VOLT/LX

Advanced Battery Display System for the HP 100LX/200LX/1000CX

Table of Contents

  • The Fine Print
  • Copyrights and Trademarks
  • Limited Warranty
  • Disclaimer of Warranty
  • Use by the U.S. Government
    •
  • 1. Introduction to VOLT/LX
  • 1.1 How VOLT/LX Works
    •
  • 2. Installation of VOLT/LX
  • 2.1 Moving the Programs to the Palmtop
  • 2.2 Adjustments to AUTOEXEC.BAT
  • 2.3 Booting the Palmtop
  • 2.4 Initializing VOLT/LX
    •
  • 3. Voltage and Timer Display
  • 4. What is ABC/LX?
  • Acknowledgments
    •

    The Fine Print

    As in most manuals, we have to start out with the stuff for the lawyers. While we must ask that you read this section, in general this is what it all means:

    VOLT/LX belongs to us, not you. What you bought was a right to use VOLT/LX. You can use it on as many computers as you'd like, but each person that uses VOLT/LX must pay for a copy.

    You agree that you use VOLT/LX at your own risk. We are not responsible for anything that happens as a result of your use of this software.

    If you bought this program for use by the U.S. Government, the Government is only allowed to use it for one person. (If we don't include this stuff about FARS and DFARS, the Government will assume that they can make as many copies as they would like, and that they can do what ever they want with it. At least they're trying to save us tax payers some money, but sorry, we can't let them do it by pirating VOLT/LX.)

    Copyrights and Trademarks

    VOLT/LX and the VOLT/LX logo are trademarks of D&A Software.

    HP, HP 100LX, HP 200LX, and 1000CX are trademarks of Hewlett-Packard Company. All other product names are copyright and registered trademarks/tradenames of their respective owners.

    Limited Warranty

    VOLT/LX is distributed on an "as is" basis. Neither D&A Software, nor the software author, guarantees this
    program to be free from defects and may not be held responsible for any losses caused, directly or indirectly, by the use of this software. If you are not completely satisfied with VOLT/LX within thirty (30) days of purchase, you may receive a refund of your purchase price, when you return all items along with the proof of purchase. Further, since D&A Software does not have any direct affiliation with Hewlett Packard Co., future models of the HP Palmtop may not be compatible with VOLT/LX. D&A Software does not guarantee that updates will be available to maintain compatibility with future HP Palmtop models. Further, if updates are offered, an upgrade fee may be required. Your use of this program constitutes your acceptance of these terms.

    Disclaimer of Warranty

    With the exception of the Limited Warranty stated above, D&A Software, and the software author, disclaim any and all warranties, expressed or implied.

    Use by the U.S. Government

    RESTRICTED RIGHTS: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause of DFARS 252.227-7013 or subparagraphs (c)(1) and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software Restricted Rights at 48 CFR 52.227-19.
     

    (C) Copyright 1996 by D&A Software
     
     

    1. Introduction to VOLT/LX

    The HP100LX and HP200LX palmtops issue a low battery warning when the voltage drops below approximately 2.39 volts. With certain battery types, the voltage drop at the end of the service life is quite rapid. For example, Lithium batteries remain at some midpoint voltage for most of their service life but drop rapidly in the last hour or two. So in addition to voltage, time used on the battery is an important factor in estimating the batteries' performance.

    VOLT/LX tracks these two important values for your batteries. It displays the voltage and also the time used on the battery. VOLT/LX provides this information for those customers who do not use rechargeable batteries, but are concerned with tracking the voltage and service time provided by their batteries.

    VOLT/LX is related to ABC/LX, which is a full-featured battery charging management system for rechargeable batteries. It utilizes the same TSR that ABC/LX uses. VOLT/LX is limited in functions and is directed to users of non-rechargeable batteries. If you change to rechargeable batteries, please see Section 4, "What is ABC/LX?" for more information about ABC/LX.

    1.1 How VOLT/LX Works

    VOLT/LX consists of two programs. ABCTSR.COM is a tiny TSR (Terminate & Stay Resident) program that uses less than 2K RAM. It displays the battery information in the label area above the F1 key, replacing the word "Help". The function of the F1 key is unchanged and pressing F1 still provides the Help information. VOLTRSET.EXE resets the on-battery timer when you change batteries. You use this program whenever you
    change batteries.

    2. Installation of VOLT/LX

    The installation steps consist of the following:
  • Moving the programs from the diskette to the palmtop
  • Adjustments to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the palmtop
  • Booting the palmtop
  • Running VOLTRSET.EXE

    • 2.1 Moving the Programs to the Palmtop

    Move two programs to the palmtop: VOLTRSET.EXE and ABCTSR.COM. The README.TXT lists the files and explains their purpose. You can use the HP Connectivity Pack or any other method to copy the files to the palmtop. If you do not have a desktop computer, or it is not PC-compatible, please call us if you need assistance to move the files to the palmtop. We will be glad to make some arrangements to accommodate you.

    2.2 Adjustments to AUTOEXEC.BAT

    To start the TSR properly on the palmtop, add the following line to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your palmtop:

    C:\BIN\ABCTSR.COM

    Change "C:\BIN" to reflect the correct drive and path name (subdirectory) where VOLT/LX is installed.

    Make sure to add this line to AUTOEXEC.BAT before the System Manager startup (i.e. before a line specifying 100 or 200). If no AUTOEXEC.BAT file is present, copy the one from the D: drive to the C:\ directory (or to A:\ if you use a flash card or SRAM card).

    2.3 Booting the Palmtop

    Close all the applications on the palmtop. Then press the [CTRL] [ALT] [DEL] keys at the same time to boot the palmtop. Now, ABCTSR is running, displaying the voltage on the label for the F1 key (instead of "Help").

    2.4 Initializing VOLT/LX

    After you reboot the system with ABCTSR in the AUTOEXEC.BAT, you must initialize ABCTSR. In FILER, press [MENU] O D to go to a DOS prompt. At the prompt, type

    C:\BIN\VOLTRSET

    Change "C:\BIN" to reflect the actual drive and path name (subdirectory) where VOLTRSET.EXE is located. You must reset ABCTSR each time you change batteries.

    3. Voltage and Timer Display

    VOLT/LX displays the battery voltage (or the on-battery timer) on the F1 key label when one of the internal applications (or a PAL application) is running. The display can be changed between voltage and on-battery timer by pressing the [CTRL] and [ALT] keys together. You may have to hold the keys down for 1/2 second or so.

    The voltage display indicates the voltage of your batteries. The on-battery timer displays the total amount of time the palmtop was turned on using batteries (adapter not connected). The format of the values is:

    Voltage v.vv
    On-Battery Timer hhh:mm

    You can reset the on-battery timer to 000:00 by running VOLTRSET.EXE. This should be done after batteries are replaced.

    4. What is ABC/LX?

    ABC/LX stands for Automated Battery Charging system for HP LX Palmtops. It manages the usage of rechargeable batteries, provides an additional display, and has a mode that "learns" how your batteries behave. With ABC/LX you need not worry anymore about the status of your batteries: Run the TSR, and
    plug the adapter. If the batteries need charging, ABC/LX will enable the charging, otherwise the charging is disabled. Automatically! And you can still control every aspect of the charging process, if you wish: Starting voltage, ending voltage, duration, stall time, etc.

    You can upgrade from VOLT/LX to ABC/LX version 1.0 and use the enclosed coupon when you purchase ABC/LX version 1.0. It is worth US$5.00 towards the purchase price.

    Acknowledgments

    VOLT/LX was derived from ABC/LX, and the efforts of the people involved in ABC/LX directly affected the development of VOLT/LX. We wish to thank the ABC/LX Beta Test Group. We wish to thank the people who contributed to PAL (palmtop application library), which builds the base of ABC/LX.
     
     

    VOLT/LX was developed on the HP 200LX Palmtop

    5 June 1996