entire radio system for over priced digital system (the soonest a DIGITAL radio would be required is estimated at 2017, there is still substantial debate surrounding this technology).

Hopefully the above information helps, if you have any questions about your radio inventory, please do not hesitate to drop us an email or give us a call with your questions. We are happy to help, hype-free.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Wiscomm now carries Kenwood Programming Cables

We are pleased to add a line of quality aftermarket programming cables for Kenwood mobile and portable radios. We are also working to add OEM Kenwood parts and accessories as soon as April 2011. Currently we are carrying the following programming cables:


  • Kenwood AFTERMARKET Mobile / Portable Radio Programming Cable - KPG-22 / KPG-4 
  • Kenwood AFTERMARKET Mobile Radio Programming Cable - KPG-4
  • Kenwood AFTERMARKET Mobile Radio Programming Cable - KPG-4 USB
  • Kenwood AFTERMARKET Mobile Radio Programming Cable - KPG-46
  • Kenwood AFTERMARKET Mobile Radio Programming Cable - KPG-46 USB
  • Kenwood AFTERMARKET Portable Radio Programming Cable - KPG-22
  • Kenwood AFTERMARKET Portable Radio Programming Cable - KPG-22 USB
  • Kenwood AFTERMARKET Portable Radio Programming Cable - KPG-36
  • Kenwood AFTERMARKET Portable Radio Programming Cable - KPG-36 USB

Check out the entire line of Kenwood programming cables at our store - shop.Wiscomm.com