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ICU Power Accessory Kit


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PastaGrrrl
Member

Registered: May 2001
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 101

Is anyone out there using the ICU Power Accessory Kit? Can you buy replacement batteries for it anywhere (say a WalMart or BestBuy or CompUSA)? How long do the batteries it comes with last? Is anyone having problems with theirs? Is is worth my money? I've read the review and still can't decide, just need some more input, I guess.

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06-14-2001 09:37 PM

SpeakerCoach
Member

Registered: Sep 2000
Location:
Posts: 142

My opinion

I have had the unit for a month now and I am very happy with it. I just plug my VPL in overnight and ready to go the next day.
About the replacement batteries, I have not look much into that and I believe that the batteries that came with the unit will last awhile.

06-14-2001 09:51 PM

miradu
TreoCentral Staff

Registered: May 2000
Location: St. Paul, MN
Posts: 1429

The ICU kit uses standard Nimh batteries, so yes you can buy replacements anywhere. I would think that a heavily yused rechargable battery would last about a year, mayybe more. I myself, (As the writer of the review) think it is wel lworht the money.. but it's up to you I guess.

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06-14-2001 10:38 PM

javabird
Member

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 48

Re: My opinion

quote:
Originally posted by SpeakerCoach
I have had the unit for a month now and I am very happy with it. I just plug my VPL in overnight and ready to go the next day.

I've had mine about 3 weeks and it's simply great. But, it only takes about 1-1/2 to 2 hrs. to recharge the batteries! (I usually recharge when they are down to 30%.)

Last edited by javabird on 06-15-2001 at 04:29 AM

06-15-2001 12:56 AM

j762538
Member

Registered: Feb 2000
Location: El Segundo,CA
Posts: 374

I recommended this unit also.

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06-15-2001 01:17 AM

Pathdoc
Member

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 216

I am looking at the ICU product as well. What I would like to know, however, are there any advantages of the ICU power Accessory kit over the FullCharge product from eXtend? I know that people object to the fact that you have to buy replacement batteries from eXtend as opposed to any company with the ICU Power Accessory. Also, the batteries with the ICU unit have 600 mAh versus 550 mAh with the FullCharge. Does this make a difference? You get a car charger with the ICU product but the FullCharge without the car charger is cheaper. I just wonder if anyone has heard of any other differences that I should consider?

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06-15-2001 03:37 AM

miradu
TreoCentral Staff

Registered: May 2000
Location: St. Paul, MN
Posts: 1429

You can look at things in 2 ways. In some ways the FullCharge has advantages like a stronger connection between battery and visor, and you can get it without the car charger. But the disadvantages weigh out the advantages. The battery is very hard to get in and out, nd it's not standard. You can't easily go alkaline for a week, if you go camping etc.. The ICU unit has less cables to carry, as it's just an AC/DC converter for AC power. It uses standard batteirs, but the cover has caused some battery connection problems with my friends unit. (causing a hard reset)

CompUSA generally has an ok return policy. Buy it, try it for 20 days, and than return it if yo uwant to. I like the ICU, and many others do.

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06-15-2001 04:49 AM

Morgul
Member

Registered: Jun 2001
Location: Columbia, SC
Posts: 3

ICU Power accessory kit

My wife got me one of these for Fathers Day, and I'm excited about it. However, I've noticed a couple of things that are slightly disturbing.

Since installing it, I've been getting a bunch of Fatal Errors and soft resets. One place in particular that it occurs is when I turn off the Visor Platinum while in the Avantgo program. Also, if I go to the standard 'Delete' option from the apps menu, I get an error in the Memory Manager, requiring a soft reset.

Also, I've had trouble keeping the battery type to NimH. I could never get a shortcut 7 to work. I've got an application called PC Console (or something like that) that allows me to change the battery type, but it is always back at Alkaline after a reset.

Any ideas? Am I alone with this?

06-18-2001 06:26 PM

SpeakerCoach
Member

Registered: Sep 2000
Location:
Posts: 142

Setting to NiMH

Try Battery Panel (searchable from PalmGear.com). It is free!

Works great for my VPL and the ICU unit.

06-18-2001 06:45 PM

gentzel
Member

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 25

$5 == Free?

quote:
Originally posted by SpeakerCoach
Try Battery Panel (searchable from PalmGear.com). It is free!

Hmm... looks like $5 shareware to me.

06-18-2001 11:07 PM

Guest

Registered: Not Yet
Location:
Posts: N/A

Re: ICU Power accessory kit

quote:
Originally posted by Morgul
My wife got me one of these for Fathers Day, and I'm excited about it. However, I've noticed a couple of things that are slightly disturbing.

Since installing it, I've been getting a bunch of Fatal Errors and soft resets. One place in particular that it occurs is when I turn off the Visor Platinum while in the Avantgo program. Also, if I go to the standard 'Delete' option from the apps menu, I get an error in the Memory Manager, requiring a soft reset.

Also, I've had trouble keeping the battery type to NimH. I could never get a shortcut 7 to work. I've got an application called PC Console (or something like that) that allows me to change the battery type, but it is always back at Alkaline after a reset.

Any ideas? Am I alone with this?

IMHO, the battery isn't causing the errors. What happens if you put regular batteries back in? Do you still have the exact same errors? It sounds like you have problems with Avantgo or another conflicting app.

06-18-2001 11:12 PM

gentzel
Member

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 25

Re: $5 == Free? Yes, sort of...

quote:
Originally posted by gentzel

Hmm... looks like $5 shareware to me.

Ah, I see. Palmgear's mistake. It is indeed free but listed on Palmgear's site as $5 shareware.

06-18-2001 11:17 PM

Morgul
Member

Registered: Jun 2001
Location: Columbia, SC
Posts: 3

Thanks for the advice

Regarding the battery staying at NIMH...I found an update to the program I'd used to change the battery setting, and one of the fixes was that it would keep the battery after a reset - so it was the software, not me. I did download Battery Panel, and I like it. Thanks!

Regarding the crashes - I haven't had a chance to try it with the regular batteries yet, though it's on my list to do when I get time. I did find another thread of someone with the same errors, and so I feel certain it's a corrupted application. That should be fun to track down. <sigh>

Anyway, thanks for the advice and suggestions!

06-19-2001 12:28 AM

tucson_sailors
Member

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 118

ICU Experience

I bought one of these about 2 to 3 months ago, and generally I was pretty happy with it. Over the weekend when disengaging the clips from the charger where it snaps onto the battery cover, one of the clips snapped off.

Well, this means that you can no longer attach the charger to the visor and have it stay, although you can lay it on its back and the weight of the visor will keep it connected (overnight) to charge it. I still think its a pretty neat solution, but they need to work a bit on the durability of the plastic they use. I'm about to kaizo it, and use it to make a charging adapter out of my USB cradle.

Cheers!

Tucson Sailors

06-19-2001 03:40 PM

vered
Member

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Posts: 26

There's one other thing good about the ICU unit compared to the other one (forgot its name) - the ICU unit has a switch to let it use a 220 current. Essential for non-US people and good for anyone who travels. Yes, you will still need an adapter for the plug itself to fit in the wall but that's much easier to get than a whole converter.

Vered

07-01-2001 06:19 PM

zef
Member

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 24

ICU broken clip

The clip on mine also broke. I emailed www.icuaccessories.com and they said send in the charge with $5 for shipping and they will replace;1 yr warrentee.

07-02-2001 05:35 AM

tucson_sailors
Member

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 118

Sending my charger in

Hmm -

I suppose I could back to normal batteries for a few days while there is turn around. I would rather be able to purchase the clip part of the charger directly or have them send one to me. It seems rather silly to ship the whole thing for a $.02 chunk of plastic.

Cheers!

Tucson Sailors

07-02-2001 04:10 PM

SassKwatch
Member

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 40

quote:
Originally posted by Pathdoc
...the ICU Power Accessory. Also, the batteries with the ICU unit have 600 mAh versus 550 mAh with the FullCharge. Does this make a difference?

As the only thing I know about electrical stuff is to keep my bleedin' fingers out of sockets, I'm a bit curious about this as well.

I've noticed many digital cameras run NiMH batteries as well...., but the versions run in those devices are in the 12-1300mAh range. Would sticking batteries of that power level in it cook a Visor? Sorta like "This is my Visor.....This is my Visor on 1200mAh NiMH's".(?)

07-06-2001 04:38 AM

ricojrossi
Member

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 69

I HAVE BEEN USING THE ICU CHARGER FOR 7 MONTHS. I HAVE USED IT OVER SEAS. I ALSO USE IT WITH MY VISOR PHONE ATTACHED. I LIKE IT BECAUSE I CAN USE IT IN THE CAR OR AT HOME. NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS. LASTS A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME BETWEEN CHARGES.