HP Forum Archive 19

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New HP 12C Platinum - 2 Batteries??? Message #1 Posted by Jeff on 27 Aug 2010, 7:44 p.m. I had to replace my 25th Anniversary edition because one of the keys doesn't work right. The new Platinum has two 2032 batteries instead of one. I wasn't happy to see that. What is the reason? Faster processor? Will the batteries last longer than one?

Re: New HP 12C Platinum - 2 Batteries??? Message #2 Posted by Don Shepherd on 27 Aug 2010, 8:11 p.m., in response to message #1 by Jeff Yeah, this was reported a couple of months ago by another user. The probable reason for two batteries in the platinum is that the ARM-based 12c+ has two batteries now, so it's probably more economical to have one case format for both the 12c+ and 12c platinum. I think the processor in the platinum is the same as the older platinum, so no speed advantage. I would think that two batteries would last longer than just one, but I'm no power expert.

Re: New HP 12C Platinum - 2 Batteries??? Message #3 Posted by Allen on 28 Aug 2010, 11:50 a.m., in response to message #1 by Jeff I think this is a very good sign that the Platinum has joined the Gold 12c+ in housing 2 batteries. (Whether absolutely necessary or not!) This design change suggests a migration to a common body design for 21st century Voyagers. To me, the common body might also suggest the existence of a medium- to long-term strategy for the Voyager series to amortize design/production costs for later models.

Re: New HP 12C Platinum - 2 Batteries??? Message #4 Posted by Nigel J Dowrick on 29 Aug 2010, 7:40 a.m., in response to message #1 by Jeff Have you tried running it with just one of the two batteries installed? Maybe they are connected in parallel. (If this works, it would clearly cut the battery life in half.) Nigel

Re: New HP 12C Platinum - 2 Batteries??? Message #5 Posted by Jeff on 30 Aug 2010, 11:27 a.m., in response to message #4 by Nigel J Dowrick I will try that today. I am wondering if having two batteries is a good thing or a bad thing. I liked having only one battery in my previous 12C. Too bad it's not a solar calculator.

Re: New HP 12C Platinum - 2 Batteries??? Message #6 Posted by Katie Wasserman on 30 Aug 2010, 5:28 p.m., in response to message #5 by Jeff You can run it just fine with one cell, the cells are in parallel with no blocking diode. While 2 cells will last longer than one it's a bad arrangement when considering low battery replacement. When the low battery indicator comes on it means that both cells are near dead. One of them may indeed be completely dead and if that's not the one replaced first you're likely to lose memory when changing the cells. Using one cell at a time will remedy this problem since you can put in a new cell in the other position then remove the one that's nearly dead. I think it's preferable to only use one cell in the new 12C's with dual cr2032 cells -- whether it's ARM processor or the older one. -Katie

Re: New HP 12C Platinum - 2 Batteries??? Message #7 Posted by DaveJ on 31 Aug 2010, 6:13 a.m., in response to message #4 by Nigel J Dowrick Quote: Have you tried running it with just one of the two batteries installed? Maybe they are connected in parallel. (If this works, it would clearly cut the battery life in half.) Most likely less than half actually. http://www.eevblog.com/2009/04/16/eevblog-4-low-power-calculator-design-and-fpgas/ Dave.

Re: New HP 12C Platinum - 2 Batteries??? Message #8 Posted by Jeff on 31 Aug 2010, 11:58 a.m., in response to message #7 by DaveJ Quote: Most likely less than half actually. http://www.eevblog.com/2009/04/16/eevblog-4-low-power-calculator-design-and-fpgas/ Dave. It does work. My question is if there is any advantage to 2 batteries vs. being designed with one. In other words, do the 2 batteries last longer than 12C calculators that are just designed with one? Thanks. P.S. Good clip, by the way!

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