[NTLK] Re. eMate Battery Booster (was Re: Hi All! This is probably a dumb idea, and asking)

[Greg Hankins]

Hi Kevin & Dan!

Thanks for the info on the booster pack. My mistake was searching the  
archive for "emate battery pack." The word I needed was "booster."

Looking at the archive, there seems to have been a good bit of debate  
about the utility of this sort of external power supply, as well as  
its safe use. Most of that debate focused on MP1XXs and MP2XXXs  
rather than the eMate.

The consensus seemed to be that the safest way to use such a device  
is after removing the internal rechargeables. Apple apparently  
recommended the same in its documentation for the Booster Pack. But  
removing the rechargeables is a more complicated option with the eMate.

Leaving the rechargeables in while using the external booster appears  
to be a bit of a crap shoot. Testimony from folks clearly more  
knowledgeable about things electrical indicated that, as long as the  
voltage of the external pack is keep under 6v, there's little risk of  
damaging the Newt by trying to stuff a lot of amps in to it all at  
once. However, the fact that the booster pack will be recharging the  
internal batteries means that there will be some loss of energy in  
the process.

A more ominous note was sounded, though not fully explained, by  
someone who suggested that the eMate and MP2100 have a fast recharge  
mode that might, in fact, suck dry the booster pack pretty quickly.  
It was not clear to me whether that would be undesirable because of  
power wasted in the recharging process or because it might be  
dangerous for the Newton or eMate.

If a booster pack could safely partially recharge the eMate's  
internal batteries from a set of alkaline batteries, that would be a  
good thing, even if there is, say, a 25% power loss in the transfer.

But my reading of the archive makes me wary of trying this without  
additional input from people who are smart about things electrical.

Thanks!

Greg

On Dec 15, 2014, at 8:37 PM, Kevin LaCombe wrote:

> Greg,
>
> I'll be gentle…it was called the Battery Booster Pack and held 8 AA  
> batteries.  I had one at one time but I don't recall if you needed  
> a working internal battery in the eMate for it to function.
> It have tried to charge the internal battery while plugged in.
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottyhoffo/3023344244/in/pool-newtons
>
> -Kevin
>
> On Dec 15, 2014, at 5:04 PM, "Greg Hankins" <greg at greghankins.com>  
> wrote:
>
>> Hi All!
>>
>> This is probably a dumb idea, and asking the question will betray  
>> my questionable grasp of things electrical, but here goes:
>>
>> Would it be feasible to create an external battery pack that plugs  
>> into the power adaptor socket of an eMate?
>>
>> I'm thinking of one that could be loaded with
>> 4 AA non-rechargeables, for use when you are out of power with the  
>> internal batteries but lack access to mains power (for instance,  
>> when camping).
>>
>> You see such devices-often rechargeable-for latter-day devices  
>> like iPhones.
>>
>> If such a thing is feasible, I might like to build one. Any tips  
>> or thoughts would 6e most welcome.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Greg
>> -- 
>> Greg Hankins
>> Town Creek, NC
>> Mailed from my MP2000+
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------- 
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