From: [IDC]Dragon <idc-dragon_at_gmx.de>
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 07:27:07 +0100 (MET)

> 1) If I do not flash the FIRMWARE, with the unit's power off & upon
> connection to the charger, is the battery charging process controlled ONLY
> by the hardware?

No, it's controlled by Archos' firmware.

> 2) If I DO FLASH the FIRMWARE, with the unit's power off & then upon
> connection to the charger, is ANYTHING related to battery charging
> controlled by the Rockbox firmware?

Yes, Rockbox is started and it's (admittedly buggy) charging algorithm and
screen takes over. You still can use the Archos software for charging if you
prefer, by holding F1 while plugging the (switched off) box in.

> 4) If all power off battery charging is hardware related, is there a built
> in deep discharge cycle that may have been responsible for my dead
> batteries?

It's not hardware, but I don't recommend the deep discharge option. The
modern NiMH cells don't need that, you add extra cycling to them which is not so
good for their lifespan.

> 5) Curiously, if the power is off and I recharge, the LED display lights
> up, and stays on indefinitely. If the power is on (booted into the
> Rockbox
> software), the display turns off with that menu option, but I'm not sure
> if
> I should be charging with the unit turned on, or if flashing with Rockbox
> firmware alters the power off==>charging mode.

It's up to the software "in charge" (nice double meaning) what it does with
the backlight. It doesn't really matter which one you use for charging.

My charging screen uses the backlight as a charging feedback to the user
(Recorder only). When the light is on, it charges; when it's off, charging is
done. So you see it from far away, if the box is not well accessible under a
table, etc.

Jörg

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Received on 2003-12-19