To: Hewlett-Packard & Dell Board Members: Friday, April 20, 2007
The attached information should provide your best engineers with enough information to solve the Laptop Battery Problem, forever. And, this information should be worth at least your best and lightest laptop, yearly; since the attached logical battery software solution is worth much more than any computer, yearly.
However, if you want my total solution, today, it is available for about $64,000, or to the highest bidder. And, it will involve the recall of some laptop batteries, like Compaq Type 2941B, which many people are trying to "dump" on e-Bay.
So, please contact me, immediately; since Dell will be contacted, too.
Sincerely, James H. Armistead (age 74)
TO: Hewlett-Packard Board of Directors:
It appears my previous letters had very serious conclusion errors, and I apoligize to Microsoft Corp.. The problem with my battery is the internal fuel gauge circuits on my battery, as follows:
MILLIONS IN LAPTOP BATTERY DAMAGES ARE CAUSED BY SMART BATTERY PROBLEMS:
My Laptop Battery Problems with Windows 98-SE: My Compaq Presario 1255 NiMH battery pack would last about two hours, sometimes, and fail to charge more than 20%, at other times, but the charge would increase about 20% after each new “Start-Up”. And, a 100% charged battery would seem to fall to 25% overnight, if Start-UP was under battery power, as if the smart battery forgot that it was full. Even, the special, battery, LED, smart fuel gauge would read 25% Full.
But, nothing seemed to be wrong with the battery pack, except the push-button fuel gauge; since, it measured 9.6 volts; and, it would burn a 1 amp, 12 volt lamp bulb for over 3 hours (3 ampere hours), even after Windows 98-SE claimed it was reading 0% charged. Plus, the Computer battery calibration procedures would fix the fuel gauge reading, but not for very long. So, Windows 98SE software was right, but my “smart battery's ” software was confused, internally, and can be proven.
Original “dumb batteries” were difficult to read by faster computers, since their serial data was asynchronous; therefore, “smarter batteries” were invented with an external clock input to synchronize the transmission of 8-bit serial data messages. Plus, more thinking was added within the “smarter batteries”, and the data input pin was changed. So, Windows may be able to read either type. (See: Smart Batteries on the Internet, and Isidor Bushmann may have the best data.)
And, Windows 98-SE software engineers, many computer designers, and many parts distributors remain confused about which computers need “dumb batteries” and which computers need “smart batteries”; where the data input pins (3 & 4) are different.
My present battery is a Compaq 2941B, which could be the wrong type of battery for my Presario 1255 computer, since it came with my slightly used computer.
In the process of trying to diagnose the battery fuel gauge indicator problem, it is believed that:
1. Any new, $150 battery may appear faulty, if purchased, from the wrong vendor.
2. Charging a “dumb” battery in a sleeping computer, is like leaving a hot iron on an ironing board, overnight, and sooner or later any thermal, safety, circuit breaker will fail.
3. The Screen Saver Timer in the Display Options of the Control Panel Software will override the Power Monitor Settings of the Display Screen in the Control Panel Software. So, who needs this type of redundancy? One variable Monitor Screen Saver is enough, already!
4. The Power Monitor Meter page indicates “charging”, if the AC Power is ON, and if the main charging LED is OFF. So, at least one sub-routine is confused about charging. Or, software messages should say “fast or trickle charging” to be more accurate, whichever is true.
5. The Battery Bar Graph indicates FULL, while claiming the battery condition is “Unknown”, when the main battery is missing, which is confusing and reversed.
6. Most of the time, the Battery would overheat and abort the charging process, since it was already FULL. And, it required 3 hours to charge after being bled to death, and truly dead.
7. Software charges the battery for 20 minutes after any START-UP, even after reading 100% full. Therefore, overheating occurs, repeatedly, which challenges any battery safety circuits in my battery, Compaq type 2941B.
8. So, the Control Panel Alarm Point software appears to be faulty, as well as superfluous, since it allows too many options. One software, “low battery alarm” is enough; since, a 20% warning is sufficient (if accurate), and the real battery power low alarm input from any battery pack will panic the software into “Sleep Mode”, then into “Comatose”, if shaken. But, the “Awake Mode” may be necessary to keep accurate control of the charge, overnight.
9. Bleeding the battery for 4 hours (by using a 10 ohm, 10 watt resistor from Radio Shack or a 12 volt, 1 amp, automotive light bulb) is the fastest way to “clear” any confusion in battery software. But, any calibration procedure is only a temporary fix, since the battery’s confusion will return, internally. WARNING! Do not attempt the above bleeding procedure, unless you are a qualified technician. Use the computer to bleed the battery, as instructed in your laptop manual, since it has been known for over 10 years that Smart Battery software has problems with their fuel gauges.
Diagnosis: Therefore, Compaq, type 2941B, battery may have software problems and battery, safety, high temperature circuits may prevent charging this battery 100%, on the first cycle, after the software becomes confused. All batteries over-heat as resistance drops to almost zero, if fully charged and still charging. And, uncontrolled charging, by computers, while Comatose, may have caused many Lithium batteries to explode by over-heating, ruined the credibility of several corporations, and has sold millions of $100 batteries, needlessly, Worldwide.
But, another problem seems to be the random, high voltage sparks that are created by any reversal of the 2-prong AC Plug, which may reset timing counters on any internal battery charging circuits (on newer, smarter batteries); thus, providing a false battery reading or interpolation. Therefore, go into the Comatose Mode, before inserting any power cord!
Many engineers may have suspected the capacitive or inductive discharge problem for years, since most new laptops now contain polarized (3-prong) AC Plugs and "Line Chokes", that look, like bubbles in the power cord. And, Windows XP may have the same battery charging problems.
Possible Solutions: A. Never charge some batteries, overnight, while your software is sleeping. B. Software should read the battery status data, at least twice, several seconds apart; because, false data may occur since the battery is always connected to the DC Plug in the Laptop, during the process of inserting the AC Plug into an outlet. C. For reliability reasons, all 2-prong AC Adapters should be recalled or exchanged for polarized AC Power Adapters, which will help protect other computer components, too, from random "AC power transients", from any transformer adapter “static discharges”, and from any stray transients caused by Power ON/OFF relays. D. Improve the Control Panel, Power Monitor Alarm variable software, or remove it. E. Double-check to determine which battery type is correct for your computer. F. Quadruple-check all Window software routines for “smart battery” changes. G. Check all battery software for “secrets” that could be implanted to sell more batteries.
Recall Solutions: Since battery problems have cost consumers billions of dollars, already, Battery makers should be sued for product liability damages, or for “industrial sabotage”, if their errors are unique to specific computer manufacturers. Battery signals and Power Monitoring Software may be responsible for all of Windows 98 Start-Up problems, since the software will panic, if it sees any false power low alarm while using battery power, and tries to prevent losing hard drive data. And, if false power low alarms are caused by power plug insertions; then, the software should check them, at least twice!
Open Software should be developed to insure that the correct software logic is being used to estimate battery life, as specified by the computer designers. Lithium, NiMH, Alkaline, NiCd, and Gel-Type Battery Packs can all be recharged, safely, with smarter, open software. But, Secret, Proprietary, Faulty Software has ruined the reputation of several corporations, already.
The high temperature battery alarm input should be used as an upper calibration point, minus 10 or 15 minutes, and used to abort all charging current. The battery hardware, power low alarm input should be used to “panic save” all data, safely; where, the same, variable, Power Monitor Software Alarm would become unnecessary and redundant. New, fully charged or randomly charged batteries could be substituted, without calibration, if the programmers would learn how to use both alarm points as intended by the thinking, older, hardware logic designers.
Logic for: “A Software Battery Fuel Gauge in Minutes:” 1. Preset a battery stopwatch timer to “zero” during any new software configuration. 2. Preset a “Full” battery reference to 360 minutes. (This could be a variable reference.) 3. If Start-UP is on AC Power (Check timer for Full), begin charging if not Full, start the stopwatch timer, and abort all charging on high temperature. 4. If the charge cycle was from zero to full; then, reduce the elapsed time in the stopwatch timer by 15 minutes and save the value as the “Full” reference. 5. If Start-Up is attempted on DC Power (Check the stopwatch timer for battery time), allow the Start-up, if battery has more than 5 minutes, and use the stopwatch timer as a countdown timer. Always Save Data and Shut-Down on the hardware “battery low alarm”, and reset the stop-watch timer to zero for automatic calibration. 6. If running on battery, always announce “Battery needs fuel”, if power is below 10%. 7. The reversible stop-watch counter is only used to estimate the battery time expected, after switching to DC Power, and tells how much time is available in minutes. 8. Display the fuel stopwatch timer in minutes in RED or GREEN digits, every minute. Red = less than 20 minutes. Green = more than 20 minutes. Yellow could be used. 9. Software could compensate for high Wireless Modem energy demands, also.
All future recharging timing circuits could be contained within each battery pack, and could be better protected from RFI transients. And, all Real Time Clocks should be powered from the main battery pack, when available, which would increase the life of the hidden, internal, back-up, watch battery. Smarter, internal, battery, hardware, charging circuits would allow accurate charging, even when the computer is Comatose; especially, after a spare (randomly charged) battery is substituted. Plus, all future spare battery packs could be easily recharged in any automobile.
To read over 6000 additional consumer battery complaints, use Google and search for: “Dell Laptop Battery Blues” and “Laptop Battery Problems” on the Internet.
To read “The Armistead Family Story”, use a Google Search and discover 280 typo-errors in only 21 of Shakespeare’s perfect Sonnets, that were missed by millions of scholars in the last 400 years. Shakespeare was too busy (like Microsoft) organizing Jamestown to proof read his sonnets; plus, he was shipwrecked on Bermuda for a year.
The Four Computer Modes (or Moods): Comatose = Fully OFF, or in a coma with a Window open. Hibernation = Almost OFF, but may remember the last unfinished task. Sleeping or Standby = Almost ON , bored, and just saving energy. Awake = Fully ON and thinking, mischievously, in microseconds.
Written by: James H. Armistead, poet Sacramento , CA. 95822, and is believed to be true and accurate. (Ex-IBM, Burroughs, RCA, TRW, Varian, & DWR Computer Technician.)
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
To: Hewlett-Packard & Dell Board Members: Friday, April 20, 2007
The attached information should provide your best engineers with enough information to solve the Laptop Battery Problem, forever. And, this information should be worth at least your best and lightest laptop, yearly; since the attached logical battery software solution is worth much more than any computer, yearly.
However, if you want my total solution, today, it is available for about $64,000, or to the highest bidder. And, it will involve the recall of some laptop batteries, like Compaq Type 2941B, which many people are trying to "dump" on e-Bay.
So, please contact me, immediately; since Dell will be contacted, too.
Sincerely,
James H. Armistead (age 74)
TO:
Hewlett-Packard Board of Directors:
It appears my previous letters had very serious conclusion errors, and I apoligize to Microsoft Corp.. The problem with my battery is the internal fuel gauge circuits on my battery, as follows:
MILLIONS IN LAPTOP BATTERY DAMAGES
ARE CAUSED BY SMART BATTERY PROBLEMS:
My Laptop Battery Problems with Windows 98-SE:
My Compaq Presario 1255 NiMH battery pack would last about two hours, sometimes, and fail to charge more than 20%, at other times, but the charge would increase about 20% after each new “Start-Up”. And, a 100% charged battery would seem to fall to 25% overnight, if Start-UP was under battery power, as if the smart battery forgot that it was full. Even, the special, battery, LED, smart fuel gauge would read 25% Full.
But, nothing seemed to be wrong with the battery pack, except the push-button fuel gauge; since, it measured 9.6 volts; and, it would burn a 1 amp, 12 volt lamp bulb for over 3 hours (3 ampere hours), even after Windows 98-SE claimed it was reading 0% charged. Plus, the Computer battery calibration procedures would fix the fuel gauge reading, but not for very long. So, Windows 98SE software was right, but my “smart battery's ” software was confused, internally, and can be proven.
Original “dumb batteries” were difficult to read by faster computers, since their serial data was asynchronous; therefore, “smarter batteries” were invented with an external clock input to synchronize the transmission of 8-bit serial data messages. Plus, more thinking was added within the “smarter batteries”, and the data input pin was changed. So, Windows may be able to read either type. (See: Smart Batteries on the Internet, and Isidor Bushmann may have the best data.)
And, Windows 98-SE software engineers, many computer designers, and many parts distributors remain confused about which computers need “dumb batteries” and which computers need “smart batteries”; where the data input pins (3 & 4) are different.
My present battery is a Compaq 2941B, which could be the wrong type of battery for my Presario 1255 computer, since it came with my slightly used computer.
In the process of trying to diagnose the battery fuel gauge indicator problem, it is believed that:
1. Any new, $150 battery may appear faulty, if purchased, from the wrong vendor.
2. Charging a “dumb” battery in a sleeping computer, is like leaving a hot iron on an ironing board, overnight, and sooner or later any thermal, safety, circuit breaker will fail.
3. The Screen Saver Timer in the Display Options of the Control Panel Software will override the Power Monitor Settings of the Display Screen in the Control Panel Software. So, who needs this type of redundancy? One variable Monitor Screen Saver is enough, already!
4. The Power Monitor Meter page indicates “charging”, if the AC Power is ON, and if the main charging LED is OFF. So, at least one sub-routine is confused about charging. Or, software messages should say “fast or trickle charging” to be more accurate, whichever is true.
5. The Battery Bar Graph indicates FULL, while claiming the battery condition is “Unknown”, when the main battery is missing, which is confusing and reversed.
6. Most of the time, the Battery would overheat and abort the charging process, since it was already FULL. And, it required 3 hours to charge after being bled to death, and truly dead.
7. Software charges the battery for 20 minutes after any START-UP, even after reading 100% full. Therefore, overheating occurs, repeatedly, which challenges any battery safety circuits in my battery, Compaq type 2941B.
8. So, the Control Panel Alarm Point software appears to be faulty, as well as superfluous, since it allows too many options. One software, “low battery alarm” is enough; since, a 20% warning is sufficient (if accurate), and the real battery power low alarm input from any battery pack will panic the software into “Sleep Mode”, then into “Comatose”, if shaken. But, the “Awake Mode” may be necessary to keep accurate control of the charge, overnight.
9. Bleeding the battery for 4 hours (by using a 10 ohm, 10 watt resistor from Radio Shack or a 12 volt, 1 amp, automotive light bulb) is the fastest way to “clear” any confusion in battery software. But, any calibration procedure is only a temporary fix, since the battery’s confusion will return, internally. WARNING! Do not attempt the above bleeding procedure, unless you are a qualified technician. Use the computer to bleed the battery, as instructed in your laptop manual, since it has been known for over 10 years that Smart Battery software has problems with their fuel gauges.
Diagnosis:
Therefore, Compaq, type 2941B, battery may have software problems and battery, safety, high temperature circuits may prevent charging this battery 100%, on the first cycle, after the software becomes confused. All batteries over-heat as resistance drops to almost zero, if fully charged and still charging. And, uncontrolled charging, by computers, while Comatose, may have caused many Lithium batteries to explode by over-heating, ruined the credibility of several corporations, and has sold millions of $100 batteries, needlessly, Worldwide.
But, another problem seems to be the random, high voltage sparks that are created by any reversal of the 2-prong AC Plug, which may reset timing counters on any internal battery charging circuits (on newer, smarter batteries); thus, providing a false battery reading or interpolation. Therefore, go into the Comatose Mode, before inserting any power cord!
Many engineers may have suspected the capacitive or inductive discharge problem for years, since most new laptops now contain polarized (3-prong) AC Plugs and "Line Chokes", that look, like bubbles in the power cord. And, Windows XP may have the same battery charging problems.
Possible Solutions:
A. Never charge some batteries, overnight, while your software is sleeping.
B. Software should read the battery status data, at least twice, several seconds apart; because, false data may occur since the battery is always connected to the DC Plug in the Laptop, during the process of inserting the AC Plug into an outlet.
C. For reliability reasons, all 2-prong AC Adapters should be recalled or exchanged for polarized AC Power Adapters, which will help protect other computer components, too, from random "AC power transients", from any transformer adapter “static discharges”, and from any stray transients caused by Power ON/OFF relays.
D. Improve the Control Panel, Power Monitor Alarm variable software, or remove it.
E. Double-check to determine which battery type is correct for your computer.
F. Quadruple-check all Window software routines for “smart battery” changes.
G. Check all battery software for “secrets” that could be implanted to sell more batteries.
Recall Solutions:
Since battery problems have cost consumers billions of dollars, already, Battery makers should be sued for product liability damages, or for “industrial sabotage”, if their errors are unique to specific computer manufacturers. Battery signals and Power Monitoring Software may be responsible for all of Windows 98 Start-Up problems, since the software will panic, if it sees any false power low alarm while using battery power, and tries to prevent losing hard drive data. And, if false power low alarms are caused by power plug insertions; then, the software should check them, at least twice!
Open Software should be developed to insure that the correct software logic is being used to estimate battery life, as specified by the computer designers. Lithium, NiMH, Alkaline, NiCd, and Gel-Type Battery Packs can all be recharged, safely, with smarter, open software. But, Secret, Proprietary, Faulty Software has ruined the reputation of several corporations, already.
The high temperature battery alarm input should be used as an upper calibration point, minus 10 or 15 minutes, and used to abort all charging current. The battery hardware, power low alarm input should be used to “panic save” all data, safely; where, the same, variable, Power Monitor Software Alarm would become unnecessary and redundant. New, fully charged or randomly charged batteries could be substituted, without calibration, if the programmers would learn how to use both alarm points as intended by the thinking, older, hardware logic designers.
Logic for: “A Software Battery Fuel Gauge in Minutes:”
1. Preset a battery stopwatch timer to “zero” during any new software configuration.
2. Preset a “Full” battery reference to 360 minutes. (This could be a variable reference.)
3. If Start-UP is on AC Power (Check timer for Full), begin charging if not Full, start the stopwatch timer, and abort all charging on high temperature.
4. If the charge cycle was from zero to full; then, reduce the elapsed time in the stopwatch timer by 15 minutes and save the value as the “Full” reference.
5. If Start-Up is attempted on DC Power (Check the stopwatch timer for battery time), allow the Start-up, if battery has more than 5 minutes, and use the stopwatch timer as a countdown timer. Always Save Data and Shut-Down on the hardware “battery low alarm”, and reset the stop-watch timer to zero for automatic calibration.
6. If running on battery, always announce “Battery needs fuel”, if power is below 10%.
7. The reversible stop-watch counter is only used to estimate the battery time expected, after switching to DC Power, and tells how much time is available in minutes.
8. Display the fuel stopwatch timer in minutes in RED or GREEN digits, every minute.
Red = less than 20 minutes. Green = more than 20 minutes. Yellow could be used.
9. Software could compensate for high Wireless Modem energy demands, also.
All future recharging timing circuits could be contained within each battery pack, and could be better protected from RFI transients. And, all Real Time Clocks should be powered from the main battery pack, when available, which would increase the life of the hidden, internal, back-up, watch battery. Smarter, internal, battery, hardware, charging circuits would allow accurate charging, even when the computer is Comatose; especially, after a spare (randomly charged) battery is substituted. Plus, all future spare battery packs could be easily recharged in any automobile.
To read over 6000 additional consumer battery complaints, use Google and search for: “Dell Laptop Battery Blues” and “Laptop Battery Problems” on the Internet.
To read “The Armistead Family Story”, use a Google Search and discover 280 typo-errors in only 21 of Shakespeare’s perfect Sonnets, that were missed by millions of scholars in the last 400 years. Shakespeare was too busy (like Microsoft) organizing Jamestown to proof read his sonnets; plus, he was shipwrecked on Bermuda for a year.
The Four Computer Modes (or Moods):
Comatose = Fully OFF, or in a coma with a Window open.
Hibernation = Almost OFF, but may remember the last unfinished task.
Sleeping or Standby = Almost ON , bored, and just saving energy.
Awake = Fully ON and thinking, mischievously, in microseconds.
Written by: James H. Armistead, poet
Sacramento , CA. 95822, and is believed to be true and accurate.
(Ex-IBM, Burroughs, RCA, TRW, Varian, & DWR Computer Technician.)