Low battery warnings can appear on the console display or in software. There are two types of battery warning:
- Transmitter low battery
- Console low battery
A low battery warning for a transmitter will show (on the console display – software reports may vary) with a message similar to ‘Low battery on Station #1’. ‘Station’ here actually refers to a transmitter and the digit after the # sign will refer to the channel on which the transmitter is set to transmit – this should help in multi-transmitter set-ups to identify which individual transmitter is reporting the low battery warning.
Console ‘Low battery’ warnings
You can of course run a console only from its AC mains adapter and with no batteries loaded. Under these circumstances you will see a console low battery warning – there’s no workaround for this (other than to fit batteries) and the warning should simply be ignored.
It is recommended always to fit batteries even if you’re using the mains adapter as the primary power source. This will remove the low battery warning and also obviously act as a battery backup in the event of a mains outage.
Batteries will not run down significantly while the mains adapter is in use and therefore backup batteries can be left in place for extended periods without concern. It is not recommended to use rechargeable batteries – the voltage profile of these cells is significantly lower than eg alkaline primary cells.
When there is a genuine console low battery warning then replace the batteries as soon as possible (‘C’ cells for VP2 and Vue console, ‘AA’ type for Envoy consoles). If dead batteries are left in place for too long they run the risk of leaking and potentially will damage the circuitry around the battery compartment – in bad cases, a new console may be the only remedy.
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