[NTLK] Re - Draining batteries

From: Frank Gruendel (Frank_Gruendel_at_t-online.de)
Date: Tue May 07 2002 - 19:12:11 EDT


> I didn't want to critizise Idler nor BattMon, they are certainly useful
for
> what they have been designed for. I simply wrote down wishes for an accu
> monitoring program, which would have to either drain the accus completely
or
> monitor the discharge always if the Newton is powered by accu. The Newton
> got obviously all necessary hardware and it is only a piece of software
> what's missing, as often.

"The" Newton doesn't. MP2K models do.

For determining how many mAh actually came out of the battery you need
to be able to monitor the current flowing from the pack at any given moment.
Pre-2x00 Newtons do not have the required hardware.

It is *not* enough to simply monitor the time of usage. The current the
Newton
needs strongly depends on installed hardware (cards) and what you do with
Newtie. Beaming
needs way more current than waiting for input from the keyboard. Unless you
can *exactly* reproduce what you did over the whole discharge cycle,
measuring
the time won't yield any meaningful results. This is where BattLog comes in.
You start it and leave the Newton alone until it shuts off. This is the
*only*
way to get meaningful results if all you can measure is the time.

Frank

Newton hardware and software at http://www.pda-soft.de

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