[SPARCbook] Huge Battery

[Mark G. Thomas]

Hi,

> The Tadpole lore speaks of a huge external battery pack that has 4-6 hours
> of life in it.
> 
> This would be cool, it would border on making the sparcbook a useable
> laptop, as opposed to a portable sparc.
> 
> Does anyone have such a beast ?  Has anyone seen one ?  Is the battery life
> really that good (and if so, is it sustainable after many recharges ?).

I have one.  I get 4-6 hours out of it.  It is heavy, but actually still
fits into my SPARCBook carry-case while attached to the back of the SPARCBook.
I even rigged mine up with a 12volt jack so I could also power a spread
spectrum RF modem from it, for Internet use from a local coffee shop.
I could then spend an entire afternoon working from my table with 
my dedicated RF network link to the world.  :-)

It includes a several foot power cable assembly, so clipping it on the back
of the SPARCBook is optional.  If I'm using the SPARCBook on my lap, I 
often stick the battery pack in the carry-case and use the extension.
The SPARCBook does still fit on an airline seat tray with the battery
attached, and the battery even nicely props up the back of the SPARCBook.

I purchased it new three or four years ago, and use it daily for several
week stretches, then let it sit for several month stretches, and so far
it doesn't seem to have degraded much if any since purchase.  When the
NiCd cells do die, I think I'll be able to replace them if I'm careful
not to break the plastic opening the thing.

-Mark


-- 
Mark G. Thomas (Mark at Misty.com -- http://www.misty.com/)