Re: batteries

["Ian Piper" <ian@gesn.com>]

 

Ian, according to Guy, we have two types of memory cards, CMOS and mixed MOS.  The former battery lifetime is 10 years and the latter 5.

1. Some counties are asking me what their battery lifetime should be and I could only tell if I knew what had been sold to them.  Can you make this information available to us?

I have no clue as to who has Full CMOS and who has Mixed MOS.  If you look at the new AccuVote Operator's Guide, you'll see a reference to memory card battery life as five (5) years across the board.

1. Is the telegraph pole test the single reliable way of telling that a memory card battery is low?

Yes.

1. Should/can we advocate customers to replace batteries (that can apparently be purchased from Radio Shack and the likes)?

They can buy batteries from wherever they like.  If they want to replace the memory card label they have to get that from Global.  It is copyrighted and cannot be reproduced by anybody other than Global.  The Global part number is 571-2111 at a cost of  US$3.00 each.  No discounts apply.

1. Could - as some Florida customers have suggested - low batteries be linked to corruption?

I can't answer that as I don't know the reasons as to why a memory card gets corrupted.

Regarding AccuVote batteries:

1. are any measures available to anticipate leakage?

None.

1. is battery leakage linked to a particular brand (ie. Yuwasa)?

Some YUASA batteries have leaked in the past, but then most of the batteries in the field are YUASA batteries.  It's called statistics.  With that many batteries out there (14,000), there's a likelihood that a small percentage of them might leak.  But I don't know the likelihood of one battery leaking over another.  

 

This does not mean that other manufacturer's batteries won't leak.  It's just that we haven't had much experience with many other manufacturer's batteries to make any brand name comparisons.

 

This also doesn't mean that sealed lead-acid batteries are more likely to leak than akaline batteries or Ni-cad batteries.  I'm sure you've pulled a few out your emergency flashlight behind the fridge.

1. can battery leakage be prevented?

If it could be prevented, we would have implemented something for it.

1. should AccuVotes be automatically shipped to Global for recuperation in case of leakage?

Either the whole AccuVote can be shipped to Global or just the Power Supply Module.  The battery should also be shipped in a separate ziploc bag.  The serial number of the AccuVote should be recorded on the power supply housing and on the bag for the battery.

 

If a customer is under hardware maintainance agreement with Global we will replace the power supply housing at no extra cost, however the cost of the battery (if Global supplies a replacement) will be charged to the customer (the battery is a consumable item).  Customer covers freight charges to Global McKinney, and Global will cover freight charges (via ground transport) to the customer.  Expedited freight charges to the customer will be billed to the customer.

 

If the customer has no  hardware maintenance agreement with Global, all charges will be applicable as well as freight.

 

Ian