West Mountain Radio CBA A2 User manual

©2015 West Mountain Radio, All rights reserved. All trademarks are
the property of their respective owners.
www.westmountainradio.com
1020 Spring City Drive
Waukesha, WI 53186
262-522-6503
[email protected]
CBA A2 Amplier
2000W System

2
West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
Thank you for choosing the CBA Amplier 2000W System for making
testing batteries at high rates easier than ever.
The amplier is very simple in concept. It is a DC amplier that amplies
and regulates discharge current with a total (CBA and amplier together)
amplication factor of 20 times (20X). The CBA is actually doing 1/20 of
the discharge and the amplier is doing the other 19/20. The amplier
simply senses the current drawn by the CBA and amplies the discharge
current setting of the CBA for total of ten times the set current.
The 2000 watt system has four ampliers connected in parallel using the
custom harness included. It is important that these connections are bal-
anced in resistance in order for the load to be shared equally between
both ampliers. Read the connection information carefully.
The amplier used in this system uses 20X Gain. The ampliers used
in the 500W and 1000W setup use 10X Gain. It is for this reason that
you cannot use an individual amplier in this system, they must remain
grounded togetherfor a 2000W setup.
IMPORTANT: Both ampliers should be used with the latest CBA soft-
ware (version 2.1 or later).
Recommended Usage
The CBA amplier is designed and recommended only for commercial
or industrial use. It is not intended for a hobbyist, as it will easily test
batteries at destructive limits. We DO NOT recommend testing batter-
ies at advertised maximum ratings as these ratings may be written for
sales purposes instead of scientic reasons. Unless you are extremely
knowledgeable about batteries, do not attempt testing at maximum rat-
ings. Even if a manufacturer was truthful about these ratings, maximum
discharges may signicantly shorten the cycle life of a battery.
Testing at maximum ratings should never be necessary to tell if a bat-
tery is good or bad. A 1C or less discharge will tell you if the battery is
meeting capacity specs and whether or not it is good. That should be
all you need to determine if you can continue to use a battery. Testing
at maximum discharge ratings is only necessary to tell whether or not a
battery is safe at those ratings, how much the cycle life is shortened or if
it will overheat and sustain damage or ignite.

3
West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
Safety Precautions
The West Mountain Radio CBA when used with the amplier is inherently
safe but the batteries it tests are not. Anything that stores energy is po-
tentially dangerous! A can of gasoline can be safe if treated properly but
imagine what can happen. Some types of batteries are safer than others
but they are all capable of causing explosions or res.
Primary safety considerations:
Never discharge a battery at a higher discharge rate than it is designed
for. Do not assume that the manufacturer’s ratings are correct. Testing
at a higher discharge rate than 1C (one hour) may damage a battery.
High discharge rate specications are usually an intermittent or peak rat-
ing and most batteries will not sustain a 100 % discharge at these rates
without overheating and damage.
• Never use a battery that has poorly insulated or frayed wiring or
exposed metal parts.
• Never short out or connect a battery with reverse polarity.
• Never test a battery near ammable materials.
• Never allow a battery to reach a temperature that causes it to get
so hot that it may be too hot to touch.
• Never test or discharge your batteries while unattended.
• Have a re extinguisher nearby
CBA and amplier operating precautions and requirements:
• Never connect a battery with the polarity reversed!
• Always turn o󰀨 the amplier, using the power switch, before con-
necting a battery.
• Never attempt to test a battery with any type of temporary or low
current connection!
The battery must be solidly connected to the amplier with bolts. At-
tempting to use jumper cables or alligator clips is dangerous! Any inter-
mittent connection could cause the amplier to momentarily go full on
to try and maintain the current. When the connection is re-established
there will be a near innite current spike possibly damaging the amplier.

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West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
Do not leave a battery connected if you are not running a test. (There is
a residual current drawn from the CBA and amplier that will discharge a
battery over long periods of time even if a test is not being run.)
Operate the CBA and amplier in a cool dry location.
Never allow metal parts or wiring of the battery to come in contact with
the CBA’s heatsink or amplier’s metal case.
Never test a battery that is also connected to some other equipment,
such as a charger or the device that the battery is intended to power.
The only exception to this is a device such as a battery powered meter
which is totally isolated from the rest of the system.
Never allow the cooling fans to be blocked or jammed. Do not use the
CBA’s or amplier’s fans to cool your batteries.
Do not ignore the warnings that our software may give you.
Never exceed the 2000 watt continuous rating of the CBA combined with
the amplier. To calculate watts multiply the fully charged battery volt-
age in volts times the current in amps. You may divide 500 (watts) by the
measured fully charged battery voltage to determine the current that will
produce the 2000 watt maximum.
DO NOT USE THE NOMINAL AVERAGE BATTERY VOLTAGE
RATING; USE THE FULLY CHARGED VOLTAGE!
Never use the CBA on an external USB hub or with a computer that has
screen saver, hibernate or sleep modes enabled.
Do not plug in or disconnect other USB devices while running a test.
(Windows momentarily suspends USB communications and our soft-
ware and rmware instantly stops a test if USB communications is lost to
insure safe operation.)
The CBA or amplier can get hot. Do not touch the metal heat sink dur-
ing, or shortly after a high power test.

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West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
Always monitor a battery’s temperature during a test. You may use the
CBA temperature probe to automatically terminate a test with high bat-
tery temperature. The trigger temperature should be set somewhat lower
than what might be safe as it is di󰀩cult to measure at the center of a pack
where the temperature is the highest. Take into account that the inside
of the pack may be much hotter than the outside surface. For an in-
stantaneous reading of temperature you may wish to use a good quality
IR thermometer. Note: the CBA temperature probe should be calibrated
near the temperature of interest. Our probe requires an intimate thermal
contact with the pack in order to read the actual surface temperature of a
battery and it should be mounted with tape to minimize external cooling
e󰀨ects.
Do not operate the CBA within close proximity of any radio transmitter,
in strong RF elds or with any radio transmitter within a few feet. This
includes walkie-talkies, RC transmitters and cell phones.
Lead acid battery safety warnings:
This warning may not be a consideration while testing a battery with the
CBA but it certainly is while charging lead acid batteries. These batter-
ies, especially automotive and marine types, give o󰀨 explosive hydrogen
gas when charged. A nearby or internal spark or ame can cause a lead
acid battery to explode, sending liquid acid and lead shrapnel in all direc-
tions. This possibility is particularly dangerous and frequently causes
blindness or severe scarring injuries.
Never use a standard lead acid battery without proper ventilation. Sealed
lead acid batteries such as gelled or AGM (absorbed glass mat) types
are much safer. Flooded electrolyte vented automotive and marine bat-
teries are not as safe and should be used in protective ventilated hous-
ings, such as under the closed hood of a car.
Never make the last connection to a lead acid battery causing a spark
on the terminal. Always connect the load or charger last, and at a safe
distance away from the battery.

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West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
NiCad, NiMH, and Alkaline safety warnings:
These batteries can be dangerous also. If they are shorted out, or
charged or discharged at too high a rate, they can overheat and explode.
A single D size NiCad cell can actually melt a 10 penny nail, don’t try this!
Lithium safety warnings:
Reprinted with permission of the Academy of Model Aeronautics
Words in “()” were added by West Mountain Radio
Lithium Battery Fires
Lithium batteries are becoming very popular for powering the control and
power systems in our models. This is true because of their very high
energy density (amp-hrs/wt. ratio) compared to NiCads or other batter-
ies. With high energy comes increased risk in their use. The, principal,
risk is FIRE which can result from improper charging, crash damage, or
shorting the batteries. All vendors of these batteries warn their custom-
ers of this danger and recommend extreme caution in their use. In spite
of this many res have occurred as a result of the use of Lithium Polymer
batteries, resulting in loss of models, automobiles, and other property.
Homes and garages and workshops have also burned. A lithium battery
re is very hot (several thousand degrees) and is an excellent initiator for
ancillary (resulting) res. Fire occurs due to contact between Lithium and
oxygen in the air. It does not need any other source of ignition, or fuel to
start, and burns almost explosively.
These batteries must be used in a manner that precludes ancillary re.
The following is recommended:
1. Store and charge (discharge) in a reproof container; never in your
model.
2. Charge (discharge), in a protected area devoid of combustibles. Al-
ways watch over the charging (discharging), process. Never leave the
charging process unattended.
3. In the event of damage from crashes, etc, carefully remove to a safe
place for at least a half hour to observe. Physically damaged cells could
erupt into ame, and, after su󰀩cient time to ensure safety, should be
discarded in accordance with the instructions which came with the bat-
teries. Never attempt to charge (discharge) a cell with physical damage,
regardless of how slight.

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West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
4. Always use chargers designed for the specic purpose, preferably
having a xed setting for your particular pack. Many res occur in using
selectable/adjustable chargers improperly set. Never attempt to charge
Lithium cells with a charger which is not, specically, designed for charg-
ing Lithium cells. Never use chargers designed for Nickel Cadmium bat-
teries.
5. Use charging systems that monitor and control the charge state of
each cell in the pack. Unbalanced cells can lead to disaster if it permits
overcharge of a single cell in the pack. If the batteries show any sign of
swelling, discontinue charging, and remove them to a safe place outside
as they could erupt into ames.
6. Most important: NEVER PLUG IN A BATTERY AND LEAVE IT TO
CHARGE (DISCHARGE), UNATTENDED OVERNIGHT. Serious res
have resulted from this practice.
7. Do not attempt to make your own battery packs from individual cells.
These batteries CANNOT be handled and charged casually such as
has been the practice for years with other types of batteries. The conse-
quence of this practice can be very serious resulting in major property
damage and/ or personal harm.
CBA Amplier Connection and Use
CBA Quad Amplier Harness Connection
Connect the Powerpole® 4-1 cord, single ends, to each amplier’s red
and black Powerpole® connector marked “CBA”. Connect the double
Powerpole® end to the CBA’s Powerpole® battery connector.
IMPORTANT: Do not place additional wiring or connections in between
the CBA and the ampliers.
Remove the bolts from the battery straps of the ampliers and bolt
the heavy 2 gauge 4-1 harness to the outputs, red to red and black to
black.
Turn each amplier on and check that each’s LED power indicator light
blinks green.
NOTE: The fans should not turn on.

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West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
CBA Dual Amplier Battery Connection
IMPORTANT: Turn o󰀨 all ampliers using the unit power switch before
connecting a battery to the harness.
Use only the bolts on the output harness for the battery connection.
NEVER put a battery directly across the amplier straps. The current
load would not be balanced, possibly causing damage or overheat one
amplier. Make the lowest resistance connection possible.
NOTE: Any additional resistance introduced by the method chosen to
connect a battery will show up as reduced battery voltage and a pro-
portionately lower capacity reading. A very low resistance connection
to the battery is particularly necessary for high discharge rates. A poor
connection, and/or cells with high internal resistance, may cause the
system not to be able to regulate current at, up to, 320 amps down to
0.9 volts.
CAUTION! BE SURE THAT YOU CONNECT THE BATTERY WITH
THE CORRECT POLARITY!
– minus / black to – + plus / red to +
To use the amplier, connect the CBA’s red and black Powerpole®
connector to the connector on the amplier marked CBA. Do not place
additional wiring or connections in between the CBA and the amplier.
If you have replaced the Powerpole® connector that comes with a CBA
you should re-install a Powerpole®. We do not recommend using an
adaptor.
Plug the supplied 15 VDC wall power supply into a 120 VAC 60Hz AC
outlet. For international operation be certain that your amplier was
supplied with the correct wall power supply. Connect the DC plug of
the power supply to the amplier’s DC input jack.
The incorrect polarity will cause the amplier’s FET body diodes to con-
duct the full current that the battery is capable of and possibly damage
the FETs. If you do connect with reverse polarity, even if the battery is
not capable of damaging the CBA and amplier it will discharge a bat-
tery very quickly and could possibly destroy the battery or cause a re!
When connecting any battery to anything be very careful not to short
out the battery while making the connections. Damage or re may
result! Anderson Power Products®and Powerpole® is a registered
trademark of Anderson Power Products, Inc.

9
West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
Running a Test
Turn on the ampliers and wait for the amplier’s green “operate” LED
light begin to blink.
In the CBA Software new test window, be sure to check the selection
labeled ‘2000 Watt’ under ‘Amplier’. Failure to do so will result in a
test being perform with 20 times more load than desired.
Tip: Leave the amplier in-line, but switched o󰀨, and de-selected in the
software, for discharge rates less than 100 watts (An amplier is by-
passed and disabled whenever it is powered o󰀨).
Run any test by using and understanding the operation of the software
as explained in the software help les.
The “operate” button LED will light solid green to indicate normal opera-
tion during a test. A solid green light indicates that the CBA Amplier is
amplifying the current draw of the connected CBA.
Select

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West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
The amplier fans are controlled automatically and will turn on whenev-
er one ampere or more is being drawn by the CBA or when the temper-
ature of the heat sink has risen above 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The CBA
amplier is meant to run tests at 100 watts or more and the fans may
not turn on, below 100 watts. At lower power settings the fans may
take several minutes before they turn on automatically. This is normal.
The fans will stay on until the heatsink temperature has fallen below 75
degrees Fahrenheit. Do not switch o󰀨 the CBA amplier power until the
fans have stopped automatically.
When your test is completed, turn o󰀨 the amplier and disconnect your
battery. The “Hi Temp” LED will be o󰀨 in normal operation and it will
blink when the amplier temperature is near over temp.
If the amplier cooling is blocked, or if for any reason the amplier tem-
perature gets too high, over temperature protection will be activated.
When activated, the red “Hi” temp LED will light solid and the amplier
will stop the discharge, causing the current to drop to 1/20 of what you
would expect. Note: you will notice a rise in the battery voltage if this
happens. The amplier must be power cycled at this point before it can
be used again. Wait for fans to stop before cycling power.
The operate LED will light solid red if the CBA Amplier has shut down
for safety reasons.
Examples: Disconnected battery, a sudden drop in battery volt
age or a battery voltage which is higher than the CBA Amplier
specications allow.

11
West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
Specications
Dimensions 5.5” H x 6.25” W x 13.75” D
Max. Continuous Discharge
Rate 2000 W
Discharge Rate Amplication
(typical) 20X +/- 1%
Absolute Max. Operating Voltage 57V
Max. Dischrage Rate 320 A (3.12 V at test start)
(battery dependent)
Min. Voltage for 160A
Discharge:
0.9 V at test completion
(battery dependent)
Connectors
Supplied copper bus 5/16
bronze battery connectors.
Powerpole® CBA
connector
Fan Operation
Auto sense 0.500 A or more
current from CBA. (Stays
on approx. 5 mins after test
completion)
Liability Disclaimer
West Mountain Radio will not be liable to you (whether under the law of
contract, the law of torts or otherwise) in relation to the contents of, or
use of, or otherwise in connection with, the CBA (“product”):
To the extent that the product may cause any bodily or equipment dam-
age; For any indirect, special or consequential loss of any kind;
For any business losses, loss of revenue, income, prots or anticipated
savings, loss of contracts or business relationships, loss of reputation
or goodwill, or loss or corruption of information or data.
By using this product, you agree to the limitations of liability set forth in
this disclaimer are reasonable.
West Mountain Radio CBA © 2015 by Custom Computer Services, Inc

12
West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
Computerized Battery
Analyzer Modes
Test Mode Why use this
test?
Standard
Software
Extended
Software Operation
Mission
Prole
•DenedPassand
Failparameters
•Operated
withoutdetailed
knowledgeofthe
test
 
Discharge
•Measuringand
analyzingbattery
capacity  
Dynamic
•Seehowabattery
orsupplyresponds
todifferentloads
•Noneedtostopor
editthetestthatis
running
 
Charge
Monitor
•Graphsvoltage
versustime
•Logandgrapha
batteryorsupply
•Logvoltageof
thebatteryas
itischarged
 
Power
Prole
•Characterizing
differentpower
suppliesand
solarcells
•Determinethe
maximumpower
theycanprovide
 
Charge /
Discharge
•Performlife
cycletestof
thebattery(see
howits’capacity
reactsafteruser
speciednumber
ofdischarge/
chargecycles)
 
Duty
Cycle
•Evaluatethe
performanceof
abatteryinan
applicationwhich
typicallyinvolvesa
cyclicorvariable
dutycycle

Constant
Power
•Te s t batteriesthat
areusedin
systems
whichrequire
consistentpower

Multiple
Discharge
•Te s t battery
applicationsthat
experiencea
varietyofdifferent
currentloads

Constant
Resistance
•Simulatea
constant
resistanceloadon
abattery

Timed
Discharge
•Dischargethe
batterytoa
certaincapacity
•i.e.aLithium
batterythatneeds
tobe
at30%charge
beforeshipping

*ThistestrequirestheWest
MountainRadioCBACharge
Controller(purchased
separately)
Software
Details on using the CBA software can be found in the Help area of the
software. A PDF of the entire Help File can be downloaded from the West
Mountain Radio website under SUPPORT>DOWNLOADS>CBA

13
West Mountain Radio Operating Manual
Troubleshooting
LED does not light on CBA • Make sure both USB cables ends are in
securely
• If a USB hub is used make sure it is a pow-
ered HUB
• Make sure the PC power settings have not
powered down the USB port
• Try another USB port
• CBA unit might be damaged
Blinking orange LED Check the device manager to see if there is a
driver error agged by Windows. If the CBA is
not listed in the USB section check the “other
devices” and “unknown devices” sections. Try
re-installing the software.
Red ashing LED
and/or
No or very low voltage shows
on the right side of the screen
after a battery is connected.
• Verify cable from CBA PowerPoles to battery
• Replace the fus
Test stops as fast as it start • Verify when the test is not running that the
voltage shows right (if not see above)
• Verify the test stop criteria is as expected
• Expand the chart and if the voltage drops
very fast you may be setting the current draw
too high for the battery
During a test, noise appears
on the chart
• As battery contacts heat up due to high cur-
rent the metal changes size and can cause
resistance changes.
• Tighten contacts that can be tightened
• Clean contacts that can be cleaned using
alcohol.
• If there is vibration in the environment put
CBA, cables and battery on a cushioned mat.
• Ensure cables that are crimped were properly
crimped.
During a test, the test abruptly
stops going to 0 volts.
• If the voltage is right when a test is not run-
ning this is due to the resistance of the bat-
tery cable. Solutions:
• Use the remote sense cable to get an accu-
rate reading
• Use the extended software to calibrate the
cable by accounting for the resistance.
• Use a heavier CBA to battery cable

CBA A2 500W Amplifier Warranty
CBA Amplifiers warranted against failure due to defects in workmanship
or materials for one year after the date of purchase from West Mountain
Radio. Warranty does not cover damage caused by abuse, accident,
misuse, improper or abnormal usage, failure to follow instructions,
improper installation, alteration, lightning, or other incidence of
excessive voltage or current. If failure occurs within this period, return
the CBA Amplifier or accessory to West Mountain Radio at your shipping
expense. The device or accessory will be repaired or replaced, at our
option, without charge, and returned to you at our shipping expense.
Repaired or replaced items are warranted for the remainder of the
original warranty period. You will be charged for repair or replacement
of the CBA Amplifier or accessory made after the expiration of the
warranty period.
West Mountain Radio shall have no liability or responsibility to customer
or any other person or entity with respect to any liability, loss, or damage
caused directly or indirectly by use or performance of the products or
arising out of any breach of this warranty, including, but not limited to,
any damages resulting from inconvenience, loss of time, data, property,
revenue, or profit, or any indirect, special incidental, or consequential
damages, even if West Mountain Radio has been advised of such damages.
Except as provided herein, West Mountain Radio makes no express
warranties and any implied warranties, including fitness for a particular
purpose, are limited in duration to the stated duration provided herein.
www.westmountainradio.com
1020 Spring City Drive, Waukesha, WI 53186
tel [phone] fax [phone]