On Saturday 18 February 2006 04:32, john gennard wrote: > I am most grateful to the seventeen persons who >responded to my request; it would take up a lot of list >space to reply to each. > > In a few weeks, I'll be 76 and do not need to >use a battery as I've no intention or need to take the >machine outdoors. I could easily buy a new battery, but >from a logical point of view, is it sensible to spend >40% of the secondhand cost when I can use the Adapter >(one thing I have in my flat is a surfeit of plugs).
Humm, and I thought I was the old man of the mountain around here at 71, I bow to you, Sir John! > What the replies prompt me to ask is:- > > a. Is it harmful to use the Laptop with Adapter >without any battery on board? Its possible that the battery is being used as an energy sink, in which case the unit may possible be damaged from overvoltage if the battery is completely removed. I managed to finish toasting an old shack portable that had already suffered screen damage due to freezing of the lcd when the battery finally went completely dry and open circuited. Since every ounce and every cubic millimeter of those things is put to some usefull purpose, I would not be surprised to see yours do similar amounts of smoke release should the battery completely disappear from the circuit. That said, there is no real reason why it couldn't be sawed open and the cells replaced, possibly with smaller ones since the real purpose, running off the mains, isn't really required. That may involve soldering of stainless steel, which if the batteries have leaked, could be a problem. But don't drop more than 1 size for the cells due to rapid discharge considerations causeing overheating of the smaller cells should the powerpack come unplugged. Nicad explosions are at best, a total surpise, at worst the portable will be damaged beyond salvage. I'm the semi-retired Chief at a tv station, and have dealt with around a ton of nicads in assorted boxes over the years. None of them cheap, nor good for more than 600 charge/discharge cycles even with Christy style chargers. Normal chargers, 100-150 maybe if the newsies don't drop them first breaking internal cell connections. > b. The way things are set up, the battery always >seemed to 'leak' a little and each time I booted up the >indicator would say eg '97% charged' and then go to 'fully >charged' very quickly. So topping up was constantly taking >place and this would seem to have been a bad thing. Could >this have created the memory block referred to in the replies? More likely the self discharge is increasing due to a constant state of slightly overcharged. Most portable packs are more concerned with getting every minute of energy into the battery than they are with the proper care and feeding of the battery for maximum life. Its just one of those things, not much can be done about it given the design constraints most of these are built under. > I've accepted the fact that the battery almost >certainly is u/s. I could later acquire a more uptodate >Laptop, but I belong to the generation that still believes >if you have something that works and fulfills your needs >why replace it. In the short time I've had it, I've grown >fond of this T20 and it's interchangeable drives and USB >peripherals. And it is a lot smaller than I see most now >on sale. > > Also (the same generation thing) I would like to >try replacing the cells just to see if I can do that, but >only if using the Laptop without any battery is feasible. > Again, I don't think I'd even try to run with it out. > Again, I am most grateful for the replies. > >Many thanks, John. -- Cheers, Gene People having trouble with vz bouncing email to me should add the word 'online' between the 'verizon', and the dot which bypasses vz's stupid bounce rules. I do use spamassassin too. :-) Yahoo.com and AOL/TW attorneys please note, additions to the above message by Gene Heskett are: Copyright 2006 by Maurice Eugene Heskett, all rights reserved. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
