Linked battery charging from PAG

PAG has released what it claims is an industry first, a compact new PAGlink charger that can do linked battery charging. The £416 PAGlink PL16 Charger can charge up to 16 PAGlink V-Mount Li-Ion batteries at once - eight per channel, on the compact, two-position charger.

PAGlink batteries can be linked together in multiples - up to eight, to combine capacities for longer camera run time, and provide up to 12A current for power hungry broadcast, digital cinematography, high-definition and 3D camera set-ups.

The linked batteries form a high-speed serial network that controls discharging and allows charging to take place while the batteries are linked.

The high-power PL16 can supply 6A at 16.8v (approximately 100W), and is able to fully charge all of the batteries regardless of the differences in their state of charge. PAG’s Intelligent Parallel Charging software allows both positions to charge simultaneously.

During charging, the percentage state-of-charge of each PAGlink battery is indicated on its individual five-LED display, to show which batteries are ready to use. The stages of the charging process for each channel are shown on the charger’s large backlit LCD screen. The most-discharged batteries are given a higher charge priority. Fully charged batteries will stop accepting charge automatically and independently of other batteries. It should fast-charge four fully-discharged PL96e batteries in 6.5 hours.

The PL16 can also charge PAG’s other V-Mount Li-Ion and Ni-MH batteries, as well as those from Sony and IDX, although only one of those batteries per channel.

The PL16 can also power a camera from any AC supply worldwide, using the its 100W camera power supply, which has an XLR4 output.

The 1.4kg PL16 Charger has a metal case, fits easily in a camera bag, and is quiet and cool running. A recovery feature is included, to recover Li-Ion batteries if their cutout has been tripped.

By David Fox