Buddipole PowerMini USB User manual

Copyright © 2018 Buddipole, Inc. All rights reserved.
Phone: [phone] Email: [email protected]m
BUDDIPOLE
POWER
COMPACT PORTABLE DC POWER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
WITH BUILT IN SOLAR CONTROLLER
USER GUIDE
The Buddipole POWER mini is a unique, 12 VDC
pocket sized power control system particularly
suited for portable operations.
This highly integrated device incorporates the
functions of a solar charge controller, battery
management system, power monitoring device
and power distribution in a small, robust and
weather resistant package.
Despite its small size the unit handles a load
current of up to 35A and solar panels up to
150W output.
Built in monitoring provides you an instant view
of how well your battery is keeping up with the
demands of your radio.
For additional convenience a USB charger port is
provided to charge devices such as cell phones
or tablets.

CONTENTS
Copyright © 2018 Buddipole, Inc. All rights reserved.
Phone: [phone] Email: [email protected]m
GETTING STARTED ................................................................................................................................... 1
PRODUCT OVERVIEW....................................................................................................................................... 1
CHOICE OF BATTERY TYPE................................................................................................................................. 1
SOLAR PANEL INPUT ........................................................................................................................................ 1
POWER CONNECTIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 2
POWERING UP............................................................................................................................................... 2
FUNCTIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 3
BATTERY SETTINGS .......................................................................................................................................... 3
OUTPUT CONTROL .......................................................................................................................................... 3
Low voltage warning ............................................................................................................................. 3
High voltage warning............................................................................................................................. 3
Auto shutdown (under voltage condition) ............................................................................................. 3
Auto shutdown (over voltage condition) ............................................................................................... 4
Output Overload .................................................................................................................................... 4
Audible alarm cancel ............................................................................................................................. 4
SOLAR CONTROL ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Solar Charge Controller.......................................................................................................................... 4
USB CHARGER ............................................................................................................................................... 5
USB Dedicated Charger Port (DCP) ........................................................................................................ 5
SYSTEM MONITORING...................................................................................................................................... 5
Periodic Monitoring ............................................................................................................................... 5
Battery Charge Monitoring .................................................................................................................... 5
Solar Power Monitoring......................................................................................................................... 5
Display Timeout ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Front panel LED normal operation......................................................................................................... 5
Operating Time ...................................................................................................................................... 6
RESTORE FACTORY DEFAULTS ............................................................................................................................ 6
OPERATIONS............................................................................................................................................ 6
MENU SELECTION ........................................................................................................................................... 7
STATUS PAGE ................................................................................................................................................. 8
SYSTEM REPORT ............................................................................................................................................. 9
USER SETTINGS ...................................................................................................................................... 10
GENERAL SETTINGS ....................................................................................................................................... 10
THRESHOLD VOLTAGES................................................................................................................................... 10
CHANGING USER SETTINGS ............................................................................................................................. 11
TECHNICAL REFERENCE .......................................................................................................................... 12
Battery Types ....................................................................................................................................... 12
Max Charge Voltage ............................................................................................................................ 13
Low Voltage Trip .................................................................................................................................. 13
Low Voltage Reset ............................................................................................................................... 13
High Voltage Limit ............................................................................................................................... 13
Auto Off ............................................................................................................................................... 13
DEFAULT SETTINGS........................................................................................................................................ 14
SPECIFICATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 15

GETTING STARTED
POWERmini USB User Guide 1 2.0
GETTING STARTED
Product Overview
INPUTS/USB OUT
High contrast OLED display
DC OUTPUTS
Battery Input
USB Charger output
Solar panel Input
DC output 1
DC output 2
Menu buttons Power/Error LED
Figure 1 POWERmini USB controls and power connections
Power inputs are located on the left side of the unit together with the USB charger output. The DC power
outputs are on the right side of the unit. All power connections use the popular Anderson Powerpole®
family of low voltage high current connectors which are popular in amateur radio particularly with
emergency communications (EMCOMM).
The front panel contains an OLED graphical display providing a comprehensive view of the 12 VDC power
system. The navigation buttons located below the display switch between display pages and edit user
settings. The SELECT button (SEL) is the center button and the UP/DOWN buttons on either side of the SEL
button are used to change user settings.
Choice of Battery Type
POWERmini USB can be set up to work with different types of battery chemistry. It has presets
configured for two popular preset battery types, Lithium Iron Phosphate (iFePO4), and Lead Acid (PbSO4).
Each of these setups can be customized to suit other battery types. Refer to (Battery Type page 12) for
more information.
You should set the battery type before using POWERmini USB.
Solar Panel Input
POWERmini USB can be used with a 12V solar panel with power output up to 130W.
It may also be used without solar input but note however that the solar input should only be used with a
solar panel and should never be connected to any other type of power source (for example DC power
supply or car battery) as this may cause damage to the battery and/or POWERmini USB.

GETTING STARTED
POWERmini USB User Guide 2 2.0
Power Connections
POWERmini USB can be used with a solar panel, deliver power to two output loads and provide USB
charging capability as shown in the Figure 2 below.
Figure 2 POWERmini USB power connections
The input and output connectors are color coded as shown in the following table.
From
To
Connector Colors
Radio
POWERmini LOAD1
Red/Black
Accessory
POWERmini LOAD2
Red/Black
Battery
POWERmini BATTERY
Blue/Black
Solar Panel
POWERmini SOLAR
Yellow/Black
POWERmini
Phone or tablet
USB Type A
In all cases the BLACK terminal is the negative terminal and the colored terminal is the positive terminal.
Powering Up
POWERmini USB will start working as soon as the battery is connected.
The startup screen is displayed briefly at power up and POWERmini USB checks the battery to see if it is
ready for use. If the battery voltage is within the normal range the outputs will be automatically
connected.
Note that the unit will not turn on if the input voltage has reverse polarity. Additionally, if the battery
voltage is less than 10V, after showing the startup screen the unit will automatically shutdown.

Functional Description
POWERmini USB User Guide 3 2.0
FUNCTIONS
This section provides a description of the many functions that POWERmini USB performs for you.
Battery Settings
The POWERmini USB can be setup to charge Lead Acid or LiFeEPO4 battery types. You can also set it to
work with other battery types by adjusting the maximum charge voltage (see Figure 7). The battery
settings are stored by type so you can quickly switch between two different types of battery.
Output Control
The POWERmini USB controls the output to protect the battery and your radio equipment from out of
range voltages and current.
Low voltage warning
When the battery voltage falls below the preset Low Voltage Limit (see page 13) the Power LED will flash
red periodically. The audible alarm will also sound if it is enabled. The alarm is active as long as the
battery voltage is below this level. The Low Voltage Warning threshold is 0.5V above the Low Voltage
Limit (user setting). For example, if the Low Voltage Limit is set at 11.2V, the Low Voltage Warning Alarm
will activate at 11.7V.
High voltage warning
If the battery voltage exceeds the High Voltage Limit setting the power is automatically disconnected from
the load. An overvoltage warning message is displayed on the front panel and the alarm LED will glow red
continuously. The output load will not be reconnected until the battery voltage falls below the HV reset
limit. For information about changing the settings of both of these limits refer to High Voltage Limit on
page 13
Auto shutdown (under voltage condition)
Auto-Shutdown automatically disconnects the battery from the load when the voltage falls below the Low
Voltage Disconnect threshold (LVD) The Auto-shutdown may be enabled or disabled by the user.
If the Auto-shutdown is enabled, when the battery voltage falls below the LVD, the Shutoff warning is
indicated at the bottom of the Status screen. Both the POWER LED (red to show alarm condition), and the
audible alarm (if enabled) will flash (sound) for a period of approximately 10 seconds. After this warning
period the POWERmini will disable the output and the audible alarm will stop.
The output will be automatically reconnected when the battery voltage rises above the Low Voltage Reset
threshold (LVR). See Threshold Voltages (page 10) for information on how to change this value.
If the Auto-shutdown mode is disabled, the POWERmini will not disconnect the battery and after the
warning period the alarm will cease to sound. The shutdown message will be displayed on the bottom of
the Status page regardless of whether Auto Off is enabled or not.
IMPORTANT: Regardless of whether the auto-shutdown mode is enabled or not, if the battery voltage falls
below 10.1V POWERmini USB will automatically shut down and will not restart until it is reset.
To reset the unit, disconnect and then reconnect the battery from the unit.

Functional Description
POWERmini USB User Guide 4 2.0
Auto shutdown (over voltage condition)
The battery will be automatically disconnected from the load when the voltage exceeds the High Voltage
Disconnect threshold (HVD). The ability to disable this function is not provided. The output will be
automatically reconnected when the battery voltage falls below the High Voltage Reset threshold.(HVR).
Output Overload
POWERmini USB protects the system from overload by automatically disconnecting the load if excessive
load current is detected. This is indicated by the Power LED flashing RED and an audible warning if the
audible alarm is enabled. The source of overload should be investigated and rectified before using the
system. The following procedure should be used to remedy the fault condition.
1. Disconnect the load from POWERmini USB (both ports) by removing the Powerpole load
connectors at the POWERmini USB end of the cable.
2. Disconnect the battery from the POWERmini USB
3. Reconnect the battery from the POWERmini USB and confirm that the unit powered up normally.
4. Visually inspect the output cables for damaged insulation or strands of wire shorting at either
end of the cable.
5. Check with an ohmmeter for a short circuit between conductors of the output cable.
6. Resolve any issues found in steps 4 and 5 above and reconnect the output cables to the
POWERmini USB.
Audible alarm cancel
If the audible alarm is enabled, you can silence the audible alarm from the Main Menu page by pushing
the SEL button and releasing after about 1 second. The audible alarm will remain disabled until you
manually re-enable it (see Figure 7). The audible alarm is enabled when the asterisk is shown to the right
of the BATTERY label at the top of the Main Menu (see Figure 4).
Solar Control
Solar Charge Controller
The solar charger is a constant current / PWM style of charger which has very low levels of RFI.
The solar input voltage and battery voltages are continuously monitored. The solar panel voltage is
related to the amount of solar radiation on the panel and so when the panel is not fully illuminated it may
not provide enough voltage to charge the battery. If the POWERmini determines that the solar panel is
not sufficient then the solar panel input is disconnected from the battery.
The POWERmini enables charging only when the battery is in the safe area. POWERmini USB tests the
battery to be sure that is above 10V and will not attempt to charge a battery at or below that voltage.
This prevents charging of a possibly defective battery.
If the POWERmini USB determines that the battery voltage has reached the full charge limit, the solar
panel will change to a charge maintenance mode to keep the battery fully charged without overcharging.
The full charge voltage is different between different battery chemistries. The user may adjust the full
charge voltage to suit the battery in use. Both the Low Voltage Disconnect voltage and the Maximum
Charge Voltage can be stored by battery type. This allows you to store values for Lithium ion and Lead
Acid batteries separately. Do not change the Maximum charge voltage from the 14.2 default value unless
you are sure the battery is designed to charge to a higher voltage.
Note that if the POWERmini USB detects a solar panel output greater than 11A the POWERmini solar
input will be automatically disconnected and the warning message “FAULT” will be displayed in the
bottom of the solar panel window. To reset the POWERmini USB solar input, disconnect the solar panel
from POWERmini and then reconnect it.

Functional Description
POWERmini USB User Guide 5 2.0
USB Charger
USB Dedicated Charger Port (DCP)
The 5V USB charge port is compatible with the requirements of the USB Battery Charging Specification
1.2. This supports different charge current limits for a wide variety of devices including most popular cell
phones and tablets. The maximum charge current is set by the device connected to the USB charger port.
This requires a standard 4 conductor USB cable. Note that if you do not use the standard cable the
charger will default to a maximum charge current of 500mA (900 mA USB3.0).
The maximum output is current limited by specification to 1.5A.
System Monitoring
Periodic Monitoring
The unit continuously monitors the battery voltage and current and solar input voltage and current.
Monitoring is performed automatically whether the display is active or blanked.
Battery Charge Monitoring
POWERmini USB keeps track of the total amount of charge taken from the battery and displays the result
on the System Report screen (see Figure 4).
In addition to the total charge provided by the battery, the net amount of charge remaining is indicated
by the Battery Use measurement (see Figure 6). Battery Use is the difference between the total amount
of energy used by the load and the amount that has been replaced by the Solar panel.
For example, if the Battery capacity on the status page indicates that 12Ah has been used, but the solar
panel has delivered 8.5Ah during this time, the net amount used is only 12-8.5 = 3.5Ah. This would be
displayed as Battery Use on the System Report page.
Solar Power Monitoring
The POWERmini USB measures the solar panel output current and reports both the current and charge
delivered to the battery on the Status page (see Figure 5).
POWERmini also reports the solar panel instantaneous output power to the System Report screen.
Because the output of the panel changes with changes in sunlight power, the output of the panel will not
be constant. POWERmini USB will keep track of the maximum (peak) power output of the panel and
display the result on the System Report page (see Figure 6).
Display Timeout
The display is active as soon as the unit is powered on. After a period of about 5 minutes of inactivity the
display is automatically blanked. To turn the display back on briefly press any of the front panel buttons.
You can tell that the unit is continuing to function from the front panel LED (see below).
Front panel LED normal operation
The POWER LED serves dual functions. When the unit is working normally the LED is green indicating
normal operation. When the display is active the LED is steady. When the display has timed out the
green LED flashes to indicate that the unit is operating normally.
A fault condition is indicated by the front panel POWER LED changing color to flashing red. Examples of
fault condition are over-voltage and under voltage battery voltage.

Functional Description
POWERmini USB User Guide 6 2.0
Operating Time
POWERmini USB keeps track of the amount of time that has passed from power up time and displays the
information on the System Report page.
Restore Factory Defaults
Use the following procedure to reset the unit back to the setup provided with each new unit.
•Disconnect the POWERmini USB from the battery and solar input
•Press and hold the SEL button and connect the battery to the battery input port
•When the splash screen has displayed, and you hear a brief beep, release the SEL button
•Reconnect the solar panel (if in use).
The default values will have been restored to the system. Before using the device please check that you
have settings that are suited to your system. It is particularly important to check that the correct battery
type has been selected.

Operations
POWERmini USB User Guide 7 2.0
OPERATIONS
POWERmini optimizes the life of the battery by protecting the battery from overcharging or excessive
discharge. It accomplishes this by constantly monitoring the battery voltage and solar panel voltage and
determining the state of charge of the battery.
POWERmini USB is a programmable device allowing you to configure it to use with different types of
battery.
User settings include
•Low battery voltage trip point, reset point and early warning of low battery
•Automatic disconnect –provides protection from deep discharge
•Max charge voltage -customize to suit specific battery
•Over voltage trip point and reset point
This section provides information about how to get the most out of your POWERmini.
Menu Selection
Immediately after battery power is connected to the unit the Startup page is briefly displayed followed by
the Status page. The display screen will be blanked after displaying the screen for about 5 minutes after
the last button push. Press any front panel button to wake up the display.
in addition to the Status page there is a System Report page and two settings pages. Briefly press the SEL
to sequence between the four display pages as shown in Figure 3 below. The SEL button is the center
button in the row of three buttons.
Figure 3 Menu Selection
The User Settings pages are different from the two other pages because the user settings can be edited.
To change the user settings first select the required Settings page and then press and then hold the SEL
button for about ½ second to enter the Edit mode. See Changing User Settings on page 11 for details on
editing user settings.

Operations
POWERmini USB User Guide 8 2.0
Status Page
The Status page is where important information about the system is shown.
The left side of the Status page provides digital information about the battery including battery voltage,
load current and the amount of charge that has been provided by the battery to the load since power has
been applied. The status of the audible alarm is also indicated here. When the alarm is enabled an asterisk
is displayed to the right of the “BATTERY” title line. The asterisk is not shown when the audible alarm is
disabled.
Two vertical bars to the right of the digital information provide a graphical view of the state of the battery
and the user defined settings (see Figure 4).
Audible Alarm
Enable Indicator
Figure 4 Left side of Status
page
High voltage limit
The lower edge of the box indicates the high
voltage disconnect (HVD) threshold
Battery voltage
Load current
Battery capacity
used
Battery voltage marker
The vertical position of the marker is from 10V
to 16V (illustration shows 13.40V).
Load current
The height of the bar graph indicates the
instantaneous current flowing to the load (full
scale =35A).
Warning messages
LVD, HVD and
shutdown status
messages displayed
here.
Low voltage limit
The upper edge of the box
indicates the low voltage
disconnect (LVD) threshold.
The upper and lower threshold disconnect limits are shown on the left vertical bar as the thick bars at the
top and bottom of the graph. The thin vertical line between them shows the useful region of battery
voltage. The thin horizontal marker indicates the instantaneous battery voltage.
As the battery voltage decreases the battery voltage marker will move down the scale towards the white
box representing the low voltage disconnect limit (LVD). When the marker is about 0.5V above the LVD a
Low Voltage Warning message is displayed in the space at the bottom left of the display, the front panel
POWER LED will flash red and the audible alarm (if enabled) will sound.
As the battery discharges further, the battery voltage marker will reach the lower voltage limit and the
Shutdown Warning message will be displayed at the bottom of the display. If the automatic shutoff
feature is enabled, power will be disconnected 10 seconds after this point has been reached. The solar
charger will continue to work if the battery voltage is above 10.0V. The output will be reconnected when
the battery voltage rises above the low voltage reconnect limit. This is a user defined value. See
Threshold Voltages on page 10 for information on how to set the Low Voltage Reconnect threshold
voltage.
If the battery voltage increases above the lower edge of the high voltage limit box, the unit will
automatically disconnect the load to protect your radio equipment. Power will not be restored until the
voltage falls below the user defined reconnect threshold. See Threshold Voltages on page 10 for
information on how to set the High Voltage Reconnect threshold.

Operations
POWERmini USB User Guide 9 2.0
The right side of the Status page provides information about the solar panel performance. See Figure 5
below for a brief description of the various fields.
Figure 5 Right Side of
Status page
Solar panel output voltage
The solar panel voltage will be different from the battery voltage when the
panel is not charging the battery.
Solar panel output current
The current being delivered from the solar panel to the battery.
Solar panel contribution to battery
The total charge delivered by the panel to the battery.
Solar Charge indicator
Indicates if the charger is in charge, float mode or off.
System Report
The System Report page displays information about the system since the POWERmini USB was powered
up. See Figure 6 below for more details.
Figure 6 System Report page
Power Up Time
The operating time since the unit was powered on.
Solar Power
The instantaneous solar panel power output.
Solar Peak
The maximum output of the solar panel since the unit was
powered on.
Battery Use
Actual battery charge used. The difference between charge
used and charge replaced by the solar panel.

Operations
POWERmini USB User Guide 10 2.0
User Settings
There are eight parameters that you can set to configure the POWERmini USB to better suit your needs.
These settings will be saved in non-volatile memory so they will be automatically recalled the next time
you power up the unit.
The eight parameters are contained on the GENERAL SETTINGS and THRESHOLD VOLTAGES setup pages.
General Settings
The General Settings page contains settings for the battery type, maximum battery charge voltage, the
Auto-Off setting and the audible alarm enable setting. See Figure 7 below.
Figure 7 General Settings page
Battery Type (LiFePO4/PbSO4)
Select the battery chemistry
Max Charge Voltage (13-15V)
Sets the 100% charge limit.
Auto off (Enable/Disable)
Select whether auto-shutdown is enabled or not.
Alarm (Enable/Disable)
Enable or disable the audible alarm that indicates when an
over voltage or under voltage condition has occurred.
Threshold Voltages
This page contains the trip and reset voltage settings for the over-voltage and under-voltage conditions
Under voltage settings control the point at which PoWERmini USB will disconnect or reconnect the
battery and the load. The Low Voltage Disconnect point (LVD) is set by the LV Trip parameter. When the
battery falls below this voltage and AUTO OFF is enabled the output will be automatically disconnected.
LV Reset is the voltage at which the disconnected output is reconnected. For information on how to
choose the values see the TECHNICAL REFERENCE section beginning on page 12.
You should set the trip voltage first before setting the reset voltage.
Figure 8 Threshold Settings page
LV Trip (10.5 –13.0V)
Output disconnected when voltage falls below this limit.
LV reset (0.5 –1.5 above the LV trip setting)
The output is reconnected after a LV trip when the
battery voltage is at or above this voltage limit
HV trip (15- 16V)
The output is automatically disconnected when it
exceeds this trip voltage
HV reset (0.5 –1.5 below the HV trip setting)
The output is reconnected after a HV trip when the
voltage is at or below this voltage limit

Operations
POWERmini USB User Guide 11 2.0
Changing User Settings
If you would like to change the settings of any of the user parameters you need to enter the Edit mode in
the appropriate Settings Display page. To accomplish this select the User Settings page (see Figure 3
Menu Selection on page 7 ) and then press and hold the SEL button for about ½ second.
The figure below shows the edit page for the Threshold Voltages.
.
Parameter under
adjustment
Use UP and DOWN
buttons to change the
value
Figure 9 Edit Threshold Voltage Edit page
Edit box
Each press of the SEL button
moves the box to the next
entry.
When the edit mode is active a white edit box is drawn around the parameter selected for adjustment
beginning at the first line.
To skip to another line briefly press the SEL button to move down the list and repeat until you have
reached the parameter you want to change.
Use the UP / DOWN buttons located either side of the SEL button to change the value. The value will
change by one increment for each push of the button.
When you have selected the value that you want, press the SEL button to advance to the next parameter.
To exit the edit mode and save your changes press of the SEL button until the edit box scrolls off the
bottom of the list. A beep will sound to indicate that the changes have been saved.

Technical Reference
POWERmini USB User Guide 12 2.0
TECHNICAL REFERENCE
Battery Types
For best results you should be sure to set the charge and cut-off parameters to suit the battery chemistry
that you are going to use. POWERmini allows you to save settings for the maximum and minimum battery
voltages separately for two different types of batteries, Lithium ion and Lead Acid.
Different types of battery chemistry have different voltage vs capacity characteristics. The characteristic
Capacity (Ah) vs voltage curves of three popular battery types are shown in Figure 10 below.
Figure 10 Comparison of battery characteristics for different battery chemistry
The three types of batteries are Lithium Iron Phosphate (4 cell), Lead Acid (6 cell) and Lithium Polymer (3
cell). Notice that the curves are similar in shape but have very different values for the fully charged and
depleted states.
The Lithium Iron Phosphate battery has a higher maximum voltage (100% charge level) and a relatively
flat discharge curve.
The Lead Acid battery has a lower maximum voltage, more slope to the discharge curve and a lower cut-
off voltage.
The Lithium Polymer (3 cell) battery has an even lower maximum voltage and a lower cut-off voltage. It
should be noted that this type of battery is frequently used as a car jump start battery and cell phone
charger. The low terminal voltage of this battery is problematic for radios, many of which require a
battery voltage of over 12V to function normally.
The Battery Type setting shows the POWERmini which type of battery you are using. The Maximum
Charge Voltage and Low Voltage Limit (minimum battery voltage) are saved separately for Lead Acid and
Lithium ion batteries. First choose the battery type you want to use and then set the Maximum Charge
Voltage and Low Voltage Limit voltage for that type of battery. Then if you plan to use a different type of
battery chemistry repeat the process selecting the new battery type and storing values for Max Charge
9
10
11
12
13
14
0 2 4 6 8
Battery Voltage (V)
Ah
Battery Comparison (Ah vs Battery Voltage)
Lithium Iron Phosphate
7.5Ah
Lead Acid 7Ah
Lithium Polymer (3 cell)
'7Ah'

Technical Reference
POWERmini USB User Guide 13 2.0
Voltage and Low Voltage Limit. Now when you recall either Battery Type the settings you stored will be
automatically recalled for the selected type of battery.
Careful setting of these parameters will help ensure that the either type of battery is not overcharged or
allowed to operate below the fully discharged state.
Max Charge Voltage
As a battery charges the terminal voltage rises. The voltage should not be allowed to rise significantly
above the voltage corresponding to the 100% charge state or the battery will be overcharged. This may
damage the battery, and in the case of Lithium ion batteries can be dangerous.
CAUTION: Unless you are sure that the battery manufacturer supports a maximum charge voltage other
than the factory default (14.2V) it is recommended that you do not change the maximum charge voltage
setting.
The maximum charge voltage of a specific type may even vary from brand to brand so if in doubt you
should check with the manufacturer of the battery for the maximum recommended charge voltage.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Some batteries with internal intelligent battery management systems (BMS) have a
strict maximum limit which should not be exceeded. Take this into account when setting the maximum
charge voltage.
Low Voltage Trip
The low voltage trip point must be set to suit the type of battery that you are using. A “12 V” Lithium Iron
Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery pack is considered to be discharged when the terminal voltage is about
11.2V (on load). The State of Charge (SOC) is technically defined under a no load condition and so you
may see a number closer to 13V. A lead acid battery typically has a lower operating voltage and the low
voltage limit would be about 10.2V. These settings are stored individually so when you select the battery
type the correct value for the battery you are using will be automatically loaded.
To store the setting for a Lithium ion battery (for example Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery, first select the
LiFe battery type and then set the Low Voltage limit. Repeat for the Lead Acid battery by first setting the
Pb (PbSO4) battery type and then setting the Low Voltage Limit. When you switch between battery types
the appropriate setting will be automatically recalled.
Low Voltage Reset
The low voltage trip condition will be automatically reset when the voltage rises above the Low Voltage
Reset threshold. The threshold can be set in Threshold Voltages page. Setting the threshold too low may
cause cycling of the shutdown and reset states, whereas too high a setting means you may have to wait
longer before the battery reconnects.
High Voltage Limit
The high voltage limit is intended to prevent damage to your radio equipment. Most amateur radio
equipment is designed to operate from a power source of 13.8 V +/- 15% which is a range from 11.7V to
15.8V. Check the specification for your specific radio as some have an upper limit of 15V and some
operate well at 11 V. Operating at higher voltage than the maximum may cause damage to the equipment
and operating below the minimum voltage may result in below normal performance (especially on
transmit).
Auto Off
The Auto-Off feature allows the POWERmini USB to shutoff the load and the USB charger when the
battery voltage has fallen to the Low Voltage Limit.

Technical Reference
POWERmini USB User Guide 14 2.0
Battery life is degraded by allowing a battery to fall below the 100% discharged state. For optimum life a
fully discharged battery should be recharged as soon as possible. Leaving a battery in a fully discharged
state may dramatically reduce the capacity and cause permanent damage to the battery.
To avoid having the power disconnected unexpectedly at an inconvenient time you can disable the auto
shut off feature, but be aware that you may adversely affect the life of the battery if you continue to
operate below the Low Voltage Limit setting.
Default Settings
The following table shows the values that are set at the factory, but if these can be changed to better suit
your needs if required. See the following section for details.
PARAMETER
DEFAULT VALUE
Battery Type
Lithium ion (LiFePO4)
Max Charge Voltage
14.2V
Auto Off
Disabled
Audible alarm
Enabled
Low voltage limit
12.9V
Low voltage reset
13.4V
High voltage limit
15 V
High voltage reset
14.5V

Specification
POWERmini USB User Guide 15 2.0
SPECIFICATIONS
Battery Type
Lithium ion or Lead Acid
Maximum Battery Input Voltage1
24 V DC
Minimum Battery Input Voltage
10V DC
Maximum Solar Input Voltage
24 V DC
Minimum Solar Input Voltage
N/A
Maximum Load Current (total)
35 A (continuous)
Maximum Solar Charge Current
11 A
Number of 12V DC output ports
2
DC power connectors
Anderson Powerpole® 45A
USB charger output connector
USB type A connector
USB charger output voltage
5V
USB charge maximum output current
1.5A
Reverse Polarity Protection
Battery and Solar Panel inputs
Over voltage disconnect range
14 –16 V (user adjustable)
Low voltage disconnect range
10.5 –13 V (user adjustable)
Maximum Charge Voltage
12-15 V (user adjustable)
Audible alarm
User settable enable, disable
Overall Size
4.5 (W) x 3.2 (D) x 1.3 (H) inches
115 (W) x 82 (D) x 33 (H) mm
Weight
6.2 oz (176g).
Operating Temperature Range
0 –40 degrees Celsius
1
The maximum battery input voltage is the maximum that the POWERmini will accept. The voltage will
not be applied to the radio unless it is below the High Voltage Limit set in the user settings.