by mwolczko » Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:37 pm
The problem is actually worse than I indicated in my earlier message.
An incoming call or text message -- apparently any kind of alert -- will also turn the light on, and leave it on, when there is an external supply. For example, the recent message Boost sent to all subscribers about the increase in data pricing turned the lights on on my units.
Call forwarding can handle incoming phone calls, but I don't know of a way to suppress alerts for incoming text messages.
The only mitigation that I can think of is to have an external supply that cycles: say, comes on for an hour to charge the internal battery, and then switches off for 5hours (say) until it is nearly discharged. The light seems to go off reliably when there is no external power source.
But, there must be losses in transferring charge between batteries, and the external supply would also need to be regulated, which incurs further losses (right now I am using external 6V lead-acid batteries, which can only be attached safely when the internal battery is fully charged).
The problem is actually worse than I indicated in my earlier message.
An incoming call or text message -- apparently any kind of alert -- will also turn the light on, and leave it on, when there is an external supply. For example, the recent message Boost sent to all subscribers about the increase in data pricing turned the lights on on my units.
Call forwarding can handle incoming phone calls, but I don't know of a way to suppress alerts for incoming text messages.
The only mitigation that I can think of is to have an external supply that cycles: say, comes on for an hour to charge the internal battery, and then switches off for 5hours (say) until it is nearly discharged. The light seems to go off reliably when there is no external power source.
But, there must be losses in transferring charge between batteries, and the external supply would also need to be regulated, which incurs further losses (right now I am using external 6V lead-acid batteries, which can only be attached safely when the internal battery is fully charged).