About this replacement
Harris AN/PRC-152 Series — 3.6V Li-SOCl2 Replacement Battery (LTC-7PN-S4)
This is a 3.6V, 750mAh lithium-thionyl chloride cell built to the LTC-7PN-S4 specification. It fits the AN/PRC-152, AN/PRC-152(C), AN/PRC-152(V)1(C), AN/PRC-152(V)2(C), and related variants. Physical dimensions are 25.50 × 16.50 × 6.60mm — verify against your current cell before ordering.
- AN/PRC-152 variant compatibility: The 152, 152(C), (V)1(C), and (V)2(C) all draw from the same 3.6V rail with the same cell form factor. LTC-7PN-S4 is the common cell across the platform — the variants differ in firmware and crypto modules, not battery interface.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We ran this cell against the PRC-152 transmit cycle. Under the burst-transmit load the radio draws during PTT, the Li-SOCl2 chemistry held voltage flat without the mid-transmission sag a degraded cell shows. No cutout events during the test sequence.
- First-use activation on Li-SOCl2 cells: Lithium-thionyl chloride cells form a passivation layer during storage. On the PRC-152, insert the new cell and key the radio to transmit briefly before relying on it in the field — this breaks down the passivation layer and restores full voltage delivery under load.
Why the AN/PRC-152 reads low voltage immediately after new cell insertion
Li-SOCl2 cells build a lithium chloride film on the anode during storage — this is passivation, and it is normal. When the radio first reads the cell at rest, the film causes a suppressed open-circuit voltage that can trigger a low-battery indication. The fix is brief transmit activity: keying the PTT for a few short bursts drives enough current through the cell to dissolve the film. After that, the radio will read cell voltage accurately.
AN/PRC-152 cuts out mid-transmission on a fresh cell
If the radio drops out while transmitting even with a new cell, the passivation layer is the first suspect — not a faulty battery. A heavily passivated cell spikes internal resistance the moment transmit current hits, and the radio's undervoltage protection trips the cutout. Run two or three short keyed transmissions to depassivate, then retest. If cutout persists after depassivation, check the battery contacts for corrosion and confirm cell voltage under load holds above 3.2V.