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Posts Tagged ‘Squad Power Manager’

Widget Wednesday: Prolonged Field Care

Wednesday, July 25th, 2018

When it comes to traumatic injury, the speed at which the casualty receives medical treatment equals the likelihood of their survival. This is of course stating the obvious, but, as theaters of operation reduce their infrastructure, CASEVAC and MEDEVAC resources become more limited and this requires field medical personnel to be able sustain patients for longer until they can be transported to the next echelon of care. This is a situation that Special Operations Medics are particularly aware of as they are often deployed into remote areas well beyond the reach of established infrastructure – SOF medics often need to sustain and treat their patients for hours or even days until they can be evacuated.

Prolonged Field Care (PFC) is the ability to sustain patients for an extended period of time in field conditions and requires equipment that has usually been reserved for hospitals and dedicated MEDEVAC platforms. Fortunately, recent advancements in medical technologies has made it possible for critical equipment to become smaller and more lightweight, meaning medics in the field can now provide care in situ that before was only possible on board of MEDEVAC aircraft or field hospital. However, all of these devices also require power, and they typically only run 2-4 hours before their internal batteries require an AC power outlet to recharge.

Working with end users, Protonex has developed the capability to power the most commonly used portable medical devices in austere locations. A unit equipped with an SPM-622 can share power to keep patient-critical medical equipment operating for as long as it takes to get the casualty to the next level of care. Using solar power, 12-28V military vehicle and aircraft power outlets, civilian vehicle or lantern batteries, common rechargeable batteries like the BB-2590, or from extra radio batteries like the AN/PRC-148 and AN/PRC-152, the SPM-622 Squad Power Manager makes the delivery of Prolonged Field Care possible for anyone in harm’s way.

Want to know more? Don’t hesitate to contact us through www.PTXnomad.com or Teamroom@Protonex.com or +1-508-508-9960.

Tags: Prolonged Field Care, Protonex, PTXnomad, SPM-622, Squad Power Manager
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Widget Wednesday: Universal Power for EOD Teams

Wednesday, July 11th, 2018

The PTX Universal Power Kits, based around the SPM-622 Squad Power Manager, dramatically reduces the weight and clutter of batteries, chargers and power adapters for EOD teams.

The EOD Universal Power Kit includes an SPM-622 Squad Power Manager as well as accessories that support the Minehound® and other metal detectors, DeWalt® and Snap-On® tool batteries, the MMX X-Ray viewer, the Micro Tactical Ground Robot, the Smart Ray Vision (SRV) system, and other EOD-specific equipment.

Each Universal Power Kit also includes a foldable solar blanket and the cables and accessories for charging batteries and “scavenging” power from military and civilian trucks, car batteries, and the local AC grid. The kits are delivered as a rugged “roll kit” to keep gear organized and ready for use, while decreasing volume and weight.

The original SPM EOD kit was developed in partnership with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Naval Sea Systems Command (NavSea) and Navy EOD Training & Evaluation Team Two in 2014. They reported a reduction in battery charger equipment weight from 45-lbs. to 9-lbs.! This 5x reduction in weight also came with a significant improvement in the amount of space taken up in their vehicles by the old gear!

Hundreds of these units have since been proven in-theater with US Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and international EOD teams.

Visit the PTX team this week at ADS Warrior East, booth #103 (Protonex Technology Corp.) to learn more.

For information about the different applications that PTX systems support, visit www.PTXnomad.com

Tags: EOD, Protonex, PTXnomad, Squad Power Manager
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Widget Wednesday: Using Solar Power

Wednesday, June 20th, 2018

Last time we looked at ways that troops can harness power from vehicles either while on the move or stationary. There may be times though when a vehicle or vehicle battery isn’t available, or when the tactical situation requires noise discipline that prevents running a vehicle engine.

Besides the audible signature, a running engine also produces a significant thermal signature – and it requires fuel of course as well. Using a field generator also incurs these same drawbacks, as well as the fact that it needs to be transported out to the location in the first place.

To get around all of these drawbacks the military has been a leading accelerator of portable solar power solutions. Solar power is free, plentiful, and safe and easy-to-use. Because of all this, a lightweight, folding solar blanket is included with every Nett Warrior system, and all PTX power management kits also include a solar blanket as a standard item as well.

There are nonetheless a few techniques and procedures to bear in mind. First; when connecting a solar blanket to the SPM-622 Squad Power Manager, make sure to plug it into Port #3 or #4 (a sun burst icon is printed on the case next to those ports for extra clarity); then connect a rechargeable battery to Port #1, #2, #5 or #6. On the PTX VPM-402 Vest Power Manager, the solar blanket is connected to Port “S” and the rechargeable battery to Port “B”.

Why does a battery need to be connected as well? Because the sun’s power constantly varies but phones, radios, and laptops require steady power, the Power Manager requires a battery in order to “even out” the power generated by the solar blanket. The best battery to use is one that you would want to keep charged anyway – such as a BB-2590 or a Conformal Wearable Battery.

Furthermore; a solar blanket or panel only works in direct sunlight, even a slight amount of shade (or passing clouds) can severely limit the amount of energy the solar blanket can produce. Try to aim the blanket directly at the sun, or to drape the blanket over something to get the best angle on the sun. When the solar blanket is generating at peak output the PTX Power Manager will automatically divert any excess energy to keep the battery charged. If the power output from the solar blanket dips, the Power Manager will automatically pull power from the battery as needed.

Want to know more? Don’t hesitate to contact us through www.PTXnomad.com or Teamroom@Protonex.com or +1-508-508-9960.

Tags: Protonex, PTXnomad, solar power, Squad Power Manager, Vest Power Manager, Widget Wednesday
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Widget Wednesday – Power Scavenging

Wednesday, June 6th, 2018

Seventy-four years ago the province of Normandy France erupted as the greatest airborne, amphibious, and special operations campaign in history was launched. Heavily-armed, and carrying as much ammo as they could stand up with, “Little Groups of Paratroopers” (and Commandos) swarmed over the beaches and countryside. Taking out lines of communication and holding strategic locations, they spread the “fog of war” and created havoc and confusion behind enemy lines – tying down enemy armored units that otherwise could have succeeded in pushing the invasion back into the English Channel. The ultimate victory they ensured came at a heavy price, and with a fair amount of havoc and confusion on the friendly side as well.

Fast forward to the conflicts of today and we have made great strides in developing technologies that penetrate The Fog of War. But this capability has also come with the added weight penalty of lots of batteries – what we call ‘The Battery Burden’.

Finding ways to reduce the number, variety, and weight of batteries that troops have to carry has been a multi-faceted effort across different Services and industry partners. Replacing non-rechargeable batteries with rechargeable ones has helped; replacing heavy, bulky standard batteries with slimmer, lighter, flexible Conformal Batteries has helped; and replacing up to 35 pounds of battery weight with a couple of pounds of Power Management Kit has helped tremendously as well.

An SPM-622 Squad Power Manager and a few cables is like having a multi-tool for power in your rucksack. With such a system, troops can “scavenge” power from vehicle batteries or power-out ports and from solar panels or blankets to recharge their batteries anywhere. Our rugged ABC-812 Adaptive Battery Charger and pocket-sized VPM-402 Vest Power Manager also have a scavenger mode as well. Having this power-scavenger ability gives small units flexibility, logistical independence, and increased operational effectiveness.

The PTX range of vehicle power scavenging solutions include the following:
• NATO Slave Connector – 12V to 33.5V at 10A charge and discharge
• ‘Cigarette Plug’ – 10V to 14.4V at 5A charge and discharge
• Alligator battery clips – 6V to 55V at 20A discharge

An important fail-safe measure is also pre-programmed into the system – when scavenging power from a vehicle battery with the engine switched off, the system monitors the battery’s state of charge and will automatically shut off before it’s drained beyond its capacity to restart the vehicle.

For further information about our full range of power management solutions, visit www.PTXnomad.com or contact the Team.Room@Protonex.com – and see us next week at Eurosatory with our French allies PROCOMM-MMC, on booth B697 in Hall 5A.

Tags: ABC-812, Adaptive Battery Charger, Protonex, PTXnomad, Small Unit Power, SPM-622, Squad Power Manager, VPM-402
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