iLiad iLiad Battery Hacks: Part 2 -- 35 hours of battery life! A how-to guide. - Page 2

jharker · 10-22-2008, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerospinboson

how are the power-saving features of the iLiad apart from in the iPDF viewer?

I'm not sure I understand the question...? There is no power saving in the iPDF viewer any more. Long ago we had a community version of the iPDF viewer with some power-saving features, but iRex built that powersaving ability into the operating system, so iPDF doesn't need to do it any more.

Basically, the iLiad's power-saving feature is that it turns down the CPU speed to "low" most of the time, and only turns it up when there's work to do. So it conserves power all the time, no matter what program you're running. This technique adds about 10% power savings. As far as I know, some of the hardware (ethernet, card readers) is only powered when it's needed, which also helps with power savings.

I don't know about other power-saving stuff. Anyone else know more?

jharker · 10-25-2008, 01:37 PM

I updated the software to version 0.11. The only change: I added a new utility, BatterySnapshot, which is useful for getting a quick look at what the battery is doing and can be run from the ContentLister using the included script.

calviny · 10-26-2008, 02:26 AM

Congratulations, Glad to see someone else do this mod and happy that the larger batteries worked for you! I really appreciate the software. I will try to download it and see if it makes any difference for me. Thanks again.

jharker · 10-26-2008, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calviny

Congratulations, Glad to see someone else do this mod and happy that the larger batteries worked for you! I really appreciate the software. I will try to download it and see if it makes any difference for me. Thanks again.

Hey! Glad to see you're still around! If it hadn't been for your work I would never have tried it in the first place.

Bear in mind that the software is currently hard-wired to assume your batteries are 2800 mAh each. If they are less than that, it won't work properly and your iLiad will drain the batteries too low.

After iRex releases the source code next week for powerMgr and the battery.o kernel module, I'll be writing altered versions that should work automatically with any battery size. I'll post them here when I get them working!

jharker · 10-27-2008, 12:43 PM

I just heard from someone who tried this mod and had a short-circuit when putting the case back together. So I have added a big WARNING to the beginning of the guide, as well as an extra item in the "switching batteries" section that specifically promotes using electrical tape to prevent short-circuits.

Mr. Goodbar · 10-27-2008, 01:13 PM

Yes, I would recommend anyone approach this with caution. I originally upgraded to the 1800mah cells without a problem. After reading about the 2800 mah I decided to go that route and now it appears the power board is having a problem. To be fair, I was seeing odd charging behavior starting a few days prior to my latest upgrade so it could be coincidental, but everyone should be cautious. My background is in electrical engineering so I knew what I was doing, but issues can always pop up. Be careful. Now I just need to beg iRex to sell me a power board!

P.S. Kudos to jharker for offering assistance with software code to help in the troubleshooting process. Thanks again.

mpancorbo · 10-28-2008, 10:40 AM

Great post & mod!

As european user of Iliad I have a question: is out there any other battery seller? Batteryspace seems to be devoted to american market; moreover, on Calviny's post there are some complaints about the service to Europe.

Mr. Goodbar · 10-28-2008, 01:19 PM

I think the complaints were more related to the strict controls they had in place for overseas selling. I believe the gentlemen finally got everything resolved. I would recommend just calling them as opposed to placing the order online. I've found their service to be absolutely top notch and very responsive.

nekokami · 10-29-2008, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

Yes, I would recommend anyone approach this with caution. I originally upgraded to the 1800mah cells without a problem. After reading about the 2800 mah I decided to go that route and now it appears the power board is having a problem. To be fair, I was seeing odd charging behavior starting a few days prior to my latest upgrade so it could be coincidental, but everyone should be cautious. My background is in electrical engineering so I knew what I was doing, but issues can always pop up. Be careful. Now I just need to beg iRex to sell me a power board!

P.S. Kudos to jharker for offering assistance with software code to help in the troubleshooting process. Thanks again.

So do you think your power board problems have anything to do with increasing the battery capacity? You started seeing the problems after your first upgrade, right?

mpancorbo · 10-29-2008, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

I think the complaints were more related to the strict controls they had in place for overseas selling. I believe the gentlemen finally got everything resolved. I would recommend just calling them as opposed to placing the order online. I've found their service to be absolutely top notch and very responsive.

I see. Thanks!

I understand their problems. That is why I asked for an european battery retailer .

Mr. Goodbar · 10-29-2008, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nekokami

So do you think your power board problems have anything to do with increasing the battery capacity? You started seeing the problems after your first upgrade, right?

No, I actually think I may have had a flaky power board for quite some time. Sometimes I would get to a full charge very quickly, but then I wouldn't get great run time out of the device. Other times it would take longer to charge and I would get much better runtime. This would occur with the same basic usage pattern which is primarily reading and from the same drained battery state. I'm beginning to believe I had an intermittent problem that my last upgrade made into a permanent problem. I don't think anyone else has had an issue so it's probably related to my board.

If somebody knows what they are doing it's a relatively easy upgrade so I wouldn't shy away from it. I would say you need to be aware of two issues:

Be careful not to short the batteries when installing them
Make sure to solder as close as possible to the batteries from a vertical perspective to ensure you still have enough cable to plug into the main board. Not getting this right will mean the cable is too short and will pull out of the main board when the case is put back together.

Hope that helps.

nekokami · 10-29-2008, 12:50 PM

I was planning on getting my brother to do the upgrade for me over the holidays-- he has more practice with a soldering iron than I do, and steadier hands. I just wanted to see if there were unexpected consequences before I take the plunge.

jharker · 10-29-2008, 01:44 PM

So far I haven't had any problems at all with my board or batteries. Obviously I haven't had the mod for very long, but so far it's been pretty good.

Of course, recently I've been using my iLiad mostly for reading, 1-2 hours per day. With a 35-hour battery life, I haven't actually had to charge it for at least a week. So there hasn't been a lot of battery cycling going on.

vvvp · 11-02-2008, 09:13 AM

Has anyone found any possible battery substitutions for either this one or the 1800mah mod? Trying to charge $75 international shipping for 2x50g batteries is just extortion.

tudou331100 · 01-21-2009, 08:41 AM

I change the battery into 3000mA*2 successfully

but I don't know how to kill the powerMgr program and install your software

I don't your iLiadPowerManagement-0.11.zip

unziped it and copy into the sd card then I don't know how to install

and you mention about kill the powermgr program, what't that mean

help me please

01-21-2009, 08:41 AM	#30
tudou331100 Enthusiast Posts: 26 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Tianjin,China Device: irex iliad V1, palm treo 650	I change the battery into 3000mA2 successfully but I don't know how to kill the powerMgr program and install your software I don't your iLiadPowerManagement-0.11.zip unziped it and copy into the sd card then I don't know how to install and you mention about kill the powermgr program, what't that mean help me please Last edited by tudou331100; 01-21-2009 at 08:46 AM.*

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10-25-2008, 01:37 PM	#17
jharker Developer Posts: 345 Karma: 3473 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Device: iRex iLiad v1, Blackberry Tour, Kindle DX, iPad.	I updated the software to version 0.11. The only change: I added a new utility, BatterySnapshot, which is useful for getting a quick look at what the battery is doing and can be run from the ContentLister using the included script.

10-26-2008, 02:26 AM	#18
calviny Member Posts: 10 Karma: 188 Join Date: Jul 2008 Device: iliad	Congratulations, Glad to see someone else do this mod and happy that the larger batteries worked for you! I really appreciate the software. I will try to download it and see if it makes any difference for me. Thanks again.

10-27-2008, 12:43 PM	#20
jharker Developer Posts: 345 Karma: 3473 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Device: iRex iLiad v1, Blackberry Tour, Kindle DX, iPad.	I just heard from someone who tried this mod and had a short-circuit when putting the case back together. So I have added a big WARNING to the beginning of the guide, as well as an extra item in the "switching batteries" section that specifically promotes using electrical tape to prevent short-circuits.

10-27-2008, 01:13 PM	#21
Mr. Goodbar Wizard Posts: 1,005 Karma: 98078 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Mini 4	Yes, I would recommend anyone approach this with caution. I originally upgraded to the 1800mah cells without a problem. After reading about the 2800 mah I decided to go that route and now it appears the power board is having a problem. To be fair, I was seeing odd charging behavior starting a few days prior to my latest upgrade so it could be coincidental, but everyone should be cautious. My background is in electrical engineering so I knew what I was doing, but issues can always pop up. Be careful. Now I just need to beg iRex to sell me a power board! P.S. Kudos to jharker for offering assistance with software code to help in the troubleshooting process. Thanks again.

10-28-2008, 10:40 AM	#22
mpancorbo Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Iliad	Great post & mod! As european user of Iliad I have a question: is out there any other battery seller? Batteryspace seems to be devoted to american market; moreover, on Calviny's post there are some complaints about the service to Europe.

10-28-2008, 01:19 PM	#23
Mr. Goodbar Wizard Posts: 1,005 Karma: 98078 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Mini 4	I think the complaints were more related to the strict controls they had in place for overseas selling. I believe the gentlemen finally got everything resolved. I would recommend just calling them as opposed to placing the order online. I've found their service to be absolutely top notch and very responsive.

10-29-2008, 12:50 PM	#27
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	I was planning on getting my brother to do the upgrade for me over the holidays-- he has more practice with a soldering iron than I do, and steadier hands. I just wanted to see if there were unexpected consequences before I take the plunge.

10-29-2008, 01:44 PM	#28
jharker Developer Posts: 345 Karma: 3473 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Device: iRex iLiad v1, Blackberry Tour, Kindle DX, iPad.	So far I haven't had any problems at all with my board or batteries. Obviously I haven't had the mod for very long, but so far it's been pretty good. Of course, recently I've been using my iLiad mostly for reading, 1-2 hours per day. With a 35-hour battery life, I haven't actually had to charge it for at least a week. So there hasn't been a lot of battery cycling going on.

11-02-2008, 09:13 AM	#29
vvvp Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Iliad	Has anyone found any possible battery substitutions for either this one or the 1800mah mod? Trying to charge $75 international shipping for 2x50g batteries is just extortion.