From: STeve Andre' (andres_at_msu.edu)
Date: Mon Feb 26 2001 - 23:28:13 EST
I am assuming that the T20 uses a Li-Ion battery and not a NiMH.
If you had a NiMH battery I'd say you want to keep it out of the
unit when at home, because every single NiMH ThinkPad battery
I have used or that my users have used has died from over charging.
NiMH's are not robust in this fashion.
Li-Ion batteries are far FAR better in this regard; they don't die as fast
as the NiMH's ones did (do). With this chemistry you ought to be able
to do small recharges's just fine, BUT I would still run the battery down
before recharging it, if I were you. I know of no battery chemistry which
likes partial recharges better than full ones, so I would use the battery
up before charging.
Having said that, once you've become to your newfound mobility, I'll bet
that you will find some two or three places where you park yourself mostly,
and you might want to think about ac adaptors at those places. If you
do really go through a complete cycle each day, then you're going to
need to replace that battery every year, I'll bet.
Li-Ion batteries definitely better than their predecessors, but I've still
seen
problems with partial charging them, in spite of what the manufacturers
say. They are more robust however, and thats a good step in the right
direction.
When you get some time tell the list of about the wireless system you're
using.
--STeve Andre'
At 11:04 PM 2/26/01 -0600, Mitchell Leben wrote:
>I know this has been asked a zillion times...
>
>Recently I put an SMC Wireless router in my home office, and an SMC PC
>card in my T20. This stuff is fantastic! To the point though:
>
>I used to keep the T20 on AC most of the time, sitting in the office. If I
>went downstairs or outside I would run it down to 5% or so, then charge up
>again.
>
>Now though, I have no need to keep it upstairs at all. I find myself using
>it all over, then carrying it back to where the AC adapter is. So, if the
>battery is 3/4 full, and sitting right next to the AC adapter, should I
>plug it in or let it run down?
>
>I do this every day, so I can either:
>
>1. Go through one or two full battery cycles each day
>
>or
>
>2. Do several (3 or 4) small charges each day, perhaps pulling from AC
>before 100% is reached.
>
>Which is better for the battery? I am not really concerned about running
>out of battery, because I can always grab the adapter and charge up.
>
>Thanks. If anyone is curious about the wireless setup I'd be happy to
>share my experience.
>
>--
>-Mitch
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