Power Cube Battery Charger and Power Supply

From MobileRobots Research and Academic Customer Support

The PowerCube portable charger lets you charge spare batteries outside of your robot using the robot's normal charger.

On the rear of your Power Cube are 3 power input jacks. You can use up to three small 800ma chargers or one 4-amp "fast" charger to charge 3 batteries. To avoid overloading batteries, only use the 4-amp "fast" charger when 3 batteries are installed, and only use as many 800ma chargers as long as there are batteries. Don't use three 800ma chargers with only 1 or 2 batteries; don't use two 800ma chargers with only 1 battery. There should be less than 2 amps input per battery. Do not use multiple 4 amp chargers under any circumstances. Only use a 4 amp "fast" charger if there are 3 batteries in the Power Cube.

Included with your Power Cube is a battery retainer bar. It can be used to hold the batteries in place for charging or when using the unit as a power supply. There is a storage location for this retainer bar in the side of the Power Cube. When moving the unit with batteries installed the retainer bar MUST be installed on the front to retain the batteries and prevent injury from batteries falling out of the unit.

The eject handle on the front of the Power Cube is to ease removal of the batteries. Bracing the Power Cube with one hand, pull the eject handle forward to slide the batteries approximately 3 cm forward.

The ON/OFF rocker switch on the front of the Power Cube controls the AUX POWER outputs (not the charger(s) input). When switched ON with 1-3 batteries installed in the unit, the red LED will be lit. This means power is available at both the 5V and 12V outputs. The 5V aux cable comes with a 2.1mm power plug configured to power a Breezecom Access Point ethernet radio. There is also one free 5V wire pigtail for the accessory of your choice up to 1.5 amp peak power consumption. Also included is a 12V aux cable to power any 12 volt accessories you choose.