PDA-Based ETDs

[Farrell]

Thanks folks for all the response to my question on PDA battery life.

I did a pitch raise yesterday and used up half my battery (I did it real slow because it was the first time I used my PDA-Verituner software). I plugged it in for the tuning and it charged up to 100%. Then I did a pitch raise and a tuning on a second piano and used up 45% of my battery. So maybe things are not as bleak as I thought - although, that is still much more consumption than I am used to. If a second PR + tuning used up another 45% on that charge, I don't think that would be good to run the battery down so low like that.

And it's against my principles to plug in a battery-powered device! (Hey, and there may not always be a plug around - or if it is, you know exactly where it will be - right in the middle in the back of grandma's old upright.....)

The stator on my motorcycle doesn't put out much juice, plus where am I going to put my PDA on my motorbike while I'm riding and it's charging? IMHO, charging while riding is not an option.

So...........

I just ordered 10 NiMH batteries to make up a 26.4 watt-hour (12V, 2.2 Ah) external battery pack for my PDA. The battery in the unit is only 4.4 watt-hours, so the external pack should last longer than my arm. I'm going to make it flat (about 3"x4"x1/2") and put a nice mark-free rubber pad on the bottom. The pack will serve as a base to set the PDA on so that I don't scratch a piano finish. I'll also try to rig up some sort of attachment method so I can mount the pack directly onto the PDA cradle so that when I want to use the tuning pin mount, I can move the pack and PDA as one unit. The pack will also have an LED voltage monitor so that I can always be aware of how much juice I have. This pack should have way more than enough power for a very full day - hey, maybe I can even turn the screen brightness up! Maybe I can listen to some Black Sabbath and watch You-Tube videos while I tune!!!

I'll post my rig on the pianotech list in the next week or two after I get it all together. Watch for it!

Terry Farrell

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  I will be taking a first run on my new HP ipaq 111 PDA w/ Verituner software (been using a VT100 for a few years) this afternoon. Just got the software installed last night. Was curious how long the battery lasts, so I left the unit on while I walked my dogs this morning and the darn thing chewed up 55% of my battery in 90 minutes just sitting there with the display lit up. That's going to put a severe cramp on my tuning business.

  Anyone else care to share their experience with the battery life of these units? I believe the Cybertuner software is often run on similar/same PDAs. My battery is 1.2 Ah capacity. Do I need to head out in the morning with a separate battery for each pitch raise and tuning? Is there a way to minimize the power drain? If I am tuning, I can't have the thing going to sleep every three minutes - I mean, I'm using it!

  I can't believe anyone is using these things if you can only get one or two tunings out of the darn thing before it goes dead.

  Terry Farrell
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