How to Test a Laptop Battery

How to Test a Laptop Battery

A laptop battery provides power for your laptop when it is not plugged in to a power source. The laptop battery is in your laptop. The power cord that you use to charge your laptop battery is called the AC Power Adapter. The laptop battery can only power the laptop for a limited amount of time before the battery loses power and has to be recharged with the AC Power Adapter.

The length of time the laptop battery lasts mostly depends on the applications and programs the user runs on the laptop. Other factors that affect battery life are battery age, size, type, and use. There are a few different tests you can perform to get an estimate of how long your battery lasts, and to see if it is time to replace the battery.



Test Battery Using Percentage

You can measure the amount of time remaining in your laptop battery by using the battery icon on the taskbar at the bottom right corner of your laptop screen. Most laptops will only give you a percentage of time remaining and not a specific amount of time remaining. While it is helpful to know what percent of your battery power is left, it does not let you know how long you have until your battery dies.



Follow these steps to test your laptop battery using percentage:



   1. Plug your AC Power Adapter into an electrical outlet, and then insert the other end of the AC Power Adapter into your laptop.
   2. Leave the AC Power Adapter in the laptop for 4 to 8 hours to allow it to fully charge the battery. Make sure the laptop is not powered on while the battery is charging.
   3. Remove the AC Power Adapter from the laptop. Then turn the laptop on.
   4. Record the amount of time it takes for the battery to use all of its power and shut down. Make sure to record from the time you take the AC Power Adapter out to the time the laptop battery dies. The time estimate will be more accurate if you run the programs and applications that you normally use on your laptop. For example, if you typically check your e-mail, play YouTube videos, and use Facebook applications, then perform those tasks while you record the life of your battery.
   5. Repeat Steps 1, 2, and 3.
   6. Hover your mouse over the battery icon that is on the taskbar at the bottom right of your laptop screen. When you hover your mouse on the icon, a small box will come up and state the percentage of battery power you have remaining.
   7. Now, when you use your laptop, you can convert the percentage of battery power remaining to a time estimate. For example, if your battery ran for 4 hours before dying when you tested it, and the battery icon says that the battery has 50% power remaining, then the battery will last for approximately 2 more hours. That same battery will last approximately 1 hour at 25%.



Test If Battery Should Be Replaced Using Battery Icon

If you want to test whether or not your laptop battery should be replaced, then you can follow some simple steps to test the performance of your battery. The completion of these steps will simply tell you if your battery should be replaced or not, as opposed to helping you estimate how long your laptop battery will last without the AC Power Adapter.



To use the battery icon to test if your laptop battery should be replaced, follow these steps:

   1. Follow Steps 1-3 above to fully charge your laptop battery and turn your computer on.
   2. Hover your mouse over the battery icon on the taskbar at the bottom right of your screen. Make sure your laptop battery is charged to 100%.
   3. Unplug the AC Power Adapter for 10 minutes and leave the laptop running. During this 10 minutes, run any applications or programs that you typically use on your computer.
   4. After the 10 minutes is up, check the percentage on the battery icon.
   5. If the battery lost more that 1% per minute, or in other words more than 10% in the 10 minutes, then the battery should be replaced.


TestNewLaptopBatteryModelsUsingLightMeter

Some newer laptop batteries will have a light meter. The light meter is located on the battery, and there is a button on the battery next to the light meter. You can use this light meter to test the life of your laptop battery.

To test the life of your laptop battery on a new model with a light meter, follow these steps:

   1.

      Press the button once to see how charged the battery is. The more lights that show up, the more charge your battery has.
   2.

      Hold down the button on your battery. The lights will come on and then they will go back off.
   3.

      If the lights come back on then the battery is damaged to some extent. The more lights that come back on, the more the battery is damaged. So, if no lights come back on, then the battery is good. If all of the lights come back on, then the battery is bad.
   4.

      If lights 1, 3, and 5 (both ends and the middle) flash, then you need to replace the battery as soon as possible.

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How to Splice a Coaxial Cable?

How to Splice a Coaxial Cable?


A coaxial cable can be spliced with a minimal set of tools, but some of them are specialized. They can be found at a local hardware store. You will need:

    * – Two F connectors
    * –A barrel connector
    * –A pair of diagonal pliers
    * –A coaxial cable stripper preferably, or a knife. A knife is not recommended.
    * –You will also need a coaxial crimping device for the F connectors.



Before you begin, you will also need to determine what type of cable you have. Check the marking on your cable for its designation. The most common types are RG6 and RG59. Other types of coaxial cable exist as well, but they are all designed in the same basic way.



If you can’t identify your cable, the simplest solution is to cut off a piece off and bring it to the hardware store. The alternative is to measure your cable. RG6 has a diameter of .274 inches and and RG59 has a diameter of .233 inches.



Step #1 – Strip the Cable

A coaxial cable is constructed differently than a typical cable. A coaxial cable typically has a black outer vinyl jacket. This is followed by a layer of metal mesh, provided as a shield. Inside that is a white dielectric insulator, followed by the core copper conducting wire.

When stripping the cable, be careful not to damage the innermost copper wire. Coaxial cable stripper are designed to ensure that this doesn’t happen, but precise measurements with a knife will work as well. After stripping the cable and exposing the copper wire, fold the metal mash back over the outer casing. This should leave the insulator intact and bare, along with the copper wire.

Step #2 – Attach the Connectors

While being sure not to damage the inner copper wire, slide each connector on to its respective end of cable. A small amount copper cable should be extending past the end of the each connector.

Step #3- Use the Crimping Tool

A coaxial crimping tool should have settings for both types of cables, RG6 and RG59. Select the appropriate setting, and insert the cable into the tool where it is marked for you to do so. Crimp, and repeat for the other side.

Step #4 – Connect with a Barrel Connector

You’ll notice each end of the cable is male, while a barrel connector has female endings on both sides. Connect each end of cable to the barrel connector by gently inserting, and tightening down the collar on each side.

If you are splicing a cable, always attach a cable of RG6 to another RG6 cable, and likewise for RG54. When done properly, a splicing will be entirely weather proof and last indefinitely outdoors.

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How to Transfer Pictures from Camera to Computer

How to Transfer Pictures from Camera to Computer

Despite the significant increase in storage capacity on memory cards in digital cameras, most end users require the ability to transfer pictures from the camera to a personal computer. Once transferred, the pictures can be archived to guard against data loss, uploaded to social media sites, or further manipulated for printing or sharing with friends and family. The three most common methods to transfer pictures are to directly connect the camera to the computer, using an external memory card reader, or directly inserting the memory card into a built-in reader on the computer.

Steps to Transfer Pictures from a Cameral to Computer

Direct Computer Connection

Step 1 – Turn on the digital camera.

Step 2 – Connect the camera to the computer using the USB connector that was included with your camera at purchase.

Step 3 – Open Windows Explorer on a PC by pressing the “Windows” and “E” keys simultaneously. The camera’s memory card will display as an external drive that can be opened by double clicking the drive. Most memory cards will then have a default folder displayed that will need to be opened to view the picture files. Alternatively, Microsoft provides an Auto play Window that opens where you can click the “Open Folder to View Files” menu option to conduct the same task. Once opened, the files can be copied to a local folder on your computer for archival or further manipulation. Additionally, the Windows Auto play feature has an automatic import feature than can be used to import all pictures to the computer.

Step 4 – On a Mac computer, the cameral will appear as an icon on the desktop. This folder can then be opened to copy the files to your computer in a similar fashion as on a Windows computer.

Step 5 – After copying the files to your computer, unmounts the camera if required by your computer’s operating system by “Ctrl clicking” on a Mac or “Right Clicking” on a Windows computer and selecting the appropriate menu option.



Using a Memory Card Reader

Memory card readers eliminate the need to connect the camera to the computer, however, require an additional investment in the reader itself to use. Despite this, many users prefer to use multiple memory cards and upload via card reader at a convenient time.

Step 1 – Connect the memory card reader to the computer if not already connected.
Step 2 – Turn off the digital camera and remove the memory card.

Step 3 – Depending on the type of memory card being used, it may require an adapter to fit into the card reader slot. If so, insert the card into the adapter.

Step 4 – Insert the memory card into the card reader.

Step 5 – View and transfer the pictures to the computer using the same method(s) available under the direct computer connection.

Using a Built-In Memory Card Reader

Many laptops and desktop computers are now manufactured with built-in memory card readers. The reader is typically located on the front or side of the laptop and work similarly to external card readers. Although designed to fit most memory card standards, some built-in card readers do require the purchase of a memory card adapter to successfully read and transfer pictures from the card to the computer.

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