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chumbysphere forum → Chumby, the Device → Battery Backup
After the power went out and my Chumby didn't wake me up in the AM, I am curious as to whether we can put batteries back in the Chumby. I am hoping that the software updates fixed whatever issue there may/may not have been. Any thoughts Chumbians? I really need that battery backup.
My Chumby has a place for a 9 volt battery in a velcro pouch on the bottom.
My Chumby has a place for a 9 volt battery in a velcro pouch on the bottom.
Huh? there is a 9 volt battery back up for the Chumby?
I looked and there is a 9 volt battery plug inside a velcro pocket on the bottom of my Chumby. A little tight in there but I got the battery installed and tried it out. With the battery installed you can unplug the Chumby and it doesn't turn off. Now I wonder if the when the device is plugged in if the battery is not being used? That is how it should work. I have a production Chumby.
Also when installing the battery you have to be careful in it's placement inside. It can form an uneven bottom on your Chumby making it sit crooked and one time when I was moving the battery around inside it make the Chumby cover or outside imitation leather tight which subsequently starting activating the pressure switch on the top of the Chumby that you use to go to the control panel.
Yes, there is a battery hookup in my First 50 Chumby. We were asked to not use the battery for whatever reason, and I haven't heard if on these specific Chumbies, if we can reinsert the battery, or if it is still not recommended. Just waiting on a response from a Chumbian. Thanks guys!
Check the Hardware section of the wiki for info on Chumby power requirements and ideas. Add your own!
- Rich
I'm not hacking into my Chumby to add external batteries.
Once again, the Chumbians told the First 50 to NOT install a battery, and to uninstall one if we did. We have not heard otherwise. According to the Wiki, this issue isn't specifically addressed. I am tempted to just put one in anyway, so that I'm not late to work if our power goes out at night. (has happened before, and the Chumby does NOT power back on, a HUGE issue as I use it as my alarm clock).
Perhaps I should really be posting this in the First 50 area of the Forums.
Actually- I'm dyin' to hear what the 9v plug is there for, too. Duane... ?? 
SOMEchumby at least respond???
I plugged in the 9-volt. It stays on the internet and keeps working just fine without being plugged in. I don't know how long it can stay on battery.
I left it on battery power only to see how long it works for. It worked for about 5 minutes on battery, made a strange sound the screen gets gets all multicolored and it hangs. I had to restart it. I repeated this 3 times. I even changed the battery to a fresh one. Also, I forgot to say before I have on of the officially shipping chumby's.
So is your chumby not working correctly now?
Or did the restarts fix your problem?
I've had a 9 volt battery in Chumby1 for about a week. Now I leave the Chumby on while I move it between two rooms that each have power supplies waiting. This way the little guy doesn't need to reboot. So far... so good!
- Rich
I left it on battery power only to see how long it works for. It worked for about 5 minutes on battery, made a strange sound the screen gets gets all multicolored and it hangs. I had to restart it. I repeated this 3 times. I even changed the battery to a fresh one. Also, I forgot to say before I have on of the officially shipping chumby's.
My chumby is also a production model, and I get the same thing. I figured the battery was a bit dead and have not gotten around to buying a new battery for it. This is bad news if this can't be battery backed up for even occasional brown outs. If it would default to boot up after getting power rather than staying off, the whole battery thing would be a non-issue anyhow. It is boggling that a device like this isn't set to boot automatically when it receives power.
So is your chumby not working correctly now?
Or did the restarts fix your problem?
It didn't permanently break anything. But I've given up on the battery.
cneb96 wrote:I left it on battery power only to see how long it works for. It worked for about 5 minutes on battery, made a strange sound the screen gets gets all multicolored and it hangs. I had to restart it. I repeated this 3 times. I even changed the battery to a fresh one. Also, I forgot to say before I have on of the officially shipping chumby's.
My chumby is also a production model, and I get the same thing. I figured the battery was a bit dead and have not gotten around to buying a new battery for it. This is bad news if this can't be battery backed up for even occasional brown outs. If it would default to boot up after getting power rather than staying off, the whole battery thing would be a non-issue anyhow. It is boggling that a device like this isn't set to boot automatically when it receives power.
I totally agree. PCs have done it for years.
I can claim 30 minutes off of a new "generic" 9 volt battery. That's with no interaction... just left it on my cycling news feed channel. After about 27 minutes I got the funny sound as well and the screen went a little crazy.
For those looking for a better solution, I can recommend the Energizer ER-PHOTO battery available at BestBuy, CircuitCity, etc... for around $50. It's meant for picture frames, but is small and includes a plug that fits the Chumby perfectly. I'm writing up an article with some pictures and battery specs which I'll post when it's complete.
Just as an update, I got around to getting some new 9v batteries today. I put one in the Chumby and simulated a few second black out. It did just fine. So, in my case, it was just that the battery I put in it to begin with was on its last leg anyhow. With the old battery, the Chumby would immediately start making noise and put weird stuff all over the screen when the power plug was pulled from it.
Thanks for the updates. Sounds like I can be certain putting a battery in the Chumby won't brick it, however, if the power is off for more than 20 minutes overnight, or during they day, there could be issues.
Still no Chumbian official responses...
What's the official position on the battery backup?
It will probably wake you up if the battery is killed while power is out. It makes a godawful buzzing noise that could wake the dead.
I did ask the boys about this, and hard as it was to resist, I did not hook up the battery.
I'm in the second release group.
According to tech support, Chumby will act wierd if you plug the battery in.
So, DO NOT PLUG IN A BATTERY!!!
I would be a bit concerned about the power comsumption of the chumby,
More spec, how hot does that battery get?
If Chumby pulls power too quickly,
The battery may explode.
And I'd hate to clean that out of my Chumby!
I would be a bit concerned about the power comsumption of the chumby,
More spec, how hot does that battery get?
If Chumby pulls power too quickly,
The battery may explode.
And I'd hate to clean that out of my Chumby!
Not likely. In my younger years, I've shorted 9Vs a lot and never had one explode.
chumbians won't respond because there are about 30 instances of this thread on the forum. Search "power" in your search and find the thread where Bunnie draws a schematic of the chumby's circuitry.
back in the dark ages, we all knew that shorted 9v batteries make great handwarmers or pocketwarmers...
of course, in this day of politically correct safety messages (caution, this cup of coffee might be hot), i probably can't say that anymore... :-)
children, do not try this at home!!!
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