Re: [NTLK] Help! Either my battery or I is (or am) ODD

~~~ On 2007/08/30 01:15, Frank Gruendel at newtontalk@pda-soft.de wrote ~~~

>> For some reason, if I change the battery of my Newton, replacing a spent one
>> with a newly recharged one (I have a more than one battery, and I use them in
>> a strict rota system), instead of the new one reading 100% on the power bar
>> and in Frank¹s NewtTest program, it either behaves as a discharged battery or
>> as an almost discharged battery. This happens nearly all the time.
>>
> Could you please elaborate on "nearly"?
>
I can't remember it *not* happening except at the beginning, but I don't
want to be that definite in case I'm forgetting something. I never needed
to do the swap right away, so at first I didn't notice. Then I had to do it
a couple of times, and there was no problem. About the 3rd or 4th time I
did it, it failed right in the middle of a meeting with a client. After
that it happened a few more times (3 or 4?) and that was enough that I got
into the habit of leaving the same battery in Newt #1 and recharging it in
situ whenever possible, but sometimes I've just had to take a spare battery
instead of risking being unable to plug in and recharge on the road. Most
times, the Newton has surprised me by lasting through the trip and not
needing the swap after all.

>> For example, today I swapped batteries. The new battery, instead of reading
>> 100%, read 31% (and just over 5.00 volts, if that helps). When I take the
>> battery out and put it into the Newton in which it had been recharged, it¹s
>> fine: 100%. Then when I return it to my main Newt, it¹s back down to 31%.
>>
> Does NewtTests report the same battery type in both Newtons, i. e. NiMH
> rechargeable pack? Does it report approximately the same discharge current?
>
Yes: and approx. 0.056 amperes discharge, approximately ±0.001 difference
between the two machines.

>> First, we¹re talking about MP2100s and MP2000Us.
>>
> Assuming that you do not own more than the three 2x00s that were on my
> workbench in January, I assume that we are talking of the Newtons with
> hardware IDs 0000 0000 01E6 8B16 and 0000 0000 0202 4A8E here. Hardware ID
> 0000 0000 0202 4A8E was a 2000, if I remember correctly. Is this correct?
>
ID 0000 0000 0202 4A8E is my original 2100 (my "#1"), and the one in which I
charged the battery for this current episode is MP2000 with ID 0000 0000
01B1 6F10 (my "#3").

>> Second, all the batteries were re-celled, courtesy of Frank, only the
>> beginning of this year, so this isn¹t nearly dead batteries being cranky.
>>
> This can be considered correct. If I remember correctly, BattLog reported
> between 28 and 30 hours usage time before I sent them back :-)
>
Indeed! And of course, that time is functionally longer because I just
can't manage to write on a Newton without stopping to do other (usually less
interesting) things. I reckon I'm getting a couple of weeks out of the
batteries, with battery #1 (normally living in Newton #1) getting the least
time now because it's with me 24/7 and has had heavier use.

>> Third, I recharge the batteries and then use them, in a rota to maintain
>> equal use and wear. I recharge using one of my spare Newtons if I¹m having
>> to carry a backup battery.
>>
> Do you ALWAYS recharge all batteries in the same Newton?
>
No. Sorry I didn't explain this more precisely. Because I'm often using
the Newtons in different locations, I tend to move the charger around in a
rota and charge batteries in their "assigned" machines. They pretty much
keep to a schedule most of the time. But occasionally, I just have to have
an extra battery for a quick-swap on the road, and then I will plan ahead,
and keep the battery of one of my spare Newtons on its full charge (leaving
it plugged in) until I take the battery with me. Because of the way I've
been able to schedule the visits made by my Newton recharger to the
different MPs, I don't have to leave a battery on trickle for very long
before I take it away on the trip as my backup. If I do have a time gap,
that's when I move a battery to a ziplock bag (as mentioned in my previous
post). That's usually just overnight.

>> Fourth, batteries not needed are stored in the frig (not freezer), doubly
>> bagged in ziplocks (this happens only seldom). They¹re never stored in the
>> frig in the fully charged state for more than a day
>>
> As a side note, the latter would actually be better. Charge it and store in
> in the fridge until you need it.
>
See above. Right now, the amount of use and the way they're in different
places means they don't get a lot of down-time for resting in a frig! But
I'm expecting this to change and things to become slower, and then this
advice will prove timely. Thanks.

>> All the batteries are ³happy² if I don¹t move them between machines after
>> recharging. What I don¹t know is if this problem only happens when I try to
>> swap batteries into my main Newt, or if it is a ³feature² of the way all
>> Newtons operate.
>>
> It is certainly not the latter. But it might be possible that some software
> like Nick's SoftCharge might influence the reported capacity value on one
> Newton and not on another Netwton because it is not installed there. To rule
> his out, you should brainwipe your two Newtons before you swap the pack from
> one to the other.
>
AFAICS, I don't have Nick's SoftCharge on any machine (didn't actually know
such a thing exists), so unless it could be there as a hidden app, I don't
think that can be doing anything.

"Brain wipe" -- I've never really been sure which of the 4 kinds of resets
(as listed on your site) this refers to. I assume it's what you call the
"Hard Reset" where the Newton is given an e-enema and even loses things like
installed software and the like. Since I don't have Nick's SoftCharge, is
such a drastic step really needed yet?

>> I suppose I should stop being lazy and test it,
>>
> Yep...
>
Errr, I asked for that!

>> but ...well, I¹m being lazy.
>>
> Thank God WE are not ;-))
>
My lame excuse is, my laziness is a disguise for my ignorance. And like all
excuses, it just makes things worse not better. In reality, I have to read
up enough so I know more about what to test and how, and then I will have to
pull back my Newtons into one place so I can have a go at them all without
travelling round to do it.

>> Is this really a standard Newton problem
>>
> Nope. Normally two healthy Newtons should report approximately the same
> capacity for the same pack. There are a couple of explanations for why they
> might NOT do this, but none of them should apply for two brainwiped Newtons
> without any hardware defect and with no PCMCIA cards installed.
>
Incidental question: is there any possibility that a communications card,
e.g., a modem in one machine but not the other, can significantly interfere
with all this? Newt #1 has a modem in it more often than not.

...

>> Oh yeah, I¹ve tried doing the basic reset thingie; it doesn¹t make a
>> difference.
>>
> Does "basic" include brainwipes of both Newtons in question?
>
Not if I'm right in thinking "brain wipe" means reset number 4, the Hard
Reset. So far, I've only done the first one you list, the "Software
Reset", on the principle that if I start out trying the gentlest solution, I
can always ratchet up the force if I need to, but if I start with the
sledgehammer and it turns out the problem was only a walnut, well ....

While we're on the subject, the Hard Reset, that's the one where the only
safe software and data (other than factory installed software and the
updates) are things I move to a data card first, right? I have a picture in
my head of HAL9000 singing "Daisy, Daisy..." Ugh!

I've had to go ahead and put Newt through the recharge cycle so it will
recognize the battery as "full" again. I'm travelling a lot just now, and I
need a well-fed Newt to do it all. Meanwhile, I need to learn what to do,
so that by the time I'm able to sit still and work all this out, I'll won't
be able to put it off till I "know more". :)

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