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1991-03-23
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Laptop GasGauge - Copyright 1987-1991 by Charles Eglinton Page: 0
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┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
└┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌────┐ │
│ │ │ │ └───┘ <tm>
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ Electronic Technologies
│ └──────┐ │ │ 3985 S. Rochester Road Ste.H
│ ┌──────┘ │ │ Rochester, Michigan 48307
│ │ │ │
│ └────────────┐┌┘ └┐ CompuServe ID: 70337,1654
│ ││ │ 7 day 24 hr BBS SUPPORT:
└─────────────────────┘└────────┘ A/R BBS (313) 680-9154
GET THE LATEST VERSIONS OF ET PROGRAMS AT A/R BBS
(313) 680-9154 (9600,2400,1200: N,8,1)
SHAREWARE & FEES:
The sole intention of shareware is to provide an inexpensive copy of the
program for evaluation purposes only. Shareware is not free software. If
you find value in this software and if you intend to use this software on a
regular basis then you are morally obligated to pay for it. To print an
order form type "COPY ORDERFRM.DOC LPT1".
The shareware version of this software may be distributed free of charge by
use of electronic bulletin board services. However, any other distribution
of this program must first be approved in writing by the author. If you
are a software vendor, member of a user group or other organization then
you must read the file "VENDOR.DOC" for information about the rules and
legalities which must be followed in the distribution of this software.
LICENSE:
Once a donation has been received, the program is officially registered and
licensed. Registration permits a user the license to use this program
only on a single PC. A registered user may use the program on a different
computer, but may not use the program on more than one computer at the same
time. No user may modify this software in any way, including but not
limited to decompiling, disassembling or otherwise reverse engineering the
program.
WARRANTY:
The author makes no warranty of any kind express or implied, including
without limitation, any warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a
particular purpose.
IN NO EVENT WILL ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES OR THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY
DAMAGES, WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL INCLUDING ANY
LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PROGRAM, OR FOR ANY CLAIM
BY ANY OTHER PARTY. THIS PROGRAM IS OPERATED ENTIRELY AT THE USER'S RISK.
TECH SUPPORT:
Tech support is limited to one year for registered users only, and is
available by mail, Compuserve "EasyPlex" or 24 hour Bulletin Board service.
Questions should be submitted to the attention of Charles Eglinton.
When requesting technical support please report the following:
1) Memory before running the program (use the dos command "CHKDSK:)
2) Computer, modem and printer type (if applicable)
3) The names of any TSR memory resident programs (Sidekick, Prokey..)
4) A listing of both your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Laptop GasGauge - Copyright 1987-1991 by Charles Eglinton Page: 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The following programs are included . . .
GG.DOC This documentation
GG.COM The 10K TSR GasGauge program
DEEPDIS.COM A utility to deep-discharge batteries
CURSOR.COM 2K stand-alone block cursor program.
PROGRAMS.DOC A listing of our other programs
ORDERFRM.DOC An order form for other ET programs
WHAT IS GasGauge?
GasGauge is a 10K, memory resident, battery timer for Laptop computers with
an integrated in LARGE BLOCK CURSOR option. GasGauge displays an estimate of
how much battery time is left on your laptop computer before a battery charge
will be needed. On-Line Magazine (p.23, April 1989) called GasGauge "one of
the most popular files accessed on the PC Board".
STARTING GasGauge
Usage: GG drive [/C /A /U /O=xx|ttt]
drive is the disk drive from which your laptop computer starts. Do not add a
colon (:).
GasGauge writes a very small file named "GAS" in the root directory of your
boot disk. GasGauge uses this "\GAS" file to deterimine the last day and time
that you used your laptop computer how much battery time is remaining since
your last session.
* If you are using a laptop with a hard drive type "GG C"
* If you are using a laptop with only floppy drive type "GG A"
* If you have a Toshiba laptop with "hard ram" you can type "GG D"
IF YOU BOOT WITH A FLOPPY DISK:
1) You must always start the computer with the same boot diskette. This is
because the small elapsed tim file on the floppy disk must be read on
power-up to get the cumulative elapsed time from your last session.
2) You must always end your work session with the same boot diskette to
update the small elapsed time file on the "A:" disk for the next session.
Follow these steps:
a) Re-insert the original boot diskette in the "A:" drive.
b) Press [ALT][LEFT SHIFT] to toggle the screen and update the elapsed
time.
c) The current elapsed time "\GAS" file will be written to the boot disk.
d) Switch off the laptop computer.
3) There must always be a diskette in the "A:" drive because GasGauge tries
to update the "A:\GAS" file continuously, every minute or so. The
diskette in the "A:" drive doesn't necessarily have to be your boot
diskette. GasGauge will write a very small, 8 byte file to whatever
diskette is in the "A:" drive. Just remember that "A:\GAS" file on the
original boot diskette must be reinserted at the end of your work session
to be updated before you switch off your computer.
Once GasGauge has started, the remaining time will be displayed in the upper
right corner of the display. If you have a registered copy of GasGauge, you
can toggle the display to the upper left corner and off completely by holding
the [ALT] key then pressing the [LEFT SHIFT]. [ALT][LEFT SHIFT] will also
force an immediate save of the current elapsed time on the boot disk on both
the registered and shareware versions of GasGauge.
/A ALARM (registered version only)
If the ALARM is on, you will be warned audibly when the battery life is
dangerously low. The alarm can be heard regardless of what you are doing
with the computer and will sound without having to "pop-up" the GasGauge.
When the Alarm is on, an "a" will appear to the right of the time display.
/O=xxx OFF LIFE (registered version only)
where 'xxx' is the number of days the computer will stay charged with the
power turned off and the charger not attached. This value is difficult to
estimate and can more easily be found in your laptop computer manual.
Consider this example:
Your computer operates for 240 minutes on a full charge (the BATTERY LIFE
is 240 minutes) but your computer only stays charged for 14 days if it is
unplugged and not used (so the OFF LIFE is 14 days).
Assume that GasGauge was reset to 240 the last time the battery was
charged and the charger was disconnected.
After 7 days of not being used GasGauge knows that 50% of the battery
life was consumed (50% = 7/14 days) while the computer was not used.
The elapsed time will be increased by 50% and the GasGauge will show
02:00 remaining (120 minutes = 50% x 240 minutes from a full charge).
The DATE and TIME must be correct on your computer for the OFF LIFE to
work correctly.
RESETTING THE GasGauge AFTER EACH BATTERY CHARGE
Each time you fully charge your laptop batteries you must tell GasGauge that
the batteries have been recharged. To reset the remaining time, start
GasGauge then hold down the [ALT] key and press [\]. A prompt will appear
in the upper right corner of the display. Type the estimated amount of time
(in minutes) that you expect to get from your fully charged battery.
Here is how to estimate the battery life of your laptop computer's battery:
1) First charge the battery fully, then remove the battery charger.
2) Start GasGauge using "GG C" or "GG A" (or "GG D")
3) Press [ALT][\] and reset the elapsed time to zero (0).
4) Leave the computer on until the battery is completely discharged.
5) Plug the computer in and start GasGauge. The negative number that appears
in the upper right corner will be the time expected from a fully charged
battery. Remember, GasGauge requires the BATTERY LIFE in minutes so 3
hours and 15 minutes would be typed as 195 minutes.
/C CURSOR - Large block cursor (registered version only)
The CURSOR option changes the flat cursor into a big block cursor. A small
stand alone program named "CURSOR.COM" can be used without GasGauge and
consumes only about 2K when resident.
LAPTOP BATTERIES
(Note: A detailed article about laptop computer batteries is contained in the
article "Taking Charge" on page 113 of the March 12, 1991 issue of PC
Magazine.)
Most laptop computer batteries are made from nickel and cadmium. Typically, a
nickel cadmium battery has a life span up to three years and can be recharged
from 500 to 1,000 times (depending on the amperage and speed of your battery
charger).
BATTERY CHARGERS
Early laptop computer batteries could take up to 18 hours to recharge. This
is because they used trickle-chargers that fed the batteries at a low
amperage. The lower amperage was easier on the batteries and allowed
batteries to have a longer life. Long recharge times were a problem for
users on the road, so laptop vendors have switched to faster chargers at the
expense of battery life. Early battery packs were rated at about 1,000
charges. Many battery packs with fast chargers are now rated at about 500
charges. Most laptops have a built-in circuit which monitors the battery
voltage and will decrease the charging amperage when the battery voltage
reaches the proper level. This is why it is safe to leave your laptop
attached to the charger for long periods of time.
THE MEMORY EFFECT
If you recharge your batteries before they are fully discharged, your
batteries will begin expecting a recharge at the partially-discharged level.
By recharging too early, too often, your batteries will lose some of their
charge holding capacity. This is known as "the memory effect."
Also, the age and the number of recharge cycles a battery has completed can
affect the amount of charge a battery can hold. The battery age and the
memory effect can cause two users with the same exact model of laptop
computer to each experience a different battery life between charges.
GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR BATTERY - DEEP DISCHARGE
About once a month you should turn down the display and let the computer run
down on it's own. This is known as a "deep discharge." A deep discharge
will drop the battery voltage to a minimum, avoiding the "memory effect."
The deep discharge program included with GasGauge will perform a complete
discharge most quickly if you are in a hurry. The GasGauge Deep Discharge is
described in more detail in the next section.
If your laptop won't allow a complete discharge, then you should let your
charger charge your computer overnight with the computer switched on. You
should do this about once for every three charges. To extend the life of
your LCD display, you should turn down the screen brightness when the display
is not needed.
You should allow the batteries to cool for about a half hour before using the
computer to reduce the damage caused by the new breed of fast chargers.
Also, try to wait about a half hour after using your computer before starting
a recharge cycle.
DEEP DISCHARGE "DEEPDIS.COM" PROGRAM (registered version only):
The GASGAUGE deep discharge program depletes your battery more quickly by
running all power consuming devices continuously until the battery is
discharged. To start the Discharge program type "DEEPDIS"
To avoid premature wear on your disk drives you should only use this program
when you would like to discharge your batteries as quickly as possible.
Although the Deep Discharge program has been tested on a variety of
computers, you should contact your computer manufacturer if you have any
questions about continuous disk drive operation.
Before starting the deep discharge routine all external disk drives should be
off or disconnected and diskettes should be removed from the drives. The
GasGauge elapsed time file will not be updated so remember to reset the
elapsed time after recharging the batteries.
The deep discharge program may be stopped by pressing the [ESC] key. There
may be up to a 15 second delay before the disk drives stop turning.
GasGauge INCOMPATIBILITIES
The "Remaining-time" display will not appear on graphics screens. However,
GasGauge continues to work in the background and the elapsed time file will
continuously be updated. The GasGauge display will reappear after you exit
the graphics screen.
Some Microsoft programs do not follow rules for interrupt service routines
handling keyboard input. Because of this, GasGauge will not work with
QuickBasic 4.50, QBX 7.x, and some other Microsoft programs.
A few users have reported difficulty formatting diskettes with GasGauge
installed. To avoid this problem uninstall GasGauge (GG/U) before formatting
diskettes.