> Date: Sun, 08 Sep 2002 22:33:49 -0400 > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [Duo2400] Re: Type II batteries and Duo 280? > > In a message dated Sun, 8 Sep 2002 8:53:11 PM Eastern Standard > Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > I have someone sending me three dead Type > > 3's to see how they do with my newly-acquired Lind SuperCharger > II. We're > > curious to see if I was just lucky or if some Type 3's can > > come back from > > the dead. > > Wow... I think I speak for the list when I ask if you could post > the results of your experiment... > > Craig W.
Just to recap, we were talking about the fact that a common failure mode for Duo Type 3 batteries was to get to a point where just inserting one into a Duo would cause the Duo to crash hard and refuse to turn on with the battery insert. I also had related my experiences with getting one battery like this to return tu usefulness after putting it into a Duo external charger. Since that time, I had obtained a Lind SuperCharger II from an ebay auction and had someone from another list sending me three similarly bad Type 3s to try and recover. Our story continues... The batteries arrived this past Monday. All three would not only crash a running Duo, but would also get a red light from the Duo charger. Initially, the Lind treated each as though it was charged and went immediately into trickle charge mode; it would also not allow a conditioning cycle. In frustration, I went off to watch TV, leaving two batteries in the Duo charger with red lights and one trickle charging in the SuperCharger. When I came back about three hours later, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the one in the SuperCharger was now charging normally (regular charge, not trickle charge). I transferred this one to the Duo charger where it charged regularly to a green light. In an initial test using BatteryAmnesia on my 280c with ADB-powered SCSI Ethernet, battery #1 ran for 31 minutes plus boot time. This was before any additional conditioning. I left the second battery in the SuperCharger overnight and subsequently for about another 18 hrs. This one never started charging regularly on the SC and still gets a red light after charging for a while on the Duo charger. Interestingly, however, it can now be inserted into a running Duo without crashing. The Duo will attempt to charge the battery for a while and then just give up. I'm now reasonably convinced that battery #2 is dead and, if it decided to take a charge at this point, would probably have very low capacity. I put battery #3 in the SC after having had #2 in it all night, transferring it directly from the Duo charger where it had been parked. It immediately started to charge normally, despite having gotten a red light from the Duo charger. After charging this one to cpapacity on the SC, I decided to try BatteryAmnesia on the afore-mentioned 280c. I got 61 minutes before the Duo finally shut down. I repeated the test following a conditioning cycle in the SC and got 72 minutes before shutdown. (This is actually better than one of my own presumed-working Type IIIs.) So, starting with three batteries which were effectively paperwieights, we have now have one which works fairly well, one which works questionably well, and one which doesn't work but can safely be left in a Duo. I'm curious to see how Mad Dog and any other Duo experts can explain all this. My own theory is that there is a) the charging circuit in both the Duo and the Duo charger do not well handle the case of a terminally discharged Type 3 and b) there is something about the batteries in a Type 3 which, when extremely discharged, requires a lot of charging current for a long time before a charge is even noted. Notes about the SuperCharger II- According to info on the bottom, the SC II detects a fully charged battery using "negative delta-V" detection. (I assume this means that it charges for as long as the battery's voltage keeps increasing.) The trickle charge method is described as "timed pulse" and the limiting factors are listed as time and temperature. I assume that, in the case of battery #1, the pulses eventually added up to the point where a positive delta-v was noted and regular charging began. It should be noted that this is all about Type 3 Duo batteries. As near as I can tell, Type 1 and 2s are fairly conventional and work as one would expect, losing capacity over time, but always holding a "charge". Comments... <<<John>>> ---------- Duo/2400 List, The friendliest place on the Net! A listserv for users and fans of Mac subportables. FAQ at <http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/DuoListFAQ.shtml> Be sure to visit Mac2400! <http://www.sineware.com/mac2400> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Need help from a real person? Try. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ---------- Dr. Bott | 10/100 Ethernet for your 2400 is finally here! MPC-100 | <http://www.drbott.com/prod/mpc100.html> RoadTools $30 PodiumPad available at Apple retail stores, $20 Traveler CoolPad at Staples. Both in white for iBooks at <http://roadtools.com> Midwest Mac Parts ][ <http://www.midwestmac.com> After-market parts for Macs. ][ 888-356-1104 ][ MacResQ Specials: LaCie SCSI CDR From $99! PowerBook 3400/200 Only $879! Norton AntiVirus 6 Only $19! We Stock PARTS! <http://www.macresq.com>
