About this replacement
ALPSAT Satfinder SF03-BT — 7.4V Li-ion Replacement Battery (AS1005060)
This is a 7.4V, 2000mAh Li-ion replacement battery for the ALPSAT Satfinder SF03-BT satellite finder. It fits directly using OEM part number AS1005060. The SF03-BT is a handheld field instrument used to locate and align satellite dishes during installation and maintenance work.
- SF03-BT platform fit: The SF03-BT uses a fixed 7.4V two-cell Li-ion architecture with a BMS that handshakes on the third pin. This replacement matches that voltage rail and connector pinout, so the instrument firmware reads charge state correctly without throwing a battery fault code.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this pack through the SF03-BT's signal scan and dish-lock sequence. The BMS held stable under the sustained RF front-end draw and did not trip during the display backlight pulse load.
- Post-installation initialisation on the SF03-BT: After fitting this pack, run a full signal scan cycle before taking the unit to site. The SF03-BT maps battery state during active operation, and skipping this step causes premature low-battery warnings during the first alignment session in the field.
SF03-BT shutting down mid-alignment with a battery that showed full charge
The SF03-BT draws a sharp current spike when it locks onto a satellite signal and drives the on-screen level meters simultaneously. If the cell voltage sags below the BMS cutoff threshold during that combined load, the unit shuts off even though the resting voltage read as healthy. This happens more often with an aged original pack where internal resistance has climbed. A fresh cell with lower internal resistance handles the spike without the voltage dip. If this recurs on a new pack, check that the pack is fully charged to 8.4V before field use.
SF03-BT won't power on after the battery sat unused for several months
Li-ion cells self-discharge during storage. If the SF03-BT sat unused long enough for the pack voltage to drop below roughly 6.0V, the BMS enters a protection state and blocks discharge output entirely. The instrument shows no signs of life because the BMS is not passing current to the board. Connect the charger and leave it for at least 30–60 minutes before attempting to power on — most chargers apply a low recovery current that gradually brings the cell voltage back above the BMS wake threshold. Once the pack reaches approximately 7.0V, the BMS re-initialises and the unit powers on normally.