[Power] [support-gang] XO Battery Life

[Adam Holt]

Also page http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XO_Troubleshooting_Battery used to be
very relevant, and hopefully still offers useful context/tips, given the
sad unavailability of new batteries (as I understand it) for the 2 million
or so XO-1 and XO-1.5 laptops out there in the world.

For the much smaller RTC (real time click) batteries on the motherboard,
does anybody know if XO-1.5 and higher "leggy" RTC batteries are
purchasable anywhere?  As described here:

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Fix_Clock#XO-1.5

Great photo here:

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/File:Xo_1_5_coincell.jpg
On Aug 10, 2015 2:52 AM, "James Cameron" <quozl at laptop.org> wrote:

> G'day Sora,
>
> You asked about the run time of XO-1 batteries.  Quick answer; maybe
> another 1800 cycles, less in tropical heat, and two hours seems normal.
>
> Long answer:
>
> Our specification says XO-1 batteries should survive 2000 charge
> discharge cycles and still be within 50% of as-new capacity, when used
> at 25°C.
>
> A cycle is from 0% to 100% to 0% again.  If any of those 200 cycles
> were not complete, then less than 200 cycles will have been
> experienced.
>
> So for the batteries you describe, there should be of the order of
> 1800 cycles remaining, subject to the elevated tropical temperatures
> in Haiti.
>
> I understand you have recently upgraded the software.
>
> The latest software is more usable, therefore it will be used more,
> and every battery will last a shorter time.  So reports about short
> run time are a very positive result.  Congratulations.  ;-)
>
> Two hours of continuous use is a reasonable run time.
>
> I did a test just now; installed 13.2.5 on an XO-1, configured
> wireless, stopped powerd (so display is always on), with a fully
> charged battery, unplugged power cable, and left it alone in a corner.
>
> With a battery from 2007, the laptop ran for 2.5 hours.
>
> With a battery from 2011, the laptop ran for 3.0 hours.
>
> There are a few things you can do to improve the run time;
>
> - closing activities before opening new ones,
>
> - charge, store, and use laptops away from direct sunlight and heat,
>
> - check you are charging the laptops from a voltage above 11V, because
>   if they are charged below 10V the batteries might not be charged
>   fully, (happened to me when charging from a 12V battery which was on
>   the way to recycling),
>
> - check for damage to battery contacts on the laptop, or the
>   batteries, as this may cause early shutdown, (happened to me so far
>   on two batteries since 2006),
>
> - when a battery is taken from storage for the first time, treat it
>   with a couple of charging cycles before you rely on it,
>
> - try turning on automatic power management in Sugar My Settings; on
>   very old XO-1 sometimes it works well, but sometimes the keyboard or
>   touchpad may not work.
>
> If you wish to investigate further, unpack the attached ZIP file onto
> a USB drive with nothing important on it, and boot it in the laptops
> one by one.
>
> It will automatically save the power logs, which are a record of power
> draw and battery capacity over time.  Then it will turn the laptop off.
>
> After you've used it, send me the file pwr.tar from the USB drive.
>
> I can look at the measurements to figure out if things are all fine.
> Battery serial numbers will be in the file, which will tell me the
> date of manufacture.
>
> Or, you might do this and keep the pwr.tar file yourself.
>
> Hope that helps!
>
> References:
>
> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Power_Log_Collector#Open_Firmware
>
> --
> James Cameron
> http://quozl.linux.org.au/
>
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> support-gang at lists.laptop.org
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>
>
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