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From: Christoph Koehler on 7 Oct 2008 14:42 Hello, Again my HP50g's batteries are drained. I put in 4 rechargable AAAs, three of which hold a charge of 850mAh and one of over 1000mAh (measured by my charger). I used it for maybe 2 weeks and not often, maybe a total of 2 hours, doing only simple calculations. Any ideas? Could it be the little flat battery that's low? Do I have some kind of server or so enabled? This is getting really frustrating... Thanks! Christoph
From: sc_usenet on 7 Oct 2008 18:58 On Oct 7, 2:42 pm, Christoph Koehler <christoph.koeh...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hello, > > Again my HP50g's batteries are drained. I put in 4 rechargable AAAs, > three of which hold a charge of 850mAh and one of over 1000mAh > (measured by my charger). I used it for maybe 2 weeks and not often, > maybe a total of 2 hours, doing only simple calculations. > > Any ideas? Could it be the little flat battery that's low? Do I have > some kind of server or so enabled? This is getting really > frustrating... > > Thanks! > > Christoph I'm not sure what's going on, but a few things come to mind: 1. When the calculator is idling, it consumes less power than if, say, you have a blinking cursor. So if you like to enter things, pause a bit, look for the numbers to use, then finish typing, this might take more batteries. 2. Your IrDA is on. Use CLOSEIO to shut that off. 3. Is it bad if you are using rechargable batteries of different capacities? If you can, try using four cells with the same current capacity (i.e. all 850 mAh). As for the backup battery, read this thread: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.hp48/browse_frm/thread/20c012410537fda9/17b2675488dadafd?lnk=gst&q=low+battery&rnum=5#17b2675488dadafd Also check out this one: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.hp48/browse_frm/thread/5522b3fdc7b01cf7/76dc1608dbb48d7b?lnk=gst&q=low+battery+indicator#76dc1608dbb48d7b You might also try loading a battery monitor program from hpcalc.org to see how your calculator is doing with the batteries. However, Ni-MH cells tend to stay flat (voltage-wise) during usage and only plummet when very near the end if its recharge cycle. This makes battery monitoring a bit more tricky. When you said that your 50g's batteries are drained, did you mean that the "low battery" annuciator turned on, or that the batteries were actually so low that the calculator itself would no longer turn on? S.C.
From: Martijn van Buul on 8 Oct 2008 03:21 * Christoph Koehler: > Hello, > > Again my HP50g's batteries are drained. I put in 4 rechargable AAAs, > three of which hold a charge of 850mAh and one of over 1000mAh > (measured by my charger). Don't mix and match batteries, on any device. > I used it for maybe 2 weeks and not often, maybe a total of 2 hours, doing > only simple calculations. I've seen cheap NiMH batteries which completely drain themselves due to self discharge within this timeframe. -- Martijn van Buul - pino(a)dohd.org
From: bokubob on 8 Oct 2008 10:41 On Oct 7, 2:42 pm, Christoph Koehler <christoph.koeh...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hello, > > Again my HP50g's batteries are drained. I put in 4 rechargable AAAs, > three of which hold a charge of 850mAh and one of over 1000mAh > (measured by my charger). I used it for maybe 2 weeks and not often, > maybe a total of 2 hours, doing only simple calculations. > > Any ideas? Could it be the little flat battery that's low? Do I have > some kind of server or so enabled? This is getting really > frustrating... Do you mean the calculator won't turn on, or that you're getting the low battery warning? If the calculator ceases operation, then it's certainly a bad battery. But, I'm guessing you mean you're getting the low battery indicator. The low battery warning is based solely on voltage, and is the voltage where a alkaline cell will be near the end of it's life. This usually works fine for ni-mh cells (which have a lower nominal voltage) but maybe yours are hitting that voltage early for some reason, and aren't anywhere near depleted. Good luck, -Jonathan
From: Christoph Koehler on 8 Oct 2008 13:10
Hey guys, Quick reply before I have to get going. They are the same battery set, and they are actually pretty good quality. It just so happens that one of them has a higher capacity, so no mixing and matching. They are all 4 rated for 850mAh. The low battery indicator came on first, and I could do a few calculations, but when I turned it on a few hours of not using it later, it wouldn't even stay on. I will check on the IrDA. Would that remain on through battery changes? I assume so. Thanks! Christoph |