About this replacement
Symbol PTC-960C Series — 7.2V Ni-MH Replacement Battery (20198-002)
This is a 7.2V, 1000mAh Ni-MH battery for the Symbol PTC-960C, PTC-960CL, PTC-960L, and TX94C2-D handheld barcode scanners. It replaces OEM part numbers 20198-002, 20198-101, 20198-201, 20198-311, 14881-000, and 253184. These scanners are used in point-of-sale and inventory environments where a dead battery stops a shift cold.
- PTC-960 series compatibility: The PTC-960C, PTC-960CL, PTC-960L, and TX94C2-D share the same 7.2V battery bay, connector pinout, and BMS handshake protocol — one pack covers all four models without modification.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We ran this pack through full charge and discharge cycles on a PTC-960C unit. The BMS accepted the cell without fault codes, the scan trigger fired cleanly at both full charge and low-state-of-charge, and the cradle reported a normal charge cycle from first dock.
- First-shift prep for pick-and-pack: Place the scanner in its cradle for a complete charge cycle before the first use. Scan trigger inrush current peaks when the cell is near minimum — a fully charged pack prevents false BMS trips when the first shift starts heavy.
Cradle showing charging error on a new pack
A charging error on a new Ni-MH pack is almost always contact resistance, not a faulty cell. The PTC-960 cradle uses spring-loaded dock contacts that collect oxidation and debris over time. Even a thin film on the pack's gold contacts raises resistance enough to trigger an error state. Wipe both the pack contacts and the cradle contacts with a dry lint-free cloth, reseat the scanner firmly, and the cradle should clear the error and begin a normal charge cycle.
Scanner losing wireless connection during rapid scan bursts
During rapid scan sequences, the PTC-960 pulls current simultaneously from the laser or imager and the wireless radio — combined inrush can spike above what a degraded or partially discharged pack can deliver cleanly. The voltage sag triggers the BMS to momentarily cut current, and the radio drops its connection before recovering. This shows up as intermittent dropouts mid-shift rather than a clean power-off. If this happens on a new pack, charge to full before the next shift — the effect disappears above approximately 7.0V resting voltage.