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

> 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"?

> 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?

> 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?

> 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 :-)

> 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?

> 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.

> 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.

> I suppose I should stop being lazy and test it,

Yep...

> but ...well, I¹m being lazy.

Thank God WE are not ;-))
 
> 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.

> or is it the case (as I suspect) that I¹m just not following some
procedure
> necessary to the successfully getting my Newton to recognize the new
power
> source after swapping over the batteries?

No. There's no magic to this, other than waiting a little for the
Newton to
update its capacity value (sometimes this takes a little time).

> Oh yeah, I¹ve tried doing the basic reset thingie; it doesn¹t make a
difference.

Does "basic" include brainwipes of both Newtons in question?

> I¹d love to understand this

So do I...

Cheers

Frank

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

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