dl1@ukc.ac.uk (D.Langford) (05/02/90)
I posted a tale of woe about flat batteries in my Z88 a while back, and it seemed sensible to summarize for the net - seems as if it could be a small percentage of Z88's may have the problem as well. NiCad batteries were mentioned as needing special treatment; if only discharged to a certain level before recharging, they apparantly treat this as their new 'discharged' point. Could it be sensible to totally discharge a battery pack after removal from the computer but before recharging it? In any event, several people told me they had experienced charging-type problems. More: it seems from several reports that if Z88 key/s are depressed /at any time/ the battery is discharging. I take this to mean that even if the machine is theoretically off, pressure on a key can flatten batteries. Someone mentioned a special hard plastic keyboard cover designed to prevent this problem. Finally - and this was probably a major part of my own problem - the actual keyboard itself can cause false 'keydown' messages. Those funny rubber keys can be damaging without appearing damaged... For the interested: my Z88 now won't work at all, even with fully charged batteries (I suspect the benchtesting only tested functioning with a mains connector). Ah, well. Back to the Mac... - duncan ----------------------------------------------------------------------- dl1@ukc.ac.uk duncan langford computing lab., university of kent, uk -----------------------------------------------------------------------