The Yabby Edge has in-built battery monitoring capabilities. It is critical to any application that:
- The batteries last long enough so that frequent changes are not necessary
- Low battery alerts are sent in a timely manner - so that battery changes can be made before batteries run flat.
The Yabby Edge can be used with either Lithium Iron Disulphide (LiFeS2) or Alkaline batteries. The differences in battery chemistry mean the battery monitoring approach is slightly different for each type.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- How do I set up a Low Battery Alert?
- Alerts/Battery Level Report in Telematics Guru
- Alerts in 3rd Party Platforms
- OEM Battery Report
How do I set up a Low Battery Alert?
The following parameters options are available. (How to Edit Parameters).
The below are already configured by default - so we don't need to go make any changes, or configure anything unless we have special requirements or are using Alkaline batteries.
The device keeps two battery 'flags'
The Battery Good Digital Input is mapped to Digital Input 1 by default. This is the same 'Battery Good Flag' sent in the status flags. This is active '1' when the voltage is above the Battery Low Threshold - an inactive '0' when below this threshold. So for the above defaults, it is inactive when the battery voltage drops below 4.65V.
NOTE: The threshold of 4.65V has been chosen based upon testing with 3 x AAA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Batteries. This should be set to 3600mV (3.60V) if you are using alkaline batteries.
The Battery Critical Digital Input is mapped to Digital Input 2 by default.
This input is turned on - 'set to 1' if a brownout occurs. On the Yabby Edge - this is if the voltage ever dips below 3V - which is too low to properly power the device. If this occurs - it is because the batteries are on their last legs, and need to be replaced immediately! The device needs at least 3V to operate.
The above flags mean we have 3 distinct states
| Battery Good Digital Input (DI 1) | Battery Critical Digital Input (DI 2) | Meaning |
| 1 = On | 0=Off | Battery is OK, no action needs to be taken |
| 0 = Off (cleared) | 0 = Off | The battery is running low, and preparations should be made to replace batteries soon |
| 0 = Off (cleared) | 1 = On | The battery needs replacing ASAP |
Alerts/Battery Level Report in Telematics Guru
Low Battery Alert
Create an Alert via Admin -> Alerts and use the Wizard.
Select the "Low Battery" alert and follow the prompts to set up this alert. This creates an alert on the Battery Good DI automatically.
Battery Critical Alert
Create an Alert via Admin -> Alerts and select New Alert (Advanced).
When setting up the alert, set the following conditions on the Conditions tab (an alert when Digital Input is active)
Partner Battery Level Status Report
The Partner Battery Level Status report can be run to give an overview of the current battery status of all assets across a partner. It can be limited to an organization or device type additionally.
See the link Partner Battery Level Status Report for more information.
Alerts in 3rd Party Platforms
We simply can configure the system to alert based on the status on Digital Inputs 1 and 2.
- If Digital Input 1 is cleared (1 -> 0) - send a Battery Low Alert
- If Digital Input 2 is set (0 -> 1) - send a Battery CRITICAL Alert.
OEM Battery Report
A battery low/critical report can be exported via OEM. This report details devices that have had the battery good flag unset and details if in a low or critical state. See OEM Battery Low/Critical CSV Export for more information.
