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FullCharge

Wed Jan 3, 2001 - 7:42 PM EST - By Mark Pierson


Product Info
Details
» Name FullCharge
» Company eXtend Computer & Instrument
» Fact Sheet & User Opinions
Availability
» Unknown
Pricing
» $69.95 (100v to 240v AC adapter, Auto Adapter, battery, battery cover )
» $54.95 (Auto adapter, AC adapter, battery, battery cover)
» $49.95 (100v to 240v AC adapter, battery, battery cover and country plug adapter)
» $34.95 (Auto adapter, battery, battery cover)
» $34.95 (AC adapter, battery, battery cover)

Battery Life

I was hoping to do some real-life testing of the FullCharge and its ability to provide adequate power for the Visor. Unfortunately (or, I guess, fortunately), anytime I sat at my desk, I would plug in the charger. Therefore, my battery gauge never dropped below 100%. That will most likely change as I head back to work after my holiday vacation and start using the VDx during the day with no ability to recharge it (unless I run out to the car where the auto adapter is). In fact, eXtend recommends charging the FullCharge often and keeping it topped off to extend overall battery life. The screenshot from Runtime shows that the voltage dropped during use, but recharging brought it right back up. Also, notice that the voltage reads 2.81. The FullCharge is rated at 2.4 volts (NiMH's are typically rated at 1.2 volts per cell) but the charger was supplying more power while the Visor was in use.

According to eXtend, "A full battery charge provides approximately two-thirds the typical usage time of high-quality alkaline batteries. FullCharge typically provides better performance than high-quality alkaline batteries when using higher load accessories. With normal usage a complete charge will last 2-3 weeks." Being a NiMH battery, "the FullCharge should provide approximately 500 full charging cycles, depending on usage."

It is important to note that the default OS battery setting for the Visor is alkaline. In order for the battery gauge to properly display a correct reading, the OS battery type needs to be changed to NiCad (NiMH is not an option on OS 3.1 but the voltage profiles of NiCad and NiMH are very similar). This can be changed by using many freeware battery apps or the undocumented .7 shortcut.



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