Battery and charging safety

Safety officers and building managers often ask us about the batteries in our audio guides. This page answers the questions we hear most. In short: the batteries are small, certified and protected in several ways, and you can safely leave the Basecamp switched on overnight.

How big is the risk?

• The batteries are small. A Podcatcher Pro has a 2.7 Wh lithium-polymer battery. A Basecamp full with 25 devices holds about 70 Wh in total: about as much as one laptop battery.
• They fall in the lightest category. International transport rules for lithium batteries set their first limit at 20 Wh per cell. Our cells are far below that.
• Everything is tested and certified. Podcatcher Pro and Basecamp are certified for product safety (IEC 62368-1, CB scheme) and carry the CE marking. The battery cells are tested to IEC 62133-2, which covers short circuit, overcharging, overheating, crushing and dropping, and to UN 38.3 for transport.

How is charging protected?

• In the battery itself. Each battery has its own protection circuit and temperature sensor.
• In the Podcatcher Pro. It only charges when the battery is between 10 and 45 °C (50–113 °F), never fills it to the battery’s maximum, and stops when the battery is full.
• In the Basecamp. It watches each of its 25 slots and switches off any slot that draws too much current. A fan keeps it cool, and if the fan fails the Basecamp beeps.

Can the Basecamp stay on overnight?

Yes, and we recommend it. Charging stops by itself when a battery is full. Podcatcher Pro devices you put back at the end of the day are usually full within a few hours; after that there is hardly any charging.

Switching it off does more harm than good:

• Your tour does not get updated. Every evening, at the sync time set for your institution (19:00 by default), the Basecamp downloads new content and software updates and puts them on the Podcatcher Pro devices.
• The devices stop charging. When the power is cut, the Podcatcher Pro devices in the Basecamp switch off at once and do not charge until the power comes back.

If your institution’s policy requires switching equipment off at night, contact helpdesk@guide-id.com first. Together we agree on a time at which charging and the daily sync have finished. The Basecamp starts up again by itself when the power returns. Basecamps with a backup battery (hardware version 1.4 and later) beep first and then shut down in a controlled way. To make one completely powerless, switch it off and keep the power button pressed until the LED stops lighting up now and then.

Where should the Basecamp go?

• Keep it separate from the collection if you can. Placing charging equipment outside the fire compartment that holds the collection is the most effective step you can take. The Basecamp only needs a socket and a network connection (Ethernet or 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi).
• Place it on a stable, dry surface, out of direct sunlight and away from heaters and other heat sources.
• Keep the air openings free: the inlet underneath and the narrow slot on top. Never cover the Basecamp or put things on it.
• Use only the supplied power adapter, plugged into an earthed (grounded) socket.
• Use it in a room between 0 and 45 °C (32–113 °F), at an altitude of no more than 2000 m.

What can you do yourself?

Check every Podcatcher before you hand it out. It takes hardly any time and is the most effective way to spot battery problems early. Look for:

1. Bulging or deformation: is the housing bulging or deformed?
2. Damage: are there large cracks, dents or loose parts? Normal signs of use don’t count.
3. Discoloration: are there spots in the housing that have changed colour?
4. Smell: does the device smell unusual?

Notice something? Don’t hand the device out and don’t put it back to charge. Set it aside in a metal container outside the room with the collection, and send the device back to us. We arrange a replacement.

A swollen battery: what now?

With batteries this size, problems almost always come from one of these causes: damage from dropping or crushing, moisture, ageing, charging with another charger, or a room that is too hot. A bulging housing is the visible sign of an ageing or damaged battery.

If you see one: stop using the device, don’t charge it again, set it aside as described above and send it back to us. Never open the device: the battery is built in and cannot be replaced by you.

Is fire detection or a battery cabinet needed?

Not because of these devices. With batteries of a few watt-hours, separate fire detection or extinguishing in the charging unit is out of proportion to the risk, so we don’t supply it. In order of effect: first keep charging separate from the collection, then consider detection.

If you want to go further, aspirating smoke detection is more sensitive than a smoke detector in the charging unit. A ventilated steel cabinet keeps any incident local. Special lithium battery cabinets exist, but they are designed for batteries of tens to hundreds of watt-hours.

Do you check the batteries?

There is no periodic battery inspection on site, but every Podcatcher Pro checks its own battery. If it detects a problem, such as a battery that is too warm, a voltage that is too high or a defect, it reports a battery error. You then see the device on the Podcatchers page in the Platform with status Error and the request to return it.

Does a device no longer work properly or look different? Send it back and we arrange a replacement. Podcatcher Pro devices also record their battery voltage and temperature in their device log, and we use that data when we investigate a fault.

Using Podcatcher Classic (V3) with Dockingstations and a Syncbox? See Battery safety for Podcatcher Classic.

Full technical document

The Battery Safety Information document gives the details for Podcatcher Pro and Basecamp: certificates, battery specifications and how charging is protected. It is in English.

Download Battery Safety Information (PDF)

Related articles

• Podcatcher Pro User Manual — safety instructions (chapter 2)
• Basecamp User Manual — safety instructions (chapter 2)
• Basecamp Datasheet — specifications and sync time