Chewing Batteries

[[old] Godfried]

<!--QuoteBegin-ehagberg+Nov 5 2005, 08:00 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(ehagberg @ Nov 5 2005, 08:00 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I'm not sure I understand what you mean by the question about last year... I don't recall the batteries being chewed up quickly, but I probably never started checking their level until I had to replace them and thought they'd been consumed too quickly given that they shouldn't really get all that much use when constantly connected to a USB power source.[right] <br /> </td></tr></table><br />Was your PM3 connected to your computer when the batteries weren't chewed up?

[[old] ehagberg]

<!--QuoteBegin-Godfried+Nov 5 2005, 03:44 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Godfried @ Nov 5 2005, 03:44 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Was your PM3 connected to your computer when the batteries weren't chewed up? <br /> </td></tr></table><br />Perhaps I wasn't clear... I didn't notice whether the batteries were being chewed up or not last year (between March 2004 and sometime this spring/summer when I first noticed that they were dead) and I didn't check the battery level during that period, except probably once when I first got the machine.<br /><br />So as far as I know, they could've been getting eaten up the whole time, but I only recently have any battery level measurements to confirm it.

[[old] Godfried]

I received my new D Oct 20 ( at 87 % ) , now ( Nov 7 ) it is at 78 %.<br /><br />The batteries have been out 6 days because I had to order a new display.<br /><br />So from 87% to 78% in 13 working days.

[[old] c2scott]

Folks:<br /><br />Recent investigation has revealed that...<br /><br />On certain computers leaving your PM3 plugged into your computer while the computer is off may result in slow drain of the batteries in the PM3. If you leave your computer connected and note an unexplained slow loss of battery power, Concept2 recommends you disconnect the USB cable from your computer when the computer is off. <br /><br />This issue does NOT happen on all computers. This fault lies in the computer itself and the way the USB ports were designed. It is believed to be more likely to happen on laptops than on desktops, but probably not all laptops. So far there are no desktops that we have discovered that have this issue, however this does not mean that there are no desktops that could also cause battery drain -- it would be dependent upon how the machine was designed.<br /><br />I'll be out of the country for a few days at the BIRC; please feel free to post questions, rants, etc, and I'll try my best to respond in a week or two. Concept2 is looking at various other options to resolve this issue.<br /><br />-- Scott<br /><br /><br /><br /> <br />

[[old] ehagberg]

I've actually seen the problem in a completely different situation than described above.<br /><br />My computer is a desktop, and I see the PM3 battery drain if I leave the computer _on_ and connected to the PM3 via USB. If I turn off the computer (which then turns off the PM3) I get no additional battery drain.<br /><br />In fact, I've noticed that if I turn the computer off all the time while not using the PM3/erg, I get a little bit of the juice added back to my battery. For example, I'd seen my battery level increase from 69% a while back to 72% before this weekend (I was turning the computer off between sessions)... then this weekend and until this morning (so, Friday through today) I'd left the PC turned on as well as connected to the PM3... this resulted in my battery level dropping to 63%.<br /><br />I believe that if I turn off the PM3 but leave the computer on, it'll probably stop draining as well... though I haven't tested that yet.