Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 106

Preliminary:

I noticed that the "Power" button isn't really a hard power off. Given that the processor is actually running while the Visor is "off" (how else could you get alarms to come on?) I also noticed something interesting about battery consumption.

I'm running Afterburner (faster speeds only on selected apps) and I noticed that if I turned off the Visor from a speeded up app the battery seemed to loose voltage faster than from the Launcher (L III) at Normal speed. (using Runtime to plot voltage).

I have currently set Launcher III to run at the Slowest speed setting and try to go back to Launcher III before shutting off the Visor. I've just been doing this for a day and the voltage plot (which in the past had a pretty consistent overall slope) has almost flatlined (voltage loss is minimal). If this continues to hold out it should dramatically improve battery life (previously about 10 days average for me).

Anyone else want to try this and post your results? I'll add to this as I get more data collected.

Steve

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sacramento, CA, USA
Posts: 24

Very interesting! I will have to try this myself.

There is an easier way to prolong the battery life of your Visor. Remove the batteries after you are done using the Visor. This would virtually eliminate battery drain & allow you to probably double or triple your battery life!

(OK, before I get flamed by hundreds of Palm newbies, removing your batteries will erase your ram, so DON'T DO IT. The above is just a joke.)

Registered: Mar 2000
Location:
Posts: 10

I also read somewhere that if you pull the batteries and put them in the refrigerator, that you will also save battery life :-)... kidding, anyways... that is a very good observation and I find it theoretically true. Since it would take more battery strength to run the processor higher, why would you want the processor stressed so hard when all you are doing is running the time/date and alarm alerts? I am only a budding palmOS programmer, so I'm not sure how to do it, but what if someone programmed a hack that would pump down the processor speed when the power button was hit (visor turned off). Seems like a great idea to me, I wish I could implement it... anyone think THEY can???
-Rummey

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 106

Actually I emailed a suggestion to the AfterBurner author suggesting a "power off" speed setting enhancement.

I expect the more requests for this he gets, the sooner we would see it. Of course a separate hack for this would also be nice for users who don't want to load AfterBurner.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Oregon
Posts: 115

What if you put the whole visor into the freezer? That way you wouldn't lose any data from taking the batt's out and you would still be able to extend battery life


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Rose's are Red
My Visor is Blue....

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 103

Maltair:
I think you need an ICE visor for that




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Jay