Rechargeable batteries in a Handspring Visor Delux

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot,comp.sys.palmtops,alt.comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

"J" <Iam@it.again> wrote:

>I'm trying to use some 750 mAh Ni-MH rechargeables in my Visor but of course
>the battery meter doesn't like them and is giving all sorts of weird
>readings - I'm sure I;ve seen a software fix for this but I can't find it on
>the Web - can anyone point me in the right direction please? Thanks
>
>Apologies for the cross post but I'm not sure where best to talk about the
>Handspring - is there a forum for these units?
>
Open up a blank notepad page, then do a "shortcut-dot-seven" (that's that funky
cursive lower case ell, followed by .7). Each time you do that will switch the
battery meter between alkaline, NiMH, and some other mode (NiCd, I think).

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot,comp.sys.palmtops,alt.comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Hmm - never heard of these shortcuts on a Handspring before, I can't seem to
get to the short cut as it just seems to translate into a symbol no matter
what I try - can you point me at some sort graphic illustration of what I'm
supposed to do please?
--

J





"Andy Hill" <andy_hill@hp.com> wrote in message
newsg1e70da428p55dkded883dcpln2rfkp7q@4ax.com...
> "J" <Iam@it.again> wrote:
>
> >I'm trying to use some 750 mAh Ni-MH rechargeables in my Visor but of
course
> >the battery meter doesn't like them and is giving all sorts of weird
> >readings - I'm sure I;ve seen a software fix for this but I can't find it
on
> >the Web - can anyone point me in the right direction please? Thanks
> >
> >Apologies for the cross post but I'm not sure where best to talk about
the
> >Handspring - is there a forum for these units?
> >
> Open up a blank notepad page, then do a "shortcut-dot-seven" (that's that
funky
> cursive lower case ell, followed by .7). Each time you do that will
switch the
> battery meter between alkaline, NiMH, and some other mode (NiCd, I think).
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot,comp.sys.palmtops,alt.comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

J wrote:
> I'm trying to use some 750 mAh Ni-MH rechargeables in my Visor but of course
> the battery meter doesn't like them and is giving all sorts of weird
> readings - I'm sure I;ve seen a software fix for this but I can't find it on
> the Web - can anyone point me in the right direction please? Thanks
>
> Apologies for the cross post but I'm not sure where best to talk about the
> Handspring - is there a forum for these units?
Look for a program called Hackmaster and another Battery Hack. Install
both and then tap the battery icon and you will be able to switch
between alkaline and NIMH battery.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot,comp.sys.palmtops,alt.comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

> where can I find a listing of all those shortcut comands?

Character Description Notes
1 The device enters debugger mode, and waits for a low-level debugger
to connect. A flashing square appears in the top left corner of the device.
This mode opens a serial port, which drains power over time. You must
perform a soft reset to exit this mode.
2 The device enters console mode, and waits for communication,
typically from a high-level debugger. This mode opens a serial port, which
drains power over time. You must perform a soft reset to exit this mode.
3 The device's automatic power-off feature is disabled. You can still
use the device's power button to power it on and off. You must perform a
soft reset to exit this mode.
4 Displays the user's name None
5 Erases the user's name and User ID. Warning! When the device is next
synchronized after using this shortcut, the HotSync Manager application
thinks that it has never been synchronized before. This means that records
will be duplicated unless you first perform a hard reset (press the reset
button while holding the power key).
6 Displays the ROM build date and build time. None
7 Switches between NiCd and Alkaline battery curves to allow
adjustment of when the battery warnings appear. Of limited effectiveness.
Low battery warnings do not work well with NiCd batteries.
8 Toggles the backlight mode on a Palm IIIx or Palm V. One mode is the
default backlighting mode of the Palm IIIx and Palm V where the display is
inverted when the backlight is turned on. The other mode is the default
backlighting mode of the Palm III where the display is not inverted when the
backlight is turned on.
NOTE Restoring a Palm IIIx or Palm V from an existing user may
overwrite the shortcut database and cause this shortcut to be lost.

t Toggle IR test loopback mode. This mode is useful for debugging
applications that beam data. Enabling this mode causes beamed data to be
immediately received on the same device (ie: the IR hardware is bypassed).
This is useful for testing your beaming or exchange manager code.
NOTE Enabling this mode will cause more stack space to be used than a
normal beam.

i Initiates a beam receive. Using this shortcut will cause the device
to begin waiting for a beam.
s Infrared serial mode toggle This shortcut toggles the output port of
infrared data between the built-in IR port and the built-in serial port.




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Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot,comp.sys.palmtops,alt.comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

"J" <Iam@it.again> wrote:
>"Andy Hill" <andy_hill@hp.com> wrote in message
>newsg1e70da428p55dkded883dcpln2rfkp7q@4ax.com...
>> "J" <Iam@it.again> wrote:
>>
>> >I'm trying to use some 750 mAh Ni-MH rechargeables in my Visor but of
>course
>> >the battery meter doesn't like them and is giving all sorts of weird
>> >readings - I'm sure I;ve seen a software fix for this but I can't find it
>on
>> >the Web - can anyone point me in the right direction please? Thanks
>> >
>> >Apologies for the cross post but I'm not sure where best to talk about
>the
>> >Handspring - is there a forum for these units?
>> >
>> Open up a blank notepad page, then do a "shortcut-dot-seven" (that's that
>funky
>> cursive lower case ell, followed by .7). Each time you do that will
>switch the
>> battery meter between alkaline, NiMH, and some other mode (NiCd, I think).
>>
>

>Hmm - never heard of these shortcuts on a Handspring before, I can't seem to
>get to the short cut as it just seems to translate into a symbol no matter
>what I try - can you point me at some sort graphic illustration of what I'm
>supposed to do please?
>--
>
AFAIK, all Palm OS palmtops have shortcuts, although they don't always do the
same thing (for instance, on my LiON-powered Clie', shortcut-dot-seven just
switches from [Other] to [Other] (i.e., doesn't actually switch anything).

Anywho, check out http://www.pcworld.com/howto/artic [...] g,2,00.asp
for a nice illustration of the stroke for a shortcut symbol. Follow that with a
period and a seven, and you should see something like [NiMH] or [Rechargeable
Alkaline] or [NiCd] or [Alkaline] show up on the Notepad page you're writing on.
Each time you do the shortcut-dot-seven, you'll get a different mode for the
battery meter.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot,comp.sys.palmtops,alt.comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

"J" <Iam@it.again> wrote in message news:<2289dc5efbd6a3c99f081a36fb130314@news.teranews.com>...
> I'm trying to use some 750 mAh Ni-MH rechargeables in my Visor but of course
> the battery meter doesn't like them and is giving all sorts of weird
> readings - I'm sure I;ve seen a software fix for this but I can't find it on
> the Web - can anyone point me in the right direction please? Thanks
>
> Apologies for the cross post but I'm not sure where best to talk about the
> Handspring - is there a forum for these units?

First of all, everyone who replied to your message.......is wrong on a
couple of issues. I believe it's because they either don't have Visors
or they have never used one before.

The Handspring Visor Deluxe (16 MHz, 8 MB, runs OS 3.1H) does NOT
support the Ni-MH battery meter setting. This was introduced in either
OS 3.3 or OS 3.5......and the Visor only uses OS 3.1H. This is why you
don't have a Ni-MH setting when you do the battery shortcut command.

But anyway, what kind of false battery readings are you getting? With
my Ni-MH batteries freshly charged, my Visor's battery level reads at
88%. When extremely low, it's at 10%. Most of the time, the battery
level stays around the 50% mark......which is slightly inaccurate, but
still a good predictor of how much charge the battery has.

BTW, keeping your Visor at the Alkaline setting gives you the more
accurate reading for Ni-MH batteries, ironically. The Ni-cad setting
is extremely inaccurate.

-Chris