Falcon Cellular - Battery Recommendations and Estimates
Table of Contents
Please see the attached spreadsheet for a calculator to determine rough estimates for battery life for the Falcon Cellular.
Battery Life, Battery Capacity and the Battery Good Flag
Please read out discussion paper on battery life and capacities for DM Devices
The Falcon Cellular has multiple power options:
- Line Power (5-16V input range)
- 3 x AA Batteries - either:
- LiFeSO2 (e.g. Energizer Ultimate Lithium)
- Lithium Thionyl Chloride (LTC)
We also recommend these batteries for the Falcon Cellular device, the comments made in the linked article also apply to the Falcon. Please note that the Falcon Pulse current table is given below.
Pulse Current
Not all LTC batteries are built the same - in general, go for SpiralType batteries. Bobbin Type batteries may not be able to supply enough peak current.
The batteries need to have a high enough rating for pulse current to meet the following peaks:
Device | Battery Type | Peak Current (approx, @3V per cell for LTCs and @1.5V for LiFeSO2) |
Falcon 4G Cat-M1/Nb-IoT | LiFeSO2 | 800mA |
Falcon 4G Cat-M1/Nb-IoT | LTC | 400mA |
Falcon 2G | LiFeSO2 | 2A |
Falcon 2G | LTC | 1A |
Note: Test your batteries, and ensure to leave some room with the specified pulse current - they do not always perform as well as the data sheet may suggest! Please also take into consideration the current draw of any peripherals/sensors that you add to the device.
GPS Fix Times:
Note the average time to GPS fix varies with the logging period - more frequent logs means that the GPS module is downloading fresh aiding data, and stays 'hot', so it will more easily acquire a subsequent fix.
In general around 60s for a 'cold' start (logging period above 2hrs) and 8-12s for a 'hot' start (logging periods below 1hr).
You can also enter your real world device data from the Device Counters saved in OEM (average this across a few devices) to get a more accurate estimate.
To get to the Device Counters, follow the Details link in OEM
The counters are at the bottom of the page:
Note
There are many factors that determine how long batteries will last, do not take this calculator as a guarantee, it is only meant as a guide.