Nokia Net Monitor description (DCT3)

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Test 20 – Battery and Charging Information

Available in: 2100, 3330, 5110, 6150, 6210, 7110, 8210, 8250

This test displays general information about the phone’s battery and charging information (if it is being charged)

Test screen	Help screen

BatVol: The current voltage across the battery’s terminals, in hundredths of a volt (e.g. 373 means 3.73V). You will notice that this value will generally decrease the more the battery is loaded (i.e. when backlight turns on, when transmitter is active). Also, generally as the battery drains, the battery voltage will decrease as well, especially when the battery is approaching it’s ‘flat’ point; this value will more quickly. For example, an 8210 (with 750mAh BLB-2) went down to 3.09V in standby, at this point the phone would immediately shut off if I attempted to use the transmitter (i.e. make a call), shortly after the phone shut off with the message “Battery Empty”. On the other hand, a freshly charged 750mAh BLB-2 battery displayed 4.2V in standby.

ChMod: The state of the charging process – a 5 character word which can be:

xxxxx - charger not connected or charging disabled
BatCk - checking battery charge level (TCH channel usage (a call) when charging Ni-MH battery)
BSIFa - charging interrupted (battery BSI (Battery Size Indicator: one of battery connectors connected with ground (BGND) to resistor inside battery - phone measure its resistance and can read battery type)) measurement failed)
CelBr - charging interrupted (one or more cells broken inside battery)
ChaCk - EM checks charger
Charg - charging
ColdC - charging a cold battery
ColdM - battery is cold, maintenance charging
CurFa - charging interrupted (charger current measurement failed)
DisCh - discharging
Faile - error
FastC - fast charging
FullM - battery full, maintenance charging
F_Che - checking fast charging process
HotM - battery is hot, maintenance charging
I_Che - initialization of charging parameters test (then the phone displays 'Charging')
InitC - charging process initialization
L_Che - checking parameters of LiIon battery charging
LiAFu - Pwm level is higher than max limit for a full battery
LiDCH - DCH charging (some kind of maintenance charging ?) of LiION battery
LiFul - Pwm parameter exceeded the max limit for a full battery during given period of time
LiHot - charging hot (warm) Li-Ion battery
LithC - charging Li-Ion battery
LiTxO - charging Li-Ion battery, transmitter active (connection in progress)
LNFTx - charging Li-Ion battery (but the phone uses as much power, as it receives from charger), transmitter active (connection in progress)
M_Che - maintenance charging process test
MaBFD - maintenance charging (BFD)
Maint - maintenance charging
TmpFa - charging interrupted (phone's wasn't able to read current of resistor NTC inside battery connected to BTEMP and BGND battery connectors and wasn't able to calculate battery temperature)
TxNoF - charging Ni-MH battery (but the phone uses as much power, as it receives from charger), transmitter active (connection in progress)
TxOnC - charging Ni-MH battery, transmitter active (connection in progress)
VolFa - charging interrupted (error checking voltage from charger)

BTemp: The internal temperature of the battery, in degrees Celsius. The temperature is measured to assist in the charging process, such as possibly monitoring if the charge current is too high (battery is too hot) and possibly in the battery full detection (so the phone knows when to back off on the charging). For those who had the idea of using this as a simple thermometer, it won’t work.

ChTime: The period of time the phone has been charging, format is hmm - first digit is hours, next two digits are minutes. This counter is reset whenever the charger is connected and charging begins. It is also reset in some models at the end of use of a TCH (e.g. call) during charging. There are occasionally some exceptions, such as when the charger is reconnected after it was disconnected during certain phases of charging. This charger increases when the phone is off too, however under some circumstances may be reset when the phone is powered on.

ChrgVol: Charge voltage, in deci-volts (tenths of a volt - e.g. 44 is 4.4V). In Ni-MH charging, this fluctuates greatly but in Li-Ion charging this rises during the initial charge phase, and stays fairly constant during the remaining charging (as is required for Li-Ion charging), with the occasional spike. Note this seems to be higher than 4.2V which is the maximum charging voltage for most Li-Ions. Presumably this is therefore not the direct voltage that is driven to the battery terminals, but further back in the circuitry. Charging voltage appears as 0V obviously when not charging.

Pwm: The Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) duty-cycle. In Li-Ion charging, near the end of the charge, the charging current is no longer constantly applied to the battery – it is pulsed, initially with long pulses, then becoming shorter and shorter until the battery is fully charged. The duty-cycle can be calculated by PWM/255, hence a value of 0 means no charge voltage is being applied (e.g. charger not connected, or in a temporary suspended state such as LiAFu), and 255 means a continuous voltage (during early-mid Li-Ion charging and for all Ni-MH charging). Hence a value of 128 means half the time the pulses are applied, and the other half they are not. In some phones, with bright LEDs, the charge pulses can be faintly observed in the LEDs having slight brightness fluctuations. The frequency of the PWM process is about 1Hz, so a PWM value of 128 means the pulses are applied for about 500ms, and relaxed for about 500ms. Ni-MH batteries are not pulse-charged at any point and hence this value is 255 (constant voltage DC).

BTyp: Capacity of the battery in mAh (some English descriptions and NetMonitor help in Nokia 3110 write, that it's BSI battery multiplied by 4): in case of Li-Ion battery you will find here the same value as on battery casing in NiMH batteries this value can differ even by 200 mAh and change depending on the temperature (it it connected with battery's memory effect?). Unfortunately, it doesn't change always immedietaly after changing battery.

BFDC: This counter lets us calculate remaining charging time: when charging current is less than predefined limit, this timer will be started. If timer reaches 0, charging will be stopped (it should be according to some English descriptions, but I observed it very rarely).

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