Re: [NTLK] Battery Draining When At Rest

Hi Dave,

One thing that many folks overlook is the "Receive Beams Automatically" preference. This should be in the Newton FAQ, but I could not locate the reference. This is a bit of "Old Guy" wisdom I received years ago from this list when I experienced the same issue.

Leaving this prefence enabled sets a state for the Newton where it never actually goes into a "Deep" sleep mode, as this preference requires the Newton to continuously poll the Infrared port to determine if a beam is being received, even while asleep. This has been characterized as a "Light" sleep mode. As such, the polling activity will burn through batteries quickly, even if the Newton is, on the surface, doing nothing.

All users should disable this preference, as a matter of course, to preserve battery life unless they are using the beaming frequently or have some compelling reason to ensure beams are received with no manual intervention.

Disable this preference and see if this helps.

Of course, there is also the issue of the rollover of tasks in the wee hours of the morning. Under certain circumstances, with a certain mix of installed software, the Newton will stay on longer than required, which will also drain the batteries quickly. Usually this behavior can be cured by a reset, but not always...it may require a brain-wipe and reload.

Try the beaming preference first.

Regards,

Gary

-------- Original-Nachricht --------
> Datum: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:27:37 +1300
> Von: Dave Bellamy <dave_bellamy@mac.com>
> An: newtontalk@newtontalk.net
> Betreff: [NTLK] Battery Draining When At Rest

> Hi All
>
> I have a couple of Newtons that I have used irregularly for the past 5
> years. I have recently noticed that my MP2000 drains a fresh set of
> batteries (AA - both disposable and rechargeable, and a rebuilt Newton
> battery pack) in less than a week. This sounds about right but this is
> when I have not used the unit at all.
> In fact I recently tested this phenomenon and found that I can put in
> a fresh set of batteries on the Monday, not touch the unit at all and
> by Friday the batteries are completely dead. It seems to sit on its
> stand and drain the batteries. It is not coming on my itself and I
> don't turn it on except on the Friday to see what the battery level is.
> Is this a problem others have encountered and if so what solutions
> have people found?
>
> Cheers
>
> Dave
> New Zealand
>
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