Battery Life

The Track Box Passive contains 3x 4000mAh 3.7V Li-Po batteries with a total capacity of 45Wh, this offers expected battery life between 12-18 hours.

The Track Box Active contains a single 4000mAh 3.7V Li-Po battery with 15Wh capacity offering a battery life of 3-5 days when stationary or 1 day when moving.

Battery life will be reduced if transponders are continuously in range since the reader must process these chip reads and transmit them to the server. For example, if a test transponder is left in the antenna field for the whole day then you should expect shortened battery life.

Battery life can be extended by setting the box to Slow Mode, or by enabling Standby Mode.

To maintain the longevity of batteries, please do not store batteries when almost or completely empty for longer periods of time. For safety reasons, when a battery is deeply discharged (below 3V), it cannot be recharged and will need to be replaced.

Charging

Active

To charge Active Track Boxes the boxes can be stacked in a set of 10, and a charging plate is mounted to the top box which is secured by magnets. The screws in the Track Box Active allow the charge to be distributed throughout the boxes.

Charging time is 5 hours using the provided 15V power supply unit, or 10 hours if using a standard 12V power supply.

If the boxes are not all charging then check the screws are not overtightened, when overtightened they may not make contact with the box below preventing it from charging, this is most common when the O-Rings are not fitted.

Passive

The Track Box Passive uses the same connector type as Loop Boxes and supplied with the Track Box (Active), an additional splitter is provided allowing 2 Track Boxes to be charged simultaneously.

Charging time depends on the status of the reader.

Reader OFF (Standby Mode) - 6 hours

Reader ON (Reading Transponders) - 10 hours

The Track Box can only charge when the temperature is between 0°C and 40°C.

External Power Input

It is possible to connect Track Boxes to an external power supply such as 12v battery or solar panel.

When connected to an external power source the Track Box will completely use the power input before switching back to the internal battery. If using an external battery then the Track Box will stop drawing power when the input drops to 10.5V in order to protect an external PB battery.

It is also possible to connect the Track Box to a solar panel, particularly useful for permanent installations. The Track Box has a dedicated Solar Mode which is further explained in the article below.

Standby Mode

Track Boxes feature a standby mode which when enabled switches off the passive UHF reader (Transponders are NOT detected).

With the reader switched off, battery life is vastly increased offering a total standby time of up to 10 days, this also helps to reduce charging time. With standby mode enabled the energy consumption is below 1W, but the box will still charge the internal batteries which may draw more power.

Reader status is indicated by the Blue LED, when OFF the reader is switched off, when ON the reader is switched on and active.

Standby mode can be enabled in 2 ways.

Lay-Flat Standby

When a Track Box is laid flat with the antenna pointing upwards, then the reader will automatically enter standby mode. The reader will be automatically enabled when the angle is raised and will begin detecting transponders.

This mode is most useful when charging, since Track Boxes can be stacked on top of one another and charged simultaneously using the dual charger adapter, and also prevents unnecessary reading of transponders which would otherwise result in increased mobile data consumption.

This is not activated when the Track Box is laid flat with the antenna pointing down, this is to allow for applications where the Track Box is mounted overhead and angled downwards to detect transponders.

Lay-flat standby may also be useful when setting up and testing connectivity at timing points without enabling the reader yet thus preserving battery life.

Track Box Configuration Rules

Track Box configuration rules can be applied through RACE RESULT 12, these can be used to set a number of settings for Track Boxes. When standby mode is enabled in this way then the rate at which the Track Box communicates with servers is reduced, only sending periodic status updates, further reducing power consumption.

Mode

The mode can be set to standby which will turn the reader off. Note that because server communication is also reduced it may take substantially longer to return to normal operation when set in this way.

Auto-Standby

Auto standby allows standby mode to be enabled for a specific time window, the auto standby is defined as a start and end time in UTC.

This mode allows for devices to be set up in advance with the reader off to preserve battery which will then automatically enable at the configured time.

Solar Mode

Solar Mode allows a Track Box to be permanently operated in remote locations without any additional electronics. The Track Box can automatically detect when it is connected to a solar panel and will optimize the solar power output by adjusting its power consumption.

Enabling Solar Mode

Solar Mode is enabled when the input voltage rises above 17V, this remains enabled until the next reboot of the Track Box. If the panel voltage drops below 10.5V, the Track Box switches to a lower power mode which will reduce the rate of battery charging but is always sufficient to cover the power consumption of the box itself. It automatically retries to step up to a higher power mode once every 20 seconds.

Solar Mode Power Consumption / Charging

In Solar Mode, the Track Box tries to maximize the solar cell power by adjusting its input power between 10W/8W/6W/4W depending on the power received from the solar panel.

At 4W, the internal batteries will not be charged, but the power consumption of the box itself is covered. At 10W, it takes about 10h to charge the Track Box from 0% to 90% when the reader is turned on.

When in solar mode a solar panel will be indicated in the Timing Tab of RACE RESULT 12. A cloud or a sun indicates whether the panel is currently providing power, or not.

In normal solar applications with partly cloudy days, expect the battery to hover around 75%. This is due to the slower charging speed at a higher charge, once the battery is above 80% you would need several hours of perfect sun, to reach 100% battery.

Charging a Track Box that has been connected to a solar panel from mains power will take longer than usual, as the Solar Mode prevents the Track Box from exploiting the voltage. Reboot the Track Box first and then connect to a Mains Power supply to charge the Track Box.

Additional Considerations

You can connect a Solar Panel directly to a Track Box, provided your panel meets the solar cell requirements below, No additional electronics are required.
Make sure the solar panel is oriented for optimal performance. Be aware that output power suffers greatly if the panel is not fully exposed to direct sunlight (even the shade of a small branch could be enough to ruin your solar output power).
On a warm sunny day with >12h of sun, the internal batteries may allow for 24/7 operation.
For most installations, it is recommended to use AUTOSTANDBY during the night when no solar power is generated. This way you should have sufficient battery in reserve, even on overcast days.
If the battery reaches empty, the Track Box will automatically restart as soon as the Solar Cell delivers sufficient power for operation again.
When placed in direct sun on hot days the Track Box may get too hot to charge (see datasheet). In this case, it may make sense to use the Solar Panel to provide shade for the Track Box.
In Solar Mode the read rate (how often the reader looks for transponders) will be reduced by 50% if the solar power input is low AND the battery is less than 75%. If either condition is not met, the Track Box will operate with the full read rate. This feature will save battery allowing for longer battery life. This may have an impact on races with high speed or high density but will have no noticeable difference for general application.

Solar Cell Requirements:

17V nominal "12V" Panel class - see attached datasheet for more details
25V DC MAX Voltage at no load (WARNING, never apply more than 25V!)
min 10W (30W or 50W recommended)
Use Switchcraft S10KS12 power barrel connector (positive - inner tip, negative - sleeve)

We recommend the following

https://www.newpowa.com/30w-12v-monocrystalline-solar-panel/

https://www.offgridtec.com/offgridtecr-30w-mono-12v-solarpanel.html - sufficient for mostly good weather

https://www.offgridtec.com/offgridtecr-50w-mono-12v-solarpanel.html - provides better reserves for bad weather