PAG will be showing some new battery solutions at NAB next month. The first is called PowerHub, which is designed for use with the PAGlink Gold Mount System of compact linking batteries.
The PAGlink PowerHub provides a myriad of outputs for all your 12V camera accessories. The Hub is designed to be used between the two PAGlink Gold Mount batteries, so you can power not only your camera, but all of your accessories as well. The Hub is hot swappable when you have more than one battery stacked on your camera and it works with both the PL94 and PL150 PAGlink Gold Mount models.
The PowerHub features 5 ports that accept interchangeable D-Tap, Lemo (2-pin), Hirose (4-pin) and USB connectors. Four D-Taps and a USB (5V 1A) are also on the Hub. The low-profile PowerHub is manufactured from lightweight ABS and only takes up just 1/2″ when placed between two PAGlink batteries. This looks to be a great option for powering your camera and accessories without having to buy a third party power distribution box.
Another new product is an ultra-compact travel charger that works with PAGlink Gold Mount System of linking batteries. The new PAGlink Micro Charger features a single charging shoe that clips onto Gold Mount battery contacts. The lightweight charger is compatible with both the PL94 and PL150 PAGlink Gold Mount batteries. The PAGlink technology allows for up to 8 batteries to be linked for simultaneous charging. Three 94Wh PAGlink Gold Mount batteries can be charged overnight in around 11 hours. While this is a lot slower than using a traditional charger, it doesn’t take up nearly as much space and you don’t have to get up in the middle of the night to change over the batteries. The Micro Charger can also be used to charge Anton Bauer Li-Ion batteries sequentially. PAG are claiming the Micro Charger is the broadcast industry’s smallest, most economic, multi-battery charger.
Finally PAG will also be showing a new new Battery Reader for the PAGlink series. The reader can be clipped onto the battery contacts to reveal useful information such as the number of cycles, the date of manufacture, capacity in Ah, software version, serial number and more.
All these new products are expected to ship in the second quarter of 2017, but there is currently no indication of pricing.
