a_schwartz@vaxa.cc.uwa.oz.au (07/17/90)
I am having difficulty in getting a full charge into the battery which comes with my Zenith Supersport 286(20 mb hard disc). On three occasions in a row it has run out of juice after between 70 and 80 minutes use as a dumb terminal hooked up to the Vax I am now on, which involves no hard disc use after initial connection. The 286 is one year old; the battery has been drained and recharged perhaps a dozen times. Previous to these incidents, it has lasted for more than three hours of word processing, with lots of disc activity. A program called "Battery Watch" version 1:00(C) has been installed on the hard disc. It has a "Deep Discharge" feature which they claim will "discharge the battery as deeply as possible"..."in order to remove a memory-effect problem in a NiCad battery." I do not have the Battery Watch manual with me. The 286 owner's manual does not tell you exactly how to recharge the battery. When the 286 is on battery power, and the red power light blinks and the beeper sounds, I have tried to completely drain the battery in two different ways: (a)by running the machine until the screen goes blank and the power light goes out; and (b)by using the Battery Watch deep discharge feature to do the same thing. I have then attempted to recharge the battery (disconnected from the computer itself) by plugging in the power supply unit (model 150-308) which comes with the 286, and then plugging that into the mains overnight (16 hours the last time). This has worked in the past, but seems to work no longer. Can any Zenith or laptop mavens out there tell me: (a)What have I been doing wrong? (b)Can this battery be restored to taking a full charge, and if so, how? (c)Is the battery harmed by leaving it on the 286 and hooking up to mains power through it? (d)Just what is meant by "memory-effect" problems with nicads? And (e)Is there a Zenith dealer in Perth? Thanks in advance for the rescue.
pel@sunkls.UUCP (Paul Leclerc) (07/26/90)
In article <1990Jul17.131124.1977@vaxa.cc.uwa.oz.au> a_schwartz@vaxa.cc.uwa.oz.au writes: >The 286 is one year old; the battery has been drained and recharged yup... me too. >perhaps a dozen times. Previous to these incidents, it has lasted for >more than three hours of word processing, with lots of disc activity. Same here.... (deja vu!) >A program called "Battery Watch" version 1:00(C) has been installed on the >hard disc. It has a "Deep Discharge" feature which they claim will >"discharge the battery as deeply as possible"..."in order to remove >a memory-effect problem in a NiCad battery." I do not have the Battery >Watch manual with me. The 286 owner's manual does not tell you exactly >how to recharge the battery. >When the 286 is on battery power, and the red power light blinks and >the beeper sounds, I have tried to completely drain the battery in two >different ways: >(a)by running the machine until the screen goes blank and the power >light goes out; and >(b)by using the Battery Watch deep discharge feature to do the same thing. I have had the very same thing happen to me and I have tried the very same things you did to resolve (ie use Battery Watch) but alas, none of it has worked. I sometimes don't even get 70-80 minutes but only 20 or so. It worked great for about 8 months or so but now after a year, it really stinks. Thank God I don't use the battery all that much, but it would be nice to use it from time to time. >Thanks in advance for the rescue. I wish I could help you, but I can certainly sympathize. Paul L. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Leclerc | UUCP: ...!uunet!atexnet!pel | Internet: pel@epps.kodak.com Kodak Legal Systems | "Damn good coffee"