Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Cambridge, England, UK
Posts: 44

I'm just curious if anyone has had experience of using Visors in cold places (temperatures below about -20C/-4F).

I was talking to a colleague the other day who is setting up a network of little science boxes in Antarctica and wants a small portable terminal to talk to them by infrared.

How long does a Visor display work in the cold? My VDX screen seems to slow down at UK winter temperatures (just above/below freezing).

Kev.

Registered: May 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 87

I'm sure my Visor has not been down to the region of -20C, but I often have it in a bumbag whilst riding on my motorbike in at/around +5C. Wind chill probably takes the temp down below 0 though.

My experience is that the screen fades to almost nothing, even with the contrast turned right up. I believe this is an inherant problem in LCD devices.

HTH

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Jim Nurcombe
[email protected]

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Antigo, WI
Posts: 37

i have been testing my geode out side in north central wisconsin over the past coulple weeks. Temperatures from -4 to +18 degrees f. The colder it was the shorter time the screen/batteries lasted. Visor response time would slow down and screen would start to fade the longer i was out. would put it inside my jacket every few minutes to get it warm, but eventually had to quit. Then after being in the house for a while, it came back to normal. Good thing i don't dog sled race and would want to use my geode.

I think the longest is was about was about 30 minutes. I think a rule of thumb would be add the temperature to about 10 minutes and that would be about the length of time before it goes. If below 0, subtract the temperature from 10 minutes. I don't think wind chill affects the visor, just the hands holding the visor and styls (they don't last as long as the visor screen).

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Jim Klapste
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http://www.newnorth.net/~jimmy/

Last edited by yim on 03-01-2001 at 01:21 PM

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 30

I tried using my Eyemodule2 while skiing; around 20 degress F. The screen faded and so did the images captured by the eyemodule! I guess that there is a relation between the image and what is on the LCD.

Ken

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 64

Perhaps the eyemodule's capure device is affected by the cold as well.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Straubing, Germany
Posts: 71

I used my Visor ouside at night some weeks ago. Here in Germany we had about -8C. If you turn on the backlight you will see how short such a battery can last...
And the screen really becomes so slow that you can not use the Visor in some applications.
Did anyone try a Prism at temperatures below -5C? How do its Li-Ion battery and the TFT-screen behave?

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Cambridge, England, UK
Posts: 44

Prism would be no good in Antarctic conditions. Li-ion batteries are OK (lots of people use camcorders down there without problems, even in the depths of winter) but the colour LCD display would become completely invisible in the bright light.

I've tried using the displays on digital cameras before, they're just about visible if you take off your sunglasses and manage to shade the screen with your hands while avoiding breathing on it.

Kev.

Registered: May 2000
Location:
Posts: 116

quote:

---

Originally posted by nurcombe
I'm sure my Visor has not been down to the region of -20C, but I often have it in a bumbag whilst riding on my motorbike in at/around +5C. Wind chill probably takes the temp down below 0 though.

My experience is that the screen fades to almost nothing, even with the contrast turned right up. I believe this is an inherant problem in LCD devices.

HTH

---

I don't think wind chill will affect a Visor.

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Scott Olendorf
Sony Clie N610C,
Blue Visor Deluxe, Magellan GPS Companion

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

I've left my visor in the car while I was in class (3 hr. chem lab) at -30F. She was pretty sluggish. Rather like my car stereo display. It executed commands immediately, it just took it a bit to show me what I wanted to see.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Last edited by dick-richardson on 03-01-2001 at 04:22 PM

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Oakland, CA USA
Posts: 61

I know that most electronic components are rated for operation only down to 0 degrees C (32 F).
Visors' temperature range is about 0 - 40 degrees C (32 - 104 degrees F). I would be really careful of taking
my visor in the cold--a frozen LCD could be permanently damaged!
Liquid crystal display-->Solid crystal display = BAD.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 17

palm in cold vs. visor in cold

I also own a Palm III and it has no problem in the cold...but my Visor also suffers from the fading screen. Btw, what happens if you freeze an LCD display..will it still work after u unfreeze it? hehe

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Cambridge, England, UK
Posts: 44

In my experience frozen LCDs usually work without any problems once you defrost them. The liquid crystal doesn't seem to expand when it freezes so you don't get damage to the display.

It's the same with overheated displays (when they go all black), once they cool down they're usually fine.

Kev.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Straubing, Germany
Posts: 71

What about a heater in the next Visor Handhelds?

"Visor Antarctica - incredible hot"

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Cambridge, England, UK
Posts: 44

I was thinking about a heating solution for Visors. You might be able to do it using the Springboard slot:

1. Visor spends most of the time in a building/vehicle, sat in a cradle

2. the cradle is modified to supply Springboard power through the HotSync connector pin intended for this (can't remember the name)

3. In the Springboard slot you have a lump of some material that absorbs heat and releases it slowly, this is heated electrically using the power from the cradle

4. the Visor can be removed and used in the cold for a while at the heated Springboard keeps the back of the LCD warm

Only problem is if the heater gets a bit carried away and your Visor becomes a sticky mess....
Kev.

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

MY experience: I use my Visor when I 'm bored, and cross-country skiing. The Visor's LCD screen has an extremely slow refresh rate in the cold. Probably becasue of the freezing previously mentioned. Otherwise, it functions wonderfuly, the only big problem is when you heat it up, make sure that no water is on it.. Water KILLS visors.

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-miradu

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

quote:

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Originally posted by miradu2000
Water KILLS visors.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Hacienda Heights, Ca
Posts: 302

quote:

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Originally posted by dick-richardson

And don't feed it after midnight.

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If you do...they explode into terrible Pocket PC's.

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Bret Snyder<BR>If you don't know where you're going,<BR>You'll probably end up somewhere else.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 23

batteries in the cold

hi all,

the output voltage of batteries depends strongly on temperature. In fact, it drops when it becomes cold. Maybe, that's the reason why you observe the overall sluggishness. I am not so sure about the "frozen" LCD idea...
Anyway, there might be batteries out there which are designed for low-temperature environments. I guess those Antarctica or Mt. Everest adventurer would know.

Joerg

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Cambridge, England, UK
Posts: 44

The battery voltage variation depends on what batteries you use. NiCads are about the worst, ordinary alkalines aren't brilliant, lithium are great (but maybe not available in AAA, never seen them in that form).

LCDs definitely get slower as they get cold.

Kev.