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9.4
Connecting External Power
Both the Ai1BUOY and Ai1POLE may have the internal battery
disconnected, with an external 12V sealed lead-acid battery connected
instead. The Ai1 solar panel(s) will still charge the external battery
using the internal regulator, or if a larger solar panel is required, a fully
external solar-regulator-battery system must be used. It is
recommended to use an M12 connector set which providers a
waterproof termination and easy field connection/disconnection,
suitable for both the Ai1BUOY and Ai1POLE. A 16mm hole is to be
used for the M12 connector. Alternatively, a 16mm gland may be used
but then the external battery is not as easily disconnected. A 16mm
blanking plug is available if the external power is eventually removed.
Table 10 - Wiring for external battery connection
Function
M12 Color
Ai1 Terminal
Battery Positive Terminal
Brown
BAT
Battery Ground Terminal
Black
GND
To disconnect the internal battery, refer to section 20.2
” for opening the housing and
follow the steps up to pulling out the battery cable. When using external power, ensure
LOW_BATTERY_SAVER_V
and
LOW_BATTERY_SHUTDOWN_V
are configured sensibly for the battery type (i.e., Lead Acid batteries have lower
settings than typically used for Lithium batteries).
9.5
Windowed Communications
The Ai1 modem is normally always-on allowing remote connection or data updates at any time. It may also be
configured for windowed communications to save significant power. The Ai1 OS supports three power modes,
always on (100%), hourly comms windows (14% on), and daily comms windows (2% on). When enabled for hourly
communications, the Ai1 powers the modem on for 10 minutes, every hour (synchronized to start from the start of
the hour), from 4am onwards. When enabled for daily communications, the Ai1 powers the modem on for 30
minutes, once a day at noon. The modem window is controlled through three constants (which may be edited in the
program for complete custom control):
Constant
Description
Always
Hourly Daily
CELL_WINDOW_START
The start time
1440
240
720
CELL_WINDOW_DURATION
How long each window
N/A
10
30
CELL_WINDOW_FREQUENCY How frequently windows occur
N/A
60
720
Figure 33 - M12 Connector set for external battery.
