"John I. Clark" wrote:
> What's with all the weird battery juju lately, huh? Right after I read
> the first post about someone's rechargable MP2100 battery not holding a
> charge, mine went strange on me and didn't seem to notice that it had
> been plugged in for several hours. Since then, I've charged it for a
> good long overnight charge and it seems back to normal, but I'm
> concerned anyway. This battery was new from Oz about a year ago, and I
> don't use my Newt all THAT much, so it should last for several years,
> right? What are other's experiences with life span of these batteries? I
> have a bunch of recyclable NiMH AAs that I use in my digital camera, so
> I could start using them in my battery sled and recharging them in their
> charger when necessary, but I'd like to hope the Newton rechargable
> would last awhile longer...
>
> Other questions:
> 1) I have my recharge warning set to 15% (via SBM's Options.pkg). Is
> this a mistake? Am I discharging my battery too much each time?
>
I don't think that this is a problem. Mine is set at 17%. I've tried a bit lower, but I would get a single warning, and then the MP would go to sleep. 17% provides me with a couple of
warnings, so I know I'll have to replace the pack soon. But I don't think that there is any problem discharging the battery. In fact, I think it's a good thing to discharge it
completely.
>
> 2) If I plug in the AC adapter when the battery isn't fully discharged
> (to do something like run my Newt under NPDS for an evening, or just do
> a bunch of network stuff while attached to my Farallon card), should I
> pull the rechargable so as to not OVERCHARGE it, especially if it's
> almost fully charged already? Is it possible to overcharge it by leaving
> it plugged in to the adapter for too long under any circumstances?
I have 3 rechargeable packs that I alternate. Whenever I get home, I plug my MP in and remove the battery from the MP. NiMH don't have the "memory effect" that NiCad have, but I've read
they can develop a slight one if not used properly. So, I always remove the battery when plugging my MP, so that the battery gets a full discharge cycle.
>
>
> 3) Clarification, please: Frank (thanks, Frank, for being such a willing
> and able resource, BTW) said that you can put a piece of cardboard
> somewhere in some models to be able to charge store-bought NiMH AAs in
> the battery sled... Is this possible in the 2100? Could someone give a
> more detailed description of the process is it IS possible? (Or do you
> have to get the tabbed rechargables and follow that German site's
> process for making a homemade internally rechargable pack?)
The little button in the 2100 is very hard to get to, and I don't think I've heard someone being able to trick it. Most people that did replace the rechargeable pack are using the
alkaline battery cage with rechargeable batteries that they recharge in their charger, or they've been able to crack-open the rechargeable battery pack and did replace the cells in it.
But that requires some work, and some equipment to re-seal the rechargeable pack properly.
-Laurent.
=====================================================================
Laurent Daudelin
Developer, Adaptive Infrastructure, CIS Fannie Mae
Phone: 703-833-4266 mailto:Laurent_Daudelin@fanniemae.com
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