On Mon, 7 Oct 1996 ChuckPops@aol.com wrote:
[snip]
B
> it would shut itself off at random occasions. Then I would have to turn it
> on again and let it acquire the satellites all over again. It turned out
> that if the power is interrupted for even a millisecond, the unit will shut
> itself off. The vibration on the panel was sufficient to cause such
> occasional shutoffs, since I discovered that when I held it in my hand, it
> would operate reliably. I used the internal AA batteries, which apparently
> vibrated enough to cause intermittent contact. Stretching the battery
> contact springs and adding conductive foam inside the springs has eliminated
> the problem.
>
Something that we found out years ago, in flying radio control models
with AA batteries in the airborne pack, is that most AA batteries have a
false negative end cap. Take a pocket knife and run it around the end
cap on the negative end of the battery. The metal cap will slice off
revealing the actual metal of the "can" which is negative. Vibration can
cause connection problems between the end cap and the actual negative can
of the battery.
Steve
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