Release Pandora System Info

[bukkit]

Ah yes, it really looks like /etc/powervr-esrev and /etc/powervr-kmodver were missing.

(On my install from scratch, I even have a /etc/powervr.ini. Maybe my nand install is botched, too...)

Thanks a lot, that was helpful.

 

[Magic Sam]

[BUMP]
Hi all

@_wb_ : could you add some "benchmarks" to Pandora System Info in order to assess the quality / durability of the SD cards ?

Cheers, Magic Sam
[/BUMP]

 

[levi]

I'm not sure how a user process like the system info app could determine whether a SD card is durable or not, especially not without trashing the card, but it may be possible to add some metrics about SD card partitions. Looking at the storage screenshot on the repo though, it seems pretty comprehensive about what you can debug out of a card without writing to it. I'm personally glad that the system info app doesn't do any stress testing wearing out my Pandora or its cards.

 

[Grench]

So - I just got done getting a Pandora to work again from traded parts. YAY!

However, I suspect my old battery is bad - but that doesn't explain the behavior I'm seeing.

With the mains & battery connected, Pandora System Info says the battery is at 80% charge - good?
With the battery only, no boot.
With the mains only, Pandora System Info says the battery is at 80% charge - huh?

When there is no battery present, is it normal for the Pandora System Info program to report:
Battery Discharging 81.3%
Energy 11504 mWh
Power use: +0mW
Temperature 20.1C
Health 90%

Thanks!

 

[levi]

I dunno - my unit won't boot without a battery, so I've never been able to run systeminfo with no battery. However, that power usage of +-0mW suggests it at least has one metric by which it's measuring the lack of battery.

So one likely possibility perhaps is that the charge chip is just confused. Have you packed your battery compartment appropriately?

 

[Grench]

It's more like this Pandora motherboard doesn't know what the charger input is - battery monitor in the status bar says AC off-line when on the power plug. Whether there is a battery in it or not, it always thinks it's on a battery with a perpetual 81% charge.

Were there boards built that were missing the charging circuit and intended to run only on mains?

 

[levi]

No, all Pandoras were shipped with batteries in as far as I know, so they must have had a charging circuit.

I forgot the standard advice when the charging circuit screws up; remove the battery and leave the system alone for a few hours, to ensure all capacitance has discharged and so all chips get reset. You should get the clock reset if you've done it for long enough, for example.

Do not insert a battery while the system has AC connected - the behavior of the charge chip is undefined in such circumstances, and unknown, and it may fry your battery (though you'd be the first person reporting this if it's your situation)

 

[trix]

So - I just got done getting a Pandora to work again from traded parts. YAY!

However, I suspect my old battery is bad - but that doesn't explain the behavior I'm seeing.

With the mains & battery connected, Pandora System Info says the battery is at 80% charge - good?
With the battery only, no boot.
With the mains only, Pandora System Info says the battery is at 80% charge - huh?

When there is no battery present, is it normal for the Pandora System Info program to report:
Battery Discharging 81.3%
Energy 11504 mWh
Power use: +0mW
Temperature 20.1C
Health 90%

Thanks!

That's strange!

This is a bit of an odd place to post a support request but, try the following commands in a terminal (on your Pandora of course):

cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/capacity
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/capacity_level
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/present
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/energy_now
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/temp
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/voltage_now
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/status
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/cycle_count

Posting the results of those commands might give a better idea what is going on.

Or maybe not, as I suspect this is where the System Info utility is getting its numbers from anyway.

I like the advice of the guy above, unplug the Pandora and remove the battery and wait awhile, then try to put in the battery and turn it on (without mains power). If you can get it to boot with just the battery I recommend a full cycle charge, meaning use up the battery until it's under 10%, then plug it in and charge it all the way until completely full. After that I'd keep it between about 40-70% charge most of the time, for battery longevity.

Also if you try to charge the Pandora via the mini-USB port rather than the regular power jack, does it correctly report that it is charging?

 

[Grench]

That's strange!

This is a bit of an odd place to post a support request but, try the following commands in a terminal (on your Pandora of course):

cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/capacity
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/capacity_level
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/present
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/energy_now
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/temp
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/voltage_now
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/status
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/cycle_count

Posting the results of those commands might give a better idea what is going on.

Or maybe not, as I suspect this is where the System Info utility is getting its numbers from anyway.

I like the advice of the guy above, unplug the Pandora and remove the battery and wait awhile, then try to put in the battery and turn it on (without mains power). If you can get it to boot with just the battery I recommend a full cycle charge, meaning use up the battery until it's under 10%, then plug it in and charge it all the way until completely full. After that I'd keep it between about 40-70% charge most of the time, for battery longevity.

Also if you try to charge the Pandora via the mini-USB port rather than the regular power jack, does it correctly report that it is charging?

If a mod wants to migrate my little portion of this thread to the Pandora support forum - thank you! I originally started here as I was trying to understand the functions of this program related to the battery. It appears my issue is not pertinent to this excellent piece of software.

Unplugging the Pandora and waiting - no change after many days.

So, I thought I should buy a new battery and eliminate that as a potential issue. I now have 4 new batteries - may as well since they're expensive to ship. If anyone in the area of Eastern Nebraska USA needs a new Pandora battery, I'll let one or two go at what they cost me to get here from Germany.

With a new battery in and AC disconnected - no boot, no nothing. New battery should have carried something for charge - but unit is unresponsive this way.
With a new battery in and AC connected - says 81% charge and claims that the AC is disconnected.

Results with the new battery in and the AC connected:
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/capacity
81
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/capacity_level
Normal
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/present
1
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/energy_now
11621000
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/temp
204
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/voltage_now
4000000
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/status
Discharging
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/cycle_count
43

Results with the no battery and the AC connected:
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/capacity
81
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/capacity_level
Normal
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/present
1
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/energy_now
11609000
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/temp
214
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/voltage_now
3999000
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/status
Discharging
cat /sys/class/power_supply/bq27500-0/cycle_count
43

Essentially the same regardless of whether there is a battery in it or not. Either way it seems to think that the AC adapter plug is a battery.

AC adapter being used:
Pandora
Switching Power Supply
Model: CVS-12W050200
Input: 100-240V AC 50/60Hz
0.5A
Output: DC5V ... 2000mA

Are there commands to reset the charging/battery detection system? Right now it seems to think that the AC is a phantom battery...?

 

[levi]

No, there's no commands to manipulate the charge chip at such a fundamental level that we know of. The only way it to take it off charge, shut it down, remove the battery and leave it for a few hours before reconnecting the battery.

 

[trix]

That is really weird. Have you tried plugging it into miniUSB for charging rather than the barrel jack? Other than that I'd ping @notaz, as he knows more about the charging chip than anyone. Dropping into IRC might be a decent idea too, I've gotten a lot of great advice in the IRC channel.

How much would you charge all together (incl. shipping) to ship a new battery to Milwaukee, Wisconsin? Would you accept Bitcoin payment?

 

[notaz]

bq27500 has no way of knowing if the battery is connected or not, so it always assumes it is.
My guess would be that the battery connector is broken and the system is always in CV (no-battery) mode.

 

[Grench]

That is really weird. Have you tried plugging it into miniUSB for charging rather than the barrel jack? Other than that I'd ping @notaz, as he knows more about the charging chip than anyone. Dropping into IRC might be a decent idea too, I've gotten a lot of great advice in the IRC channel.

How much would you charge all together (incl. shipping) to ship a new battery to Milwaukee, Wisconsin? Would you accept Bitcoin payment?

Sorry for the delay - I didn't get an alert on this and got swamped with other things and this thread slipped away from me.

I have tried the miniUSB for charging - no luck. Won't even power up with the miniUSB.

@trix - I paid right at $70 (Checked my PayPal from the purchase) to get 4 batteries from ED's shop. The batteries themselves were very inexpensive, but the shipping was not. So, I have $17.50 tied up in each one.

As for shipping them domestically - that is where it gets twisted.
https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52apxc_032.htm?q=lipo+battery&t=H&s=R&p=1&c=Pub52

I have no idea what it is going to cost for postage to drop one in the mail to you. Best guess is something in the range of $15-$20 shipping + $17.50 for the battery = $32.50 to $37.50 depending on shipping costs. Yes, that sucks. If you're interested, let me know your zip code and I'll try to get one into a mailbox shop to figure out what the actual shipping costs would be.

Sorry, I'm not into bitcoin, but Paypal should be fine.
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bq27500 has no way of knowing if the battery is connected or not, so it always assumes it is.
My guess would be that the battery connector is broken and the system is always in CV (no-battery) mode.

That is entirely possible. I'm just going to use it as a plugged-in-only device at this point. Hopefully the Pyra will displace it entirely soon.