ION Pathfinder Charger User Guide

ION Pathfinder Charger

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the Pathfinder Charger. At ION, your entertainment is as important to us as it is to you. That’s why we design our products with one thing in mind—to make your
life more fun and more convenient.

Note: Before you first use Pathfinder Charger, please fully charge the battery. Your Pathfinder Charger was purposely shipped with a reduced battery charge to ensure safe transit. Use the included power cable to connect Pathfinder Charger to a power outlet and let the unit charge for up to 12 hours. This helps ensure the longest life for your battery.

Box Contents

• Pathfinder Charger
• Microphone and Cable
• 1/8” (3.5 mm) Stereo Aux Cable
• Power/Charging Cable
• Quickstart Guide
• Safety & Warranty Manual

Support

For the latest information about this product (documentation, technical specifications, system requirements, compatibility information, etc.) and product registration, visit ionaudio.com.
For additional product support, visit ionaudio.com/support

Rechargeable Batteries

Rechargeable lead-acid batteries are the same type used in automobiles. As with your car battery, how you use this battery has a significant impact on its lifespan. With proper use and treatment, a lead acid battery can last for years. Here are some recommendations for getting the longest life from the internal battery.

General Usage: Fully charge the battery before using it. Charge the battery completely after each use.
Storage: For best product longevity, do not store at exceedingly hot (greater than 90°F/32°C) or exceedingly cold (less than 32°F/0°C) temperatures. It is acceptable to leave your sound system plugged in. This will not overcharge the battery. If you leave the battery level low and do not charge it for 6 months, it may permanently lose capacity.
Repair: If the battery fails to charge, check your fuse near the power cable input. If your fuse is intact and it still will not charge, contact ION Audio at ionaudio.com.
Disposal: Bring the unit to a recycling center or dispose of in accordance with local ordinances.

Outdoor Use and Care

Though Pathfinder Charger is water-resistant and able to tolerate splashing water, please review the tips below to get the best performance from Pathfinder Charger:

• Pathfinder Charger must only be used outdoors with power outlets or extension cords that are rated for outdoor use.
• Bring Pathfinder Charger indoors during extreme weather.
• Please do not place Pathfinder Charger in standing water.
• Please do not connect the power cable to Pathfinder Charger in a wet environment. Make sure the power input, power cable, and power outlet are all completely dry before making any connections.
• WARNING: Keep any non-water-resistant devices (phones, music players, etc.) in a dry place where they will not be affected by water and cause a risk of electric shock. Do not
  place devices in the included storage bag, as it is not water-resistant.

Quick Setup

1. Make sure all items listed in the Box Contents are included in the box.
2. Read the Safety & Warranty Manual before using the product.
3. Make sure the battery is completely charged prior to first use for maximum battery life.
4. Study the Connection Diagram.
5. Ensure the Master Volume on Pathfinder Charger is at zero.
6. Connect your devices.
7. Raise the volume to a comfortable level.
8. Return the Master Volume to zero when you are finished using Pathfinder Charger.

Connection Diagram

Items not listed under Introduction > Box Contents are sold separately.

Features

Front Panel

1. Power Button: Turns Pathfinder Charger on or off. Please note that while Pathfinder Charger is connected to a power source, it does not need to be powered on to charge the battery. When the power is on, the display will show the power indicator.
   Note: If the unit is turned off before exiting the alarm/clock menu, the settings may not be saved.

2. Bluetooth Button : Press and release the Bluetooth button to pair to a Bluetooth device. Press and release the Bluetooth button to disconnect a paired Bluetooth device. Press this
   button twice to disable (or enable) the voice prompts.

3. Light Mode Button: Press this button to select how the lights on the front panel function:

   • Color Cycle: The lights slowly glow and cycle through colors. Press and hold the Light Mode button to freeze the lights on one color.
   • Beat Sync: The lights react to the beat of the music.
   • Off: The lights turn off. This is the default mode when Pathfinder Charger is first powered on.

4. Radio Selector: This button sets the radio to FM, AM, or turns the radio off.

5. AM/FM Presets: Store a favorite radio station and quickly tune to a preset radio station. There are 5 numeric positions to store AM band presets and 5 numeric positions to store FM band presets. To add a preset:

   • Select either the FM or AM band and then use the Tune/Track buttons to select the desired radio station.
   • Press and hold a numeric preset button to assign the current station to that preset number. The display will show “SAV” to show the station has been saved. To use an added preset, press a preset number once lightly to go to the stored radio station.

6. Bass Boost: Press this button to enhance the overall bass frequency response. Press and hold the Bass Boost button to enter “Menu” mode.
   Note: If the unit is turned off before exiting the alarm/clock menu, the settings may not be saved. The “Menu” is used for setting the following:

   • Clock On/Off: Display will show “CLO”. Then, use the arrow keys to toggle the clock on and off. Display will show “ON” or “OFF”. Press the Play/Pause button to select.

   • Clock Set: Clock will start flashing 12:00PM. Use the arrow buttons to select AM or PM. Press Play/Pause to confirm selection. Then, Hours will start flashing. Use the arrow buttons to select the hour. Press Play/Pause to confirm. Minutes will then begin to flash. Use the arrow keys to scroll through minutes. Press the Play/Pause button to confirm.

   • Alarm On/Off: Display will show “ALA”. Alarm defaults to “off”. Use the arrow keys to toggle on/off. Press Play/Pause to confirm selection. If the alarm is set to “on”, the
     bell icon will appear. If the alarm is set to off, the bell icon will not appear. Press any button to disable the alarm. The alarm will automatically turn off after 1 minute.

   • Alarm Set: Display will start flashing 12:00PM. Use the arrow keys to choose AM or PM. Hours will start flashing. Use the arrow keys to select, then press “play/pause” to confirm. Minutes will start flashing. Use the arrow keys to select. Press “play/pause” to confirm.
     Note: If the alarm is set to less than one minute ahead from the current time, it may not sound the alarm until 24 hours later.

   • Voice Prompts On/Off: Display will show “VOI” (UOI). Use arrow keys to toggle voice prompts On and Off. Press the Play/Pause button to confirm. If the voice prompts are
     turned off, the speaker will say “voice off”. If the voice prompts are turned on, the speaker will say “voice on”.

7. Play/Pause/Link: Press to play or pause a track from a connected Bluetooth device. Press and hold this button to start stereo linking to another Pathfinder Charger speaker. Press this button twice to disconnect the link to another Pathfinder Charger speaker.

8. Tune/Track Buttons: Press these buttons to tune in a radio station or go to the previous/next track on a Bluetooth connected device. To “seek” (jump to the next available station), hold either button down for a few seconds until it starts to seek a station. The unit will remember the last station it was on and start at that station when powered off and on again.

9. Display: Displays the current radio station, battery status, and Bluetooth status.

   • Charging Indicator: When the power cable is connected, movement of the top battery segment shows the battery is charging. When fully charged, all battery segments will be lit without blinking. When the power cable is disconnected, the battery segment shows the level of the battery.
   • Lightning Bolt Icon: The lightning bolt icon will illuminate when the IEC power cable is connected to wall power.
   • Bluetooth Icon: The Bluetooth icon will not be lit when Pathfinder Charger is first powered on (unless it was previously paired with a device). The Bluetooth icon will be lit solid when a device is paired to Pathfinder Charger.
   • Power Indicator: The power indicator will be lit when Pathfinder Charger is powered on. The power indicator will not be lit when Pathfinder Charger is powered off.

10. Master Volume Control: This adjusts the speaker’s main mix volume, which includes the Microphone Input, Auxiliary Input, Radio, and the audio of a paired Bluetooth device.

11. Microphone Input with Volume Control (1/4”): This mono input accepts a 1/4” (6.35 mm) input such as a microphone, guitar, or other musical instrument.

12. Auxiliary Input: This stereo 1/8” (3.5 mm) input can be used to connect a CD player, MP3 player, or other audio source.

13. Speaker Link: Connect two or more Pathfinder Charger’s together using a 1/8” (3.5 mm) stereo aux cable from the Speaker Link of one Pathfinder Charger to the Aux Input of the second Pathfinder Charger. A 2’ (61 cm) cable is included but a longer one can be purchased from a local electronics retailer.

14. USB Charging Port: Connect your device’s charge cable here to charge it. USB charging only functions when the unit’s power is turned on.Note: To charge smartphones and tablets faster, put the device’s screen to sleep.

15. Power Cable Input (Back Panel): Insert the included power cable here to charge the unit. Note that the Pathfinder Charger can be used with the power cable while it simultaneously charges the battery.

Top Panel

1. Qi Wireless Charging: Place your Qi compatible smartphone here to wirelessly charge it.
2. Qi Charging Indicator: When a Qi compatible smartphone is placed on the landing area on the top panel, a blue LED on the top panel will light and begin to fade in and out slowly to indicate that the smartphone is successfully being charged wirelessly. When the smartphone is 100% charged, the LED will turn off.
3. NFC (near-field communication): After pressing and releasing the Bluetooth button, touch and briefly hold your supported and enabled device to the NFC logo to pair the device.

Pairing a Bluetooth Device

1. Turn on your Bluetooth device.

2. Power on Pathfinder Charger. * If you have previously connected to another Bluetooth device, Pathfinder Charger will reconnect. To disconnect pairing if the Bluetooth icon is lit
   solid, press and release the Bluetooth button.

3. Press and release the Bluetooth button to pair to a Bluetooth device.

4. Navigate to your Bluetooth device’s setup screen, find Pathfinder Charger and connect. *
   Note: If your Bluetooth device prompts for a pairing code, enter “0000”.

5. To disconnect pairing while the Bluetooth icon is lit solid, press the Bluetooth button. *

6. To connect to another Bluetooth device, repeat step 3.
   Note: Maximum range will be achieved when using devices with Bluetooth 4.0 or higher.
   Tip: Press the Bluetooth button twice to enable or disable voice prompts.

Pairing a Bluetooth Device Using NFC

NFC (near-field communication) allows data exchange from devices, such as pairing, by gently bumping them together. Check in your device’s manual to see if this feature is supported.

To use NFC to pair with Pathfinder Charger:

1. In order to use NFC, your device must be turned on and unlocked.
2. Enter your device’s Settings menu and check that NFC is turned On (one time step).
3. Power on Pathfinder Charger.
4. Press and release the Bluetooth button on Pathfinder Charger and the Bluetooth icon will flash (only needed for the first time when NFC pairing with the device).
5. Touch and briefly hold your device to the NFC logo located on Pathfinder Charger’s top panel.
6. Follow the pairing instructions that appear on your phone. If a passcode is required, enter “0000”.
7. To unpair, gently bump your device against the NFC logo or disconnect the Bluetooth connection from your device’s Bluetooth menu.

Stereo Linking Two Speakers

To link two Pathfinder Charger’s together for stereo sound:

1. Press and hold the Play/Pause/Link button to enter Stereo Link mode. Once a link has been established, the word LINK should appear in the display.
2. Select which unit will be the master (left channel) by pressing and releasing the Bluetooth button.
3. To disconnect the link between the two speakers, double-press the Play/Pause/Link button.

Troubleshooting

• If the unit is not charging: Make sure the power cable is properly connected to the power input and the power outlet.

• If the sound is distorted: Try lowering the volume control of your sound source, musical instrument, or microphone. Also, try to reduce the overall volume of Pathfinder Charger using the Master Volume knob.

• If there is too much bass: Try adjusting the tone or EQ control on your sound source to lower the bass level. This will allow you to play the music louder before clipping (distortion) occurs.

• If there is poor AM reception: When you have a Bluetooth device that is connected, disconnect your Bluetooth device in order to listen to AM radio. To adjust AM reception, move
  the entire unit.

• If there is a high-pitched whistling noise when using microphones: This is probably feedback. Point the microphone away from the speaker.

• If you can’t hear the microphone over the music volume: Turn down the music volume from your source.

• If you can’t play music from a flash drive: The USB port is only for charging USB devices.

• If you cannot connect your audio device to Pathfinder Charger via Bluetooth:

• Have your audio device (e.g., smartphone or tablet) and Pathfinder Charger as close together as possible while trying to connect. Make sure both the audio device and Pathfinder Charger are unobstructed by walls, furniture, etc.

• Reset the Bluetooth connection on Pathfinder Charger to disconnect Pathfinder Charger from any other audio device and restart the search process. If this does not work right away, power off Pathfinder Charger and then power it back on. See Pairing a Bluetooth Device for more information.

• Reset the Bluetooth connection on your audio device by turning Bluetooth off and back on. You can find this under the Bluetooth menu in the Settings for your phone or other audio device.

• If this does not work, and you have connected to Pathfinder Charger before, find Pathfinder Charger in the list of available or previously connected devices in your audio device’s Bluetooth menu, tap the “gear” or “i” icon located next to it and then select Unpair or Forget. Turn Pathfinder Charger off and back on and try pairing again once it reappears in your available devices list.
  Note: If Pathfinder Charger has been paired to another audio device recently that is still within range, you may need to repeat this process with that audio device to fully disconnect.

References

• Sound Experiences | ION Audio
• Support : ION Audio

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