PAG Launches Linking Gold Mount Battery at NAB

LONDON—11 March 2014—At NAB 2014, PAG, one of the broadcast industry’s longest established global providers of innovative portable power solutions, will launch its new Gold Mount® compatible, (3-Stud, Snap-On®) high-current, PAGlink battery, a replacement for all Anton/Bauer® Li-Ion batteries. The new battery will be showcased on Stand C9539.

“PAGlink is the first truly digital linking battery system,” says PAG Sales Director Nigel Gardiner. “It offers more power, more functional benefits and more technological advances than any other system.”

The smaller and lighter PAGlink HC-PL94T Li-Ion battery is compatible with Gold Mount camera plates and Anton/Bauer Li-Ion chargers; there is no need to change these in order to benefit from the many advantages of PAG’s new, revolutionary intelligent-linking batteries.

Two or more PAGlink batteries, in any state of charge, can be linked, combining their capacities and enabling a higher current to be drawn. Up to 12A can be supplied for power hungry camera set-ups with multiple accessories. Individual PAGlink batteries are capable of 10A alone. Two linked batteries provide longer run-time than two single packs used consecutively. PAGlink also allows batteries to be hot-swapped for continuous power. (International patents have been applied for PAGlink.)

PAGlink was designed so that flight-friendly 94 watt-hour battery units can be linked to create a high-capacity Li-Ion power source on location. Linking two HC-PL94T packs creates an 188Wh battery. The number of Li-Ion batteries above 100Wh that you can take with you on passenger aircraft is restricted to two; while Li-Ion batteries that have capacities greater than 160 watt-hours are banned from passenger flights altogether. PAGlink batteries, which are UN certified and embody unsurpassed safety features, are unrestricted in quantity by air transport legislation.

Typically, up to 4 PAGlink batteries can be linked for charging on each position of Anton/Bauer Li-Ion chargers, resulting in a 16-channel unit. PAGlink batteries display their individual status during charging. PAGlink allows up to 8 batteries to be linked for charge or discharge. Linked charging was developed by PAG and is unique to the PAGlink system. The result is less battery swapping and fewer chargers required.

“Intelligent PAGlink batteries form a network when linked, allowing them to communicate with each other and manage output safely and efficiently,” notes Gardiner. “It also enables them to communicate automatically with the camera data system that allows both PAGlink and Anton/Bauer batteries to display their remaining capacity in the camera viewfinder/LCD. PAGlink is the right battery for today’s increasingly computerised cameras. It makes other battery systems seem crude by comparison.”

The PAGlink HC-PL94T battery incorporates a convenient numeric display that, with two button presses on-load, shows remaining camera run-time, in hours and minutes. The display maintains accuracy by tracking cell-performance and adjusting calibration values to compensate for cell-aging. When batteries are linked, the run-time figure is for the entire stack, but a single button press shows individual battery capacity as a percentage.

(Anton/Bauer, Gold Mount and Snap-On are registered trademarks of Anton/Bauer).

About PAG
PAG is the UK-based designer and manufacturer of the most technologically advanced camera power and lighting systems for the broadcast and professional video industry. The company is best known for providing batteries, chargers, on-board camera lighting, lighting accessories, battery mounts and power adaptors for broadcasting organisations, video production companies, equipment hire companies, freelancers, cinematographers, professional videographers, the military and civil authorities.