Hi Matthiew; I still have not had to charge my unit. I keep mine plugged in at work most of the time. I am comfused. Someone, not long ago, said we could charge the battery by letting it go down to about zero and then charging it for about 3 hours. Is this method charging the battery and the method you and Rhonda are talking about for when we get a recalibration message. Can they be used interchangeably. The 3 hour method sure is a lot easier, but is it as effective? Thanks for any advice. I have an M-power with 7.2.
Terry Powers -----Original Message----- From: Matthew Horspool [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 12:11 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Braillenote] battery conditioning recommended? Hi, Project 1 wrote: "... when I went to the options menu and proceeded to check my power levels, the machine told me ... that battery conditioning was recommended. What exactly does this mean?" As Joseph Lee has already said, this message basically means that the BrailleNote is not sure of its battery level. To briefly explain: the BrailleNote does not, in fact, read its battery level from the battery - it doesn't say to the battery "Hey, battery, what's your level?" nor does the battery say "Oh, hi mate, my level is 90%, have a great day!" Rather, it reads the battery level from a "Gauge". Occasionally, this gauge will become inaccurate - whilst the total capacity of the battery inevitably decreases, the total capacity stored in the gauge does not. The solution to this problem is the recalibrate the battery gauge. Whilst this can be done by simply charging the battery, using the BN continuously until it turns itself off due to a low battery and charging it up again, I personally recommend you undertake the following steps: 1. Plug the AC Adapter into the BrailleNote as if it were being charged. Make sure the BrailleNote responds "AC Adapter On". If you are using a BrailleNote, also make sure that the speech is turned on. 2. From the Main Menu, press Space with O for the "Options Menu". 3. Press Space with I for "Support Information mode". 4. Press F. You should hear: "Battery calibration. FlashDisk log. I'm charging up my battery! Initial charge." 5. Within six hours the BrailleNote will speak continuously until the battery has been flattened. For reasons of sanity I recommend you plug a pair of headphones into the headphone socket; whilst it may take longer for the battery to discharge with headphones plugged in, you will not have to suffer the continuous babble of the speech synthesizer: "I'm talking until my battery goes flat. This repetition is enough to drive me crazy. How about you?" 6. Eventually, the BrailleNote will cease speaking and charge itself back up. This will take around six hours. the BrailleNote will then report that the "Battery Test is Completed", at which point you may use the BrailleNote normally. X. I personally recommend leaving the BrailleNote recalibrating over night, preferably when you will not need to use it the next day, since it is such a long process. HTH, Matthew ___ Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a copy to the list as well. To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote ___ Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a copy to the list as well. To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
