Everything You Need to Know About Communication Batteries

Did you know that the first real battery was invented in 1800 by Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist? Since then, there have been countless uses for batteries and different sizes because of it. We have put together this short guide to share more all about batteries.

Keep reading to learn all about communication batteries.

What Are Communication Batteries?

Communication batteries are used in two-way radios and in pagers. This is very common in the trucking industry and other careers where two way radios are necessary such as the aerospace industry. You can view here for more information about the options you have when it comes to communication batteries. 

There are many times where battery applications require communications with external equipment or with other system devices. This is why they are normally also known as Intelligent Batteries. Other than SMBus which is specific to batteries, there are other protocols and communications interfaces that were designed for specific battery applications such as the following:

CAN Bus

When it comes to on-board vehicle communications the CAN (Controller Area Network) bus is the industry standard. CAN bus is a two wire communication bus that networks intelligent sensors and actuators in a central system. It was originally invented to help reduce the size and the weight of the wiring loom it used. 

This allows 12 Volt power to be distributed around the system or the vehicle on a single power rail. It has local actuators that connect the power to each application. There are sensors that are connected to the bus and to the controller that monitor vehicle functions like alarms, switch positions, or temperatures. 

The CAN bus has the ability to provide secure communications in harsh operating environments that have high levels of electrical noise. This is why it is very common in automotive and truck systems. 

LIN Bus

This is another type of automotive communication standard that is very similar to the CAN Bus. LIN also known as Local Interconnect Network is a single wire that operates at 20 KBaud. It uses standardized Smart Connectors and also distributed multiplexers that are based on standard UART/SCI IC hardware. 

The pro is that this allows for low cost IC Solutions. Although it uses more electronics than the CAN bus it uses less wiring and it is also a lot more flexible. 

SMBus

The System Management Bus (SMBus) was designed to be used with low power Smart Battery Systems. It is a two wire, 100 KHz serial bus. The goal of this is to interconnect Smart Batteries that already have built in intelligence. 

SMBus can sometimes be found in simple vehicle applications because it doesn’t have the capability to control devices that are connected to the power lines. 

Feeling Like a Communication Batteries Pro?

We hope that now that you know the ins and outs of communications batteries you are no longer wondering what communication batteries are. 

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