Kate,
I just got a nice sympathy card from GCVS; it’s good to see some people don’t forget. Please give them my thanks.
Scott
Month: May 2015
Ari
Her final moments.
From: Lourez Bullock [mailto:lourez_bullock@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2015 17:08
To: ‘Scott Royall’
Subject: RE: Ari
Sad day – I can’t think of her without crying, because I don’t think she was ever well-suited to the job she was tasked with. Lord knows what she endured under the original “trainer”. I will say I was so grateful for the response of the WalMart folks. They really stepped up in a nasty situation. It was just too little, too late. The Emergency vet felt most likely her temp had spiked much higher than we first guessed (because it was still at 103.7 when admitted) The damage to organs had already begun. When I got to the clinic this morning, they brought me up to date again on her responses to treatment and it was clearly in her best interests to let her go quickly and painlessly. They let me have as long as I wanted (to talk to her, stroke her and tell her what a sweet girl she had been). They had given her a small dose of sedative shortly before I arrived, and she seemed peaceful, although breathing was a little forced. I stroked her, let her smell my fingers and spoke softly near her ears. She seemed very relaxed and we felt it was the right time to ease her on her way. She went quickly, peacefully. I sat with her for several minutes more, until her body cooled and I really felt she was free from her body’s betrayal. The young vet and ER staff members were very solicitous. I don’t know what else could have been done for her.
I can stop by tomorrow and bring you her collar, service dog I.D., the neck device you use to “call” the dogs, etc. I have already paid for the cremation, etc., so will still collect the ashes when delivered. You may change your mind in the meantime – if not I’ll do something for her. She tried and I think she deserves some recognition of her passing so sadly.
Mom
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2015 12:52 PM
To: Scott Royall
Subject: RE: Ari
She’s gone.
RIP Arena Von Funken Spiel.
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2015 12:17
To: lourez_bullock
Cc: kb5ziv; KateL; hipchick1; al; funkenspiel; michael.wrenn; ‘Michelle Arthurs’; matt.randall
Subject: Ari
Mom,
No, I can’t say that I will want her ashes back. There doesn’t seem to be a point. I do wish I could see her one last time to comfort her and say goodbye, but that isn’t an option here in this case. Agreed, this is heartbreaking, but then her whole life was rather heartbreaking. She was a beautiful dog who was never comfortable in her own body. Avoidance seemed the only motivation she really understood, and that made her virtually impossible to train. What people mistook for fine training was really just her desire to avoid problems. Following me around and coming when summoned were about all she learned here. I am not even certain if she actually loved me or just saw me as a source of security. Some irony there, eh?
Honestly, what she was asked to do yesterday seemed consistent with fairly recent errands, but clearly something made it much harder for her. I only wish I could be with her to ease her final hours and assure her she’s not in trouble. If anything, all her troubles are behind her now.
Scott
Ari
She’s gone.
RIP Arena Von Funken Spiel.
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall@conchbbs.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2015 12:17
To: lourez_bullock@sbcglobal.net
Cc: kb5ziv@rionet.coop; KateL@gcvs.com; hipchick1@sbcglobal.net; al@longoriahausdogtraining.com; funkenspiel@inet.hr; michael.wrenn@gmail.com; ‘Michelle Arthurs’; matt.randall@helfmandodge.com
Subject: Ari
Mom,
No, I can’t say that I will want her ashes back. There doesn’t seem to be a point. I do wish I could see her one last time to comfort her and say goodbye, but that isn’t an option here in this case. Agreed, this is heartbreaking, but then her whole life was rather heartbreaking. She was a beautiful dog who was never comfortable in her own body. Avoidance seemed the only motivation she really understood, and that made her virtually impossible to train. What people mistook for fine training was really just her desire to avoid problems. Following me around and coming when summoned were about all she learned here. I am not even certain if she actually loved me or just saw me as a source of security. Some irony there, eh?
Honestly, what she was asked to do yesterday seemed consistent with fairly recent errands, but clearly something made it much harder for her. I only wish I could be with her to ease her final hours and assure her she’s not in trouble. If anything, all her troubles are behind her now.
Scott
Ari
Mom,
No, I can’t say that I will want her ashes back. There doesn’t seem to be a point. I do wish I could see her one last time to comfort her and say goodbye, but that isn’t an option here in this case. Agreed, this is heartbreaking, but then her whole life was rather heartbreaking. She was a beautiful dog who was never comfortable in her own body. Avoidance seemed the only motivation she really understood, and that made her virtually impossible to train. What people mistook for fine training was really just her desire to avoid problems. Following me around and coming when summoned were about all she learned here. I am not even certain if she actually loved me or just saw me as a source of security. Some irony there, eh?
Honestly, what she was asked to do yesterday seemed consistent with fairly recent errands, but clearly something made it much harder for her. I only wish I could be with her to ease her final hours and assure her she’s not in trouble. If anything, all her troubles are behind her now.
Scott
Cable
Cody,
What is the name and ordering information for the black flat 2-conductor cabling you left? It’s sufficiently good for me to order more.
The situation regarding the Lind Electronics laptop adapter and my wheelchair has been resolved. In a few days, I’ll send a pictorial showing at least one approach that meets both their stated requirements and mine. I’ll just say for now that this solution was right under our noses, we only needed to use resources from another part of my life.
Scott
Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Dave,
Did you read my email? Yes, you are correct in the macro sense. You ignore the “small” fact that Cody’s proposal relied on a connector made specifically for Mobile Mounts. I did not consider that a viable solution, as I would then be totally dependent on a single source when a failure occurred. I believe that American business culture has become so risk-adverse that avoidance colors your thinking more than you realize. Cody’s proposal would have been totally unusable in the environments I have to exist in so yes, I must agree that you have nothing further to offer on this matter.
However, take it as a fact that I will resolve the power problem to your equipment. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave@lindelectronics.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 7, 2015 20:33
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Cody Burns; Carlos_Castro1@dell.com; Erick_Villalta@dell.com; Federico_Hernandez@Dell.com; <Eddie_Matos@Dell.com>; Tom Martin; Darrel Pinkston
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Scott,
The problem is that our adapter is not able to get enough input current to properly operate in your current installation. Fortunately, Cory was able to solve this problem by attaching our adapter to the unused output terminal on your 24/12-Volt power converter. However, it is apparent that this solution is unacceptable solution to you. Therefore, we have no further suggestions.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On May 7, 2015, at 3:21 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
Dave,
Well, that went about as I expected.
To quote what I was typing as Cody hung up:
dave, cory is telling you 180 watts isn’t reaching the receptacle. never mind the cigarette plug. we connected directly to the supposedly 20 amp circuit
In other words, your adapters were still indicating inadequate current even when the cigarette plug and receptacle were completely removed, and the exposed cables directly connected. So all of your posturing around how cigarette plugs cannot possibly handle the current is superfluous to the problem at hand. Your adapters work if connected directly at the 12-volt converter, but not reliably downstream of my box. Cody, who isn’t admittedly an electrical scholar, can see that the problem lies inside the box. I’ve been trying to communicate that to you for weeks, but Lind seems to be hung up at the cigarette plug.
In any case, Cody and I decided that the workable path forward is to remove Lind Electronics as the paying customer. Although paying for MM’s time will be difficult, it’s the only way to get work that meets my requirements instead of Lind’s.
Oh, I need to correct myself on one point. Your adapters identify themselves as 240-watt compatible, and this laptop is sophisticated enough to try using the extra power offered. Since I successfully ran at 150 watts for over two years, I wonder what would happen if your adapters identified as the 180 actually required. I suspect we’d still have the problem.
Scott
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2015 17:01
To: ‘Dave Murphy’
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dave,
I’ll make the time work.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave]
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2015 16:56
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Federico_Hernandez; Eddie_Matos; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
Cody Burns from Mobile Mounts will be coming by tomorrow around 10AM. Will that work for you? We also built a new adapter and had it shipped down to you today. It should hopefully arrive before Cody does. I indicated on the package that no signature would be necessary just to make sure that it gets dropped off but be on the look out for a delivery.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On May 5, 2015, at 3:41 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
Dave,
I must point out that you FINALLY gave me the data that has been missing all along. Clearly, the people at Lind recognized the rhythmic on/off cycling as an error code, but nobody bothered to share that information with me. Now I know what exactly the issue is, and the poor guys at Dell can stop scratching their heads. Is it any wonder why I’m not thrilled with y’all (hey, I’m a Southerner, deal).
Incidentally, we aren’t getting a reset, just the whimpering about inadequate current. My ammeter disagrees but I wouldn’t swear by it. No doubt Mobile Mounts also has an ammeter to settle that question.
You see, the devil really is in the details, and whether or not the solution MM comes up with will be appropriate is going to be determined by those details. Now that I know what your adapter is saying, however, I also know where the problem is. We’ll see Thursday, but would Darrel care to make a bet? Knowing my machine, I’d lay good money on the cigarette plug not being the problem.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [
mailto:dave]
Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2015 10:39
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Federico_Hernandez; Eddie_Matos; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
I do not think they will have any welding cable in their truck so you should be fine on that front. We understand that although our preference would be to tap into the 24 volt system that proves problematic for you for other reasons. So we will have them investigate what they can do to optimize the 12 volt input to our adapter. If they can connect a more robust connector instead of the cigarette plug for the computer alone we would like them to try it. We can provide you with other adapters in the future that would have the mating connector so there would not be issues with anyone that helps you having to change the equipment. We will keep it as simple as possible for you. Mobile Mounts also could look at the terminals you have in the back of the chair and see if they have any that might be suitable replacements if those are negatively impacting the system.
If you are saying that they cannot look at modifying the input method and you have no other option than the existing cigarette plug then you are probably correct that it is not worth the trip.
Based on your description of the problem our adapter is presenting the symptoms of an input power fault. When it is trying to draw enough input current to supply the load the input voltage momentarily drops which causes the chip that controls our adapter to reset it self. The tell-tale symptom of that is the three second blinking LED. When the input voltage to the micro controller on our circuit drops below a certain voltage (even for a few milliseconds) the chip turns itself off and reboots. That process takes about three seconds, if it is still unable to power itself back up it will keep cycling on and off.
If the computer was trying to draw more power than our adapter could provide but the adapter was plugged into a source that could handle the input current our adapter was trying to draw it would behave differently. In that case the adapter would shut itself off and see if the fault condition would cycle back on every 10 seconds to see if it was able to operate normally. The 10 second shutdown is a sequence that we have programmed into the micro controller that controls our adapter. If the adapter is able to keep itself powered up it can determine that the load is trying to draw more current than it is capable of providing and it will turn itself off.
So in a nutshell you need to let us know if you are open to a different plug option for the input of our adapter. We are not saying you need to get rid of the cigarette plugs but what we are saying is that it looks to us like your existing system is not able to provide our adapter with enough input power for us to provide the required output power for the computer you are currently using.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On May 4, 2015, at 2:52 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
It is, it is.
I understand the focus of Mobile Mounts’ assignment, but they also have to comply with the constraints of this wheelchair’s multi-faceted reality. To do otherwise would make the visit a waste of time and money. If making the input run to your adapter robust is their only objective, welding a length of 00-ga. welding cable directly to the battery terminals would achieve that. Of course that would also make the chair otherwise useless, but your goal would technically be reached.
No sir. I submit that, to be useful, your adapters have to help enable me as they always have. That means they must work cooperatively with everything else, and share the common resources. If your equipment necessitates upgrading some of those resources, you should share the upgraded capabilities, and a single visit cannot accomplish that. If Mobile Mounts isn’t aware of the larger picture and prepared to work consistently with that picture, they can stay in Dallas.
From: Dave Murphy [
mailto:dave]
Sent: Monday, May 4, 2015 13:45
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Federico_Hernandez; Eddie_Matos; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
I am glad Thursday will work for you. The purpose of Mobile Mounts visit is to make sure that the input path to our adapter is as robust as possible. They will assess the situation with the wiring and terminal strips to optimize your existing setup. Thanks for the description of your chair. It sounds like your chair is definitely one of a kind.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On May 1, 2015, at 8:37 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
Dave,
Thursday should be fine.
We’re having similar ideas, because I just checked your website to see if Lind has any converters applicable to my needs. Alas, yours are manufacturer-specific, and nowhere near sufficient capacity for my needs.
Your information requests are exactly the type I would anticipate from someone with an engineering background, and I will supply what I can. It’s becoming apparent that the work ahead of Mobile Mounts is going to take multiple sessions, and the first session may well be just photographically documenting the current system and understanding the core requirements it was originally built to meet. Since I originated the requirements, I can at least talk about them with some authority. I find myself wishing, though, that we could somehow include Mobile Mounts in these initial discussions so that they could gain some intelligence on what’s ahead of them and do some preparation. Perhaps that’s something you could investigate.
Let’s define a term first. You may dimly remember that women’s dresses used to have a bustle in back. Some military tanks also have an area on the back of the turret called the bustle. So might as well adopt it as the word for the box on the back of my chair. Technically, It’s a Hoffman box, and you usually see them mounted around industrial plants (oil, chemical, etcetera). Hoffman boxes are semi-sealed enclosures used to provide some weather protection to electronics and sensitive instruments. Since my bustle and the aluminum frame it rides on were created while I worked for Shell, I guess it’s no surprise we used a Hoffman box.
Anyway, my bustle is filled with various necessary electronics like an audio amplifier, USB hub, USB audio adapter, USB GPS receiver (obsolete), USB cellular modem (also obsolete), and of course, those creaky old terminal strips. However, most of the bustle is occupied by an onboard switching-type battery charger. (No, most wheelchairs don’t have onboard ability to recharge.)
Where’s the DC-DC converter? It’s mounted on the outside of the bustle door for cooling. We were originally mounting four Lambda industrial-grade 20A converter modules inside ganged together to meet my requirement for 80 amps, but those things proved to be disappointingly fragile. Even a transient short would blow one or more module despite Lambda’s assurances otherwise. So, with rumors of impending lay-offs at Shell, I ordered a no-name consumer-grade 80A converter on Ebay from China after one or two more failures with American companies. Of course I was very dubious of a consumer-grade Chinese converter, but we threw everything we could at it in Shell’s instrument shop, and it just seemed to give us an inscrutable grin. Our meters never wavered from 12.05-12.1VDC as long as the converter was well-vented. I personally doubt it could tolerate 80A for more than a few seconds, but it thrived on the 30+A load we could put on it. I now have two of the Chinese suckers in keeping with my SOP, a primary and a backup.
I’ll send whatever pictures Mobile Mounts takes, but understand there are a few areas on this chair that a conventional camera cannot reach. The central wiring junction where 24 volts leaves from the batteries to split off to the wheelchair control module and up to the converter is one such area, because it’s literally at the center of the chair. Yet, when you consider that the motive stuff can dissipate up to 1200W peak, and the converter shares a 10 gauge line with the onboard charger, you can sort of appreciate why I’d be painfully aware right quick of any issues there. Looking around, the line to the cigarette receptacles is also at least 10-ga. fused at 20A, but there’s still those chintzy terminal strips in back. If there’s a hardware problem, that’s the place to start looking. Unfortunately, nearly two decades have left the Hoffman box cracked and battered so it time to do some updating and tidying up.
Oh, model numbers. This particular chair is a 2007 Invacare Storm Torque 3, but that’s the thing. The bustle and its frame was designed in 1997 to fit any Invacare rear wheel drive power. That’s possible because Invacare hasn’t changed the basically dimensions of the rear half of the frame since then, and that’s all that matters.
By this point, you should be sitting there wondering why the heck I require 80 amps on the 12-volt side, and the truth is it’s only because of a hypothetical scenario. My nominal load when I’m not running the laptop “balls-to-the-wall” is closer to 10 amps. Yet, as I said yesterday, I am a Ham, and a small percentage of us take at least having the capacity to conduct EMCOM—emergency communications—seriously. And, 80 amps can do some incredible things with modern radios. In fact, 30 would be plenty in most modes, but the extra headroom leaves open the possibility of adding a small radio amplifier if necessary. It’s literally possible for me to take one of my IC-7000s out into the yard, throw a wire antenna up into a tree, and communicate with the world. EMCOM is really just an euphemism for disaster communications, and some disasters are very unkind to internet and cellular availability. I’m the only Ham I am aware of who is always carrying enough “juice” around to put a very credible signal out on what’s commonly known as “shortwave.” Sure, my batteries wouldn’t last long at high power, but they wouldn’t need to. This wheelchair has a few secrets still to be revealed.
On the back of the bustle’s frame are two hinged hardpoints for mounting a platform behind the chair. The purpose of that platform is, wait for it, to carry a portable generator. That’s clearly not an indoor option, but it sometimes proves to be exceedingly useful by effectively turning the wheelchair into the world’s smallest hybrid vehicle by way of the onboard charger! Works rather well when required. In regard to disaster communications, this feature enables me to operate almost anywhere with more signal than most mobiles.
As I say, this capability is normally only of hypothetical value, but, my belief is that, since I must be in this damned wheelchair anyway, I need to turn it to my advantage whenever I can. In addition, there’s an annual US event in late June where some Hams operate for 26 hours on portable or emergency power. Field Day, as it’s called, is set up as a contest to encourage participation, but it’s actually a test of our ability to communicate without relying on the power grid. While I frankly haven’t decided whether I’m going to participate this year, the rules are such that someone with my type of power source would be among the most valuable to contact.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [
mailto:dave]
Sent: Friday, May 1, 2015 11:44
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Federico_Hernandez; <Eddie_Matos>; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
It looks like Thursday will probably be the day that Mobile Mounts will come by. I am not sure about timing but I will let you know as soon as they get that figured out.
In the meantime would you be able to send us the name and part number of the 80A 24V/12V converter you are using and what kind the make and model of your chair is. We don’t want to do anything that will violate warranties but we would like to know a bit more about what you currently have. If it is possible to send photos of the cig socket area, the terminal strips, and where the 24 volt converter connects to the battery that would be helpful as well.
Between Lind and Mobile Mounts that we will take care of any charges for the time and materials needed for this visit.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On Apr 29, 2015, at 9:39 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
All,
Hold the phone, Batman!
These two screen-shots of CPU_Z directly contradict everything we have been leaning toward with this power issue. As I write this email, Lilly is basically running flat out floored in fifth gear on wheelchair power. (I know the first screen-shot says 3.1 GHz, but I’ve seen 3.6. I simply couldn’t catch it!)
To explain, I’m currently a suite of four games to simulate very heavy loads. After all, Alienware machines are primarily built for gaming, although I don’t do a lot of that. My philosophy is that whatever is on my wheelchair had better be ready to do anything I decide to do. Thus, this is essentially a shake-down cruise for Lilly, to identify all potential issues.
The problematic screen-shots I sent to Federico earlier were generated by loads of two games. What you see below is a load generated by a game that’s still in closed-beta. As I said, I’ve seen 3.6GHz, which, for the benefit of the Lind bunch, is this computer’s equivalent of the red line on a racing car’s tachometer. The adapter is toasty to touch but purring happily.
What this all tells us is that we’re actually staring at a software issuance. The Lind bunch can be a big help by revealing what a laptop could do to cause this adapter to cycle power off and on while not exceeding 14.7A input. That’s what certain software loads are causing.
<image001.jpg>
<image002.jpg>
Scott
From: Scott Royall [
mailto:royall]
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 19:55
To: ‘Dave Murphy’; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Eddie_Matos; ‘Darrel Pinkston’; ‘Tom Martin’; Federico_Hernandez; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)All,
I see I need to clarify a few points: I don’t have a 240W AC adapter. Erick equipped me with the 180W adapter, and that runs the same program load without complaint. However, anticipating Federico’s next question, I haven’t yet tested this load configuration with CPU_Z; it is possible—even likely—that Lilly (that’s this laptop) is indulging more heavily in throttling to comply with the limit of 180 watts.
Federico, what we are focusing on is the 240W Lind Electronics DC adapter mounted on my wheelchair. Dave Murphy is correct, it is that adapter that’s cycling off and on, and then only when certain conditions are met. (Nice memory, Dave.) This is where things get murky, based on fresh data I just collected.
In fact, I picked up an ammeter during my travels this afternoon, and just ran some load tests with the laptop and adapter already in the anomalous states. Peak input amperage to the adapter was ~14.7A, and peak current to the cluster of cigarette receptacles was 14.85A. The discrepancy is probably due to the idling current to my smartphone, which says this meter is functioning. In any case, neither reading was anywhere near the 20A limit. (Ahem, Darrel.)
Before we conclude that the problem lies with the adapter, I remind everybody that the laptop’s UEFI is identifying it as 240W so that information is reaching the laptop intact. Also, I haven’t yet had a chance to clamp the meter to the input to the laptop. (Although simple math says the peak current can’t exceed 8.82A even at 100% efficiency.)
While establishing an ongoing relationship with Mobile Mount would be helpful in many other areas, the latest data indicates this is one problem they cannot fix because the adapter isn’t drawing even close to the circuit limit, and the cigarette plug is cool to the touch.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave]
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 13:18
To: Federico_Hernandez
Cc: royall; <Eddie_Matos>; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Importance: HighHi all,
Based on the earlier messages I think Mr. Royall mentioned that the system worked fine with the AC adapter that came with the computer so we suspect the problem is that our adapter is not able to source enough input current to keep up the output our adapter is trying to provide. This could be because of the cigarette plug itself, the cigarette receptacle, or the wiring from the battery to the receptacle among other possibilities.
We are going to have one of our installation partners come out to Mr Royall’s home to try and analyze the input to our adapter and see if we can improve the path so that our adapter is able to get enough input current to properly power the laptop. In the next few days I am hoping to get some scheduling information from them so that we can coordinate a good time for them and Mr Royall to examine the situation so hopefully he can be up and running again soon.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On Apr 29, 2015, at 12:15 PM, <Federico_Hernandez> <Federico_Hernandez> wrote:
Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Good Morning Mr. Royal,
After reviewing the screenshots you sent us, we suspect on the following items causing the issue:
1. The cigarette adapter mechanism isn’t providing consistent amperage.
2. The system is checking for the AC adapter ID and since it is not recognizing it, it is moving to battery mode.
I want to confirm you have tested a Dell Branded 240 watt Ac/Adapter. If you don’t have it, I can send you a 240 watts Ac/Adapter to see if we can discard the second option.
Regards,
Federico Hernandez Bermejo
Dell | Alienware Level 3
+1 (506) 8830-2891
My work schedule is 3pm – 10pm CST Monday to Friday.
How was your experience? Please contact my manager eddie_matos with any feedback.
We’ve recently launched Alienware’s Support Portal. Please visit http://support.dell.com/Alienware for the newest content, FAQ’s and most common solutions for all Alienware platforms.
From: Scott Royall [
mailto:royall]
Sent: April 24, 2015 1:52 PM
To: ‘Dave Murphy’
Cc: Matos, Eddie; Hernandez, Federico; ‘Darrel Pinkston’
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Mr. Murphy,
At a minimum, I must credit you for attempting to address my current dearth of skilled personnel. The executive summary of my response to your offer is that I would certainly be willing to meet with a representative of Mobile Mounts as there is nothing to be risked by doing so.
I note that Mobile Mounts is evidently not a regular member of the rehabilitative community, and I frankly regard that as a positive factor. Given your own extensive experience with rehabilitation organizations, you may have noticed a tendency to develop a suite of solutions that is then applied to the majority of cases with varying degrees of success. This tendency to standardize on a solution set is entirely understandable; nobody wants to keep reinventing the wheel. Yet, that sort of approach tends to become one more obstacle to people with my level of disability participating in society, because the individual characteristics of our disabilities and personalities often call for equally individualized engineering or application of diverse existing technologies.
In reference to safety, it is certainly important. However, each of us has to find our own balance between safety and functionalism. We all know the cliché that the safest course is to sit in a dark room and do nothing at all. Once you decide that is not acceptable for you personally, you necessarily start making trade-offs between safety and whatever it is you want to accomplish. I was a computer programmer for Shell Oil for 14 years, and my final location was a research facility where somewhat hazardous experiments were conducted routinely. Local management was initially alarmed that someone with my level of disability was transferred there, until the Health and Safety Director calmly pointed out that I had obviously decided to live my own life despite the fact that everything I did carried a somewhat elevated safety risk. Bright man. Although he had just met me, he correctly summed up my reality, and gave me credit for being capable to make my own responsible decisions. I believe Darrel also needs to follow that course. Every indication thus far is the problem I’m currently working is not due to your adapter or any part of it.
The photograph enclosed is roughly five years old, but it’s sufficient to give you a basic idea of what I’m doing with your products. It also shows that I too know a thing or two about service dogs.
Scott Royall
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave]
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2015 22:28
To: royall
Cc: Eddie_Matos; Federico_Hernandez; Darrel Pinkston
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
My name is Dave Murphy and I am the Vice President of Sales at Lind Electronics. My technical support engineer Darrel Pinkston, brought to my attention a recent problem we’ve encountered providing you with a sufficient product that meets your power supply needs. I want to begin by saying that we are sincere in looking to move forward and work together with you find a solution. A solution that both fulfills our commitment to safety and quality and meets your expectations as a customer. We sincerely appreciate the trust and loyalty you’ve place in us over the last several years.
I cannot be certain that you are only customer that uses our adaptors in tandem with a wheelchair, but I am however, proud that you have chosen us for what is a vital need. On a personal note, my wife and I are long time benefactors of two organizations dedicated to furthering the independence of individuals with physical disabilities. Helping Paws of Minnesota provides services dogs at no cost to those in need of an assistance animal and the Courage-Kenny institute assists people with rehabilitative services in a residential setting. My wife and I also have two golden retrievers who are registered therapy animals that have visited the Courage-Kinney Institute over the past ten years. She has worked with their adaptive water skiing program since 2003 as well.
Therefore, when I learned of the difficulties you were experiencing in using our adaptor to power your laptop, which is clearly an integral part of your independence, I wanted to find a solution. We have a long term partner that could come to your home and assist with testing and work with your system to try and optimize the wiring and connections to the battery. I have reached out to Mobile Mounts in Dallas and they said they’d be willing to help. They are a company that specializes in installing computers in all kinds of vehicles and they will be doing a project in Houston during the first part of May.
Again, please know that we are committed to working together with you to hopefully find a solution that is effective for you as well as fulfilling our safety requirements. I look forward to regaining your confidence in our products and integrity as a business. Please let me know if you would be interested in scheduling a time to meet with someone from Mobile Mounts to determine what we can do to resolve this situation.
Dave Murphy
VP Sales and Marketing
Lind Electronics
6414 Cambridge St.
Minneapolis, MN 55426
952-927-6303 phone
952-927-7740 fax
dave
Begin forwarded message:
From: “Scott Royall” <royall>
Subject: FW: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Date: April 22, 2015 2:04:53 PM CDT
To: <dpinkston>
Cc: <Eddie_Matos>, <Federico_Hernandez>
Darrel,
I said I didn’t have much alternative to doing business with you and sure enough, a situation pops up not a day later proving the point. Dell and I need your input on this matter. Salient points are:
· Your DE2090-3255 is rated at 240 watts by the laptop’s diagnostics.
· Laptop is only supposed to need 180 watts.
· Before you even ask, input voltage to adapter remains constant and the cigarette lighter plug isn’t even getting warm.
· Both the 240 and the 150W adapter exhibit the cycling behavior, but only when this particular laptop is heavily loaded.
Scott
From: Eddie_Matos [mailto:Eddie_Matos@
Dell.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 13:33
To: royall; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Please go ahead, would be very interested in hearing his opinion.
Thanks,
Eddie
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 12:25 PM
To: Matos, Eddie; Hernandez, Federico
Cc: Castro1, Carlos; Villalta, Erick
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)This is becoming even weirder. Out of curiosity, I recreated the conditions that cause the cycling behavior, and then looked down at the DC adapter. Yes, it’s cutting off every three seconds, but that leads to a bigger question. These adapters are reasonably intelligent, and the cycling behavior is a protective reaction to various conditions such as excessive current draw.
I would like your permission to add Lind’s head engineer to the discussion. I’ll even go ahead and answer his first question. The input voltage is steady and the cigarette lighter plug is cool to the touch so no need to point there.
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 12:34
To: Eddie_Matos; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Do you mean I’m once more cutting new trails (American colloquialism for exploring uncharted territory)? How very interesting!
Here’s another piece of the puzzle. This cycling behavior does NOT happen when Lilly is on her official AC adapter, which is weird since her own diagnostics say this DC adapter has 60 more watts available.
From: Eddie_Matos [mailto:Eddie_Matos]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 10:42
To: royall; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Scott, I am adding Fede, my senior-est of techs to the thread.
Fede, please see below. My interpretation of Mr. Royall’s description would be the Hybrid Power Throttling issue that we’ve been working with product group. What do you think?
Eddie
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 3:43 PM
To: Matos, Eddie
Cc: Castro1, Carlos; Villalta, Erick
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Eddie.
Funny that you should ask about the 180W adapter, because I was able to dodge storms and flat tires this weekend long enough to link up with a friend from West Texas who ordered one of those 180W adapters from that troublesome company up in Minnesota and added a cigarette lighter plug. The adapter is in place on the chair and working. In fact, I just ran the laptop’s diagnostics to see how many watts it thought the adapter was generating, and was surprised to see 240. That should be more than enough, but we do still have an anomaly (and that’s why I added Carlos and Erick to the distribution list).
If I put enough of a load on the system, it will start cycling back and forth between the battery and external power roughly every three seconds. This isn’t a big problem because I can configure the power plan so both modes appear to be the same on-screen, but I suppose it would eventually drain the battery if I somehow ran Lilly hard enough long enough. Then again, that would also tend to drain my wheelchair batteries so I’m unlikely to go to those extremes. It is, however, something for Alienware to dig into and investigate.
Scott
From: Eddie_Matos [mailto:Eddie_Matos]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 14:39
To: royall
Cc: Bernadete_Padua
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Great news on Lilly! Any issues with the 180 power requirements?
I’ll take care of Farat.
Thanks,
Eddie
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 1:07 PM
To: Matos, Eddie
Cc: Padua – Mateo, Bernadete
Subject: FW: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Eddie,
Would you please muzzle Farat? The poor guy has not a clue, and I seriously doubt Dedet’s “teeth” are sharp enough to make the slightest impression upon his hide.
In other news, “Lilly” is measuring up quite nicely to the reputation of its namesake and preceding M15. Not even bright sunlight or nasty weather have deterred it from its assigned tasks.
Scott
From: Farat_Herman [mailto:Farat_Herman]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 11:36
To: royall
Subject: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell Customer Communication
Dear Mr. Royall,
This is with reference to the correspondence that reached our corporate office. We appreciate you taking the time to bring this issue to our attention. I tried reaching you on 281-923-3594 to discuss the issue and left a voicemail as you were unavailable. Please provide an alternate phone number and the best time to reach you.
I am looking forward to a response from you at the earliest.
Regards,
Farat Herman
Dell | Advanced Resolution Group
Phone +1 800 624 9897 Ext.: 72-83898
My work schedule is from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm CST Monday to Friday.
P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
Confidentiality Notice | This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential or proprietary information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, immediately contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
*******************************************************************************
FlexRadio Systems Re: No VOX?
This is a common occurrence with hardware people. It’s very difficult for them to fully grasp how much of the physical world can be virtualized in software. Why would you need an ADC to trigger anything? That functionality can be done within the PowerSDR software as long as the desired audio is on a VAC the software is monitoring.
Let me explain it this way. PowerSDR already has the ability to key up the transmitter with the MOX control, and that’s actually the only hardware feature required for a software VOX. The audio monitoring and triggering decision-making should be done in software.
Scott
[tag am dis]
From: Tim Ellison (FlexRadio Systems) [mailto:support@flexradio.zendesk.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 7, 2015 17:27
To: Scott Royall
Subject: [FlexRadio Systems] Re: No VOX?
## Please do not write below this line when replying ##
Your request (#9433) has been deemed solved.
To review, comment and reopen the request, follow the link below:
http://helpdesk.flexradio.com/hc/requests/9433
|
|
|
|
This email is a service from FlexRadio Systems. Delivered by Zendesk.
Message-Id:NS8T5QQD_554be6bf4ea7c_3fff3fdd104cd31c167232_sprut
FlexRadio Systems Re: No VOX?
No Tom, the ticket is hereby reopened. In fact, the original question was merely a place-holder to establish a dialog with Flex Support on the matter.
I’m not talking about hardware VOX support. That would be completely useless to me. Too bad Bob Tracy didn’t note in my customer file that disability requires me to do literally everything via software. Even my voice is software generated so I have no use for mics or hardware VOX circuitry. I’m talking about your software, PowerSDR. Doesn’t “SDR” mean software defined radio?
Specifically, PowerSDR already receives audio headed for the radio via a virtual audio cable (VAC). In practice, that’s just a virtual audio device, and my speaking software knows how to redirect my “voice” to any audio device known to the system. All that’s missing is a way for audio to cause PowerSDR to key the transmitter. Simply described in pseudo-code:
Wait for audio on the VAC
Enable MOX
While audio on the VAC
Let VAC do its thing
Wait specified delay
Disable MOX
As I say, easy. Too easy to not already be in the code. Especially since it would also benefit anyone working the digital modes. HRD’s Digital Master also sends audio to any system audio device. No more need for fragile PTT lash-ups that might be broken by a hard stare.
Understand that my new Flex-1500 is useless to me without VOX. Some of my friends have already offered to make PTT lash-ups for me, but I would rather see Flex do the right thing and correct what I consider to be a glaring shortcoming in PowerSDR.
Scott Royall W5RUA
From: Tim Ellison (FlexRadio Systems) [mailto:support@flexradio.zendesk.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 7, 2015 7:01
To: Scott Royall
Subject: [FlexRadio Systems] Re: No VOX?
## Please do not write below this line when replying ##
Your request (#9433) has been deemed solved.
To review, comment and reopen the request, follow the link below:
http://helpdesk.flexradio.com/hc/requests/9433
|
|
This email is a service from FlexRadio Systems. Delivered by Zendesk.
Message-Id:NS8T5QQD_554b54195e3d5_519f3fb37a2cd338275061_sprut
Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Dave,
Well, that went about as I expected.
To quote what I was typing as Cody hung up:
dave, cory is telling you 180 watts isn’t reaching the receptacle. never mind the cigarette plug. we connected directly to the supposedly 20 amp circuit
In other words, your adapters were still indicating inadequate current even when the cigarette plug and receptacle were completely removed, and the exposed cables directly connected. So all of your posturing around how cigarette plugs cannot possibly handle the current is superfluous to the problem at hand. Your adapters work if connected directly at the 12-volt converter, but not reliably downstream of my box. Cody, who isn’t admittedly an electrical scholar, can see that the problem lies inside the box. I’ve been trying to communicate that to you for weeks, but Lind seems to be hung up at the cigarette plug.
In any case, Cody and I decided that the workable path forward is to remove Lind Electronics as the paying customer. Although paying for MM’s time will be difficult, it’s the only way to get work that meets my requirements instead of Lind’s.
Oh, I need to correct myself on one point. Your adapters identify themselves as 240-watt compatible, and this laptop is sophisticated enough to try using the extra power offered. Since I successfully ran at 150 watts for over two years, I wonder what would happen if your adapters identified as the 180 actually required. I suspect we’d still have the problem.
Scott
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall@conchbbs.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2015 17:01
To: ‘Dave Murphy’
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Dave,
I’ll make the time work.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave]
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2015 16:56
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Federico_Hernandez; Eddie_Matos; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Hi Scott,
Cody Burns from Mobile Mounts will be coming by tomorrow around 10AM. Will that work for you? We also built a new adapter and had it shipped down to you today. It should hopefully arrive before Cody does. I indicated on the package that no signature would be necessary just to make sure that it gets dropped off but be on the look out for a delivery.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On May 5, 2015, at 3:41 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
Dave,
I must point out that you FINALLY gave me the data that has been missing all along. Clearly, the people at Lind recognized the rhythmic on/off cycling as an error code, but nobody bothered to share that information with me. Now I know what exactly the issue is, and the poor guys at Dell can stop scratching their heads. Is it any wonder why I’m not thrilled with y’all (hey, I’m a Southerner, deal).
Incidentally, we aren’t getting a reset, just the whimpering about inadequate current. My ammeter disagrees but I wouldn’t swear by it. No doubt Mobile Mounts also has an ammeter to settle that question.
You see, the devil really is in the details, and whether or not the solution MM comes up with will be appropriate is going to be determined by those details. Now that I know what your adapter is saying, however, I also know where the problem is. We’ll see Thursday, but would Darrel care to make a bet? Knowing my machine, I’d lay good money on the cigarette plug not being the problem.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave]
Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2015 10:39
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Federico_Hernandez; Eddie_Matos; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
I do not think they will have any welding cable in their truck so you should be fine on that front. We understand that although our preference would be to tap into the 24 volt system that proves problematic for you for other reasons. So we will have them investigate what they can do to optimize the 12 volt input to our adapter. If they can connect a more robust connector instead of the cigarette plug for the computer alone we would like them to try it. We can provide you with other adapters in the future that would have the mating connector so there would not be issues with anyone that helps you having to change the equipment. We will keep it as simple as possible for you. Mobile Mounts also could look at the terminals you have in the back of the chair and see if they have any that might be suitable replacements if those are negatively impacting the system.
If you are saying that they cannot look at modifying the input method and you have no other option than the existing cigarette plug then you are probably correct that it is not worth the trip.
Based on your description of the problem our adapter is presenting the symptoms of an input power fault. When it is trying to draw enough input current to supply the load the input voltage momentarily drops which causes the chip that controls our adapter to reset it self. The tell-tale symptom of that is the three second blinking LED. When the input voltage to the micro controller on our circuit drops below a certain voltage (even for a few milliseconds) the chip turns itself off and reboots. That process takes about three seconds, if it is still unable to power itself back up it will keep cycling on and off.
If the computer was trying to draw more power than our adapter could provide but the adapter was plugged into a source that could handle the input current our adapter was trying to draw it would behave differently. In that case the adapter would shut itself off and see if the fault condition would cycle back on every 10 seconds to see if it was able to operate normally. The 10 second shutdown is a sequence that we have programmed into the micro controller that controls our adapter. If the adapter is able to keep itself powered up it can determine that the load is trying to draw more current than it is capable of providing and it will turn itself off.
So in a nutshell you need to let us know if you are open to a different plug option for the input of our adapter. We are not saying you need to get rid of the cigarette plugs but what we are saying is that it looks to us like your existing system is not able to provide our adapter with enough input power for us to provide the required output power for the computer you are currently using.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On May 4, 2015, at 2:52 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
It is, it is.
I understand the focus of Mobile Mounts’ assignment, but they also have to comply with the constraints of this wheelchair’s multi-faceted reality. To do otherwise would make the visit a waste of time and money. If making the input run to your adapter robust is their only objective, welding a length of 00-ga. welding cable directly to the battery terminals would achieve that. Of course that would also make the chair otherwise useless, but your goal would technically be reached.
No sir. I submit that, to be useful, your adapters have to help enable me as they always have. That means they must work cooperatively with everything else, and share the common resources. If your equipment necessitates upgrading some of those resources, you should share the upgraded capabilities, and a single visit cannot accomplish that. If Mobile Mounts isn’t aware of the larger picture and prepared to work consistently with that picture, they can stay in Dallas.
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave]
Sent: Monday, May 4, 2015 13:45
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Federico_Hernandez; Eddie_Matos; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
I am glad Thursday will work for you. The purpose of Mobile Mounts visit is to make sure that the input path to our adapter is as robust as possible. They will assess the situation with the wiring and terminal strips to optimize your existing setup. Thanks for the description of your chair. It sounds like your chair is definitely one of a kind.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On May 1, 2015, at 8:37 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
Dave,
Thursday should be fine.
We’re having similar ideas, because I just checked your website to see if Lind has any converters applicable to my needs. Alas, yours are manufacturer-specific, and nowhere near sufficient capacity for my needs.
Your information requests are exactly the type I would anticipate from someone with an engineering background, and I will supply what I can. It’s becoming apparent that the work ahead of Mobile Mounts is going to take multiple sessions, and the first session may well be just photographically documenting the current system and understanding the core requirements it was originally built to meet. Since I originated the requirements, I can at least talk about them with some authority. I find myself wishing, though, that we could somehow include Mobile Mounts in these initial discussions so that they could gain some intelligence on what’s ahead of them and do some preparation. Perhaps that’s something you could investigate.
Let’s define a term first. You may dimly remember that women’s dresses used to have a bustle in back. Some military tanks also have an area on the back of the turret called the bustle. So might as well adopt it as the word for the box on the back of my chair. Technically, It’s a Hoffman box, and you usually see them mounted around industrial plants (oil, chemical, etcetera). Hoffman boxes are semi-sealed enclosures used to provide some weather protection to electronics and sensitive instruments. Since my bustle and the aluminum frame it rides on were created while I worked for Shell, I guess it’s no surprise we used a Hoffman box.
Anyway, my bustle is filled with various necessary electronics like an audio amplifier, USB hub, USB audio adapter, USB GPS receiver (obsolete), USB cellular modem (also obsolete), and of course, those creaky old terminal strips. However, most of the bustle is occupied by an onboard switching-type battery charger. (No, most wheelchairs don’t have onboard ability to recharge.)
Where’s the DC-DC converter? It’s mounted on the outside of the bustle door for cooling. We were originally mounting four Lambda industrial-grade 20A converter modules inside ganged together to meet my requirement for 80 amps, but those things proved to be disappointingly fragile. Even a transient short would blow one or more module despite Lambda’s assurances otherwise. So, with rumors of impending lay-offs at Shell, I ordered a no-name consumer-grade 80A converter on Ebay from China after one or two more failures with American companies. Of course I was very dubious of a consumer-grade Chinese converter, but we threw everything we could at it in Shell’s instrument shop, and it just seemed to give us an inscrutable grin. Our meters never wavered from 12.05-12.1VDC as long as the converter was well-vented. I personally doubt it could tolerate 80A for more than a few seconds, but it thrived on the 30+A load we could put on it. I now have two of the Chinese suckers in keeping with my SOP, a primary and a backup.
I’ll send whatever pictures Mobile Mounts takes, but understand there are a few areas on this chair that a conventional camera cannot reach. The central wiring junction where 24 volts leaves from the batteries to split off to the wheelchair control module and up to the converter is one such area, because it’s literally at the center of the chair. Yet, when you consider that the motive stuff can dissipate up to 1200W peak, and the converter shares a 10 gauge line with the onboard charger, you can sort of appreciate why I’d be painfully aware right quick of any issues there. Looking around, the line to the cigarette receptacles is also at least 10-ga. fused at 20A, but there’s still those chintzy terminal strips in back. If there’s a hardware problem, that’s the place to start looking. Unfortunately, nearly two decades have left the Hoffman box cracked and battered so it time to do some updating and tidying up.
Oh, model numbers. This particular chair is a 2007 Invacare Storm Torque 3, but that’s the thing. The bustle and its frame was designed in 1997 to fit any Invacare rear wheel drive power. That’s possible because Invacare hasn’t changed the basically dimensions of the rear half of the frame since then, and that’s all that matters.
By this point, you should be sitting there wondering why the heck I require 80 amps on the 12-volt side, and the truth is it’s only because of a hypothetical scenario. My nominal load when I’m not running the laptop “balls-to-the-wall” is closer to 10 amps. Yet, as I said yesterday, I am a Ham, and a small percentage of us take at least having the capacity to conduct EMCOM—emergency communications—seriously. And, 80 amps can do some incredible things with modern radios. In fact, 30 would be plenty in most modes, but the extra headroom leaves open the possibility of adding a small radio amplifier if necessary. It’s literally possible for me to take one of my IC-7000s out into the yard, throw a wire antenna up into a tree, and communicate with the world. EMCOM is really just an euphemism for disaster communications, and some disasters are very unkind to internet and cellular availability. I’m the only Ham I am aware of who is always carrying enough “juice” around to put a very credible signal out on what’s commonly known as “shortwave.” Sure, my batteries wouldn’t last long at high power, but they wouldn’t need to. This wheelchair has a few secrets still to be revealed.
On the back of the bustle’s frame are two hinged hardpoints for mounting a platform behind the chair. The purpose of that platform is, wait for it, to carry a portable generator. That’s clearly not an indoor option, but it sometimes proves to be exceedingly useful by effectively turning the wheelchair into the world’s smallest hybrid vehicle by way of the onboard charger! Works rather well when required. In regard to disaster communications, this feature enables me to operate almost anywhere with more signal than most mobiles.
As I say, this capability is normally only of hypothetical value, but, my belief is that, since I must be in this damned wheelchair anyway, I need to turn it to my advantage whenever I can. In addition, there’s an annual US event in late June where some Hams operate for 26 hours on portable or emergency power. Field Day, as it’s called, is set up as a contest to encourage participation, but it’s actually a test of our ability to communicate without relying on the power grid. While I frankly haven’t decided whether I’m going to participate this year, the rules are such that someone with my type of power source would be among the most valuable to contact.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [
mailto:dave]
Sent: Friday, May 1, 2015 11:44
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Federico_Hernandez; <Eddie_Matos>; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
It looks like Thursday will probably be the day that Mobile Mounts will come by. I am not sure about timing but I will let you know as soon as they get that figured out.
In the meantime would you be able to send us the name and part number of the 80A 24V/12V converter you are using and what kind the make and model of your chair is. We don’t want to do anything that will violate warranties but we would like to know a bit more about what you currently have. If it is possible to send photos of the cig socket area, the terminal strips, and where the 24 volt converter connects to the battery that would be helpful as well.
Between Lind and Mobile Mounts that we will take care of any charges for the time and materials needed for this visit.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On Apr 29, 2015, at 9:39 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
All,
Hold the phone, Batman!
These two screen-shots of CPU_Z directly contradict everything we have been leaning toward with this power issue. As I write this email, Lilly is basically running flat out floored in fifth gear on wheelchair power. (I know the first screen-shot says 3.1 GHz, but I’ve seen 3.6. I simply couldn’t catch it!)
To explain, I’m currently a suite of four games to simulate very heavy loads. After all, Alienware machines are primarily built for gaming, although I don’t do a lot of that. My philosophy is that whatever is on my wheelchair had better be ready to do anything I decide to do. Thus, this is essentially a shake-down cruise for Lilly, to identify all potential issues.
The problematic screen-shots I sent to Federico earlier were generated by loads of two games. What you see below is a load generated by a game that’s still in closed-beta. As I said, I’ve seen 3.6GHz, which, for the benefit of the Lind bunch, is this computer’s equivalent of the red line on a racing car’s tachometer. The adapter is toasty to touch but purring happily.
What this all tells us is that we’re actually staring at a software issuance. The Lind bunch can be a big help by revealing what a laptop could do to cause this adapter to cycle power off and on while not exceeding 14.7A input. That’s what certain software loads are causing.
<image001.jpg>
<image002.jpg>
Scott
From: Scott Royall [
mailto:royall]
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 19:55
To: ‘Dave Murphy’; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Eddie_Matos; ‘Darrel Pinkston’; ‘Tom Martin’; Federico_Hernandez; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)All,
I see I need to clarify a few points: I don’t have a 240W AC adapter. Erick equipped me with the 180W adapter, and that runs the same program load without complaint. However, anticipating Federico’s next question, I haven’t yet tested this load configuration with CPU_Z; it is possible—even likely—that Lilly (that’s this laptop) is indulging more heavily in throttling to comply with the limit of 180 watts.
Federico, what we are focusing on is the 240W Lind Electronics DC adapter mounted on my wheelchair. Dave Murphy is correct, it is that adapter that’s cycling off and on, and then only when certain conditions are met. (Nice memory, Dave.) This is where things get murky, based on fresh data I just collected.
In fact, I picked up an ammeter during my travels this afternoon, and just ran some load tests with the laptop and adapter already in the anomalous states. Peak input amperage to the adapter was ~14.7A, and peak current to the cluster of cigarette receptacles was 14.85A. The discrepancy is probably due to the idling current to my smartphone, which says this meter is functioning. In any case, neither reading was anywhere near the 20A limit. (Ahem, Darrel.)
Before we conclude that the problem lies with the adapter, I remind everybody that the laptop’s UEFI is identifying it as 240W so that information is reaching the laptop intact. Also, I haven’t yet had a chance to clamp the meter to the input to the laptop. (Although simple math says the peak current can’t exceed 8.82A even at 100% efficiency.)
While establishing an ongoing relationship with Mobile Mount would be helpful in many other areas, the latest data indicates this is one problem they cannot fix because the adapter isn’t drawing even close to the circuit limit, and the cigarette plug is cool to the touch.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave]
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 13:18
To: Federico_Hernandez
Cc: royall; <Eddie_Matos>; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Importance: HighHi all,
Based on the earlier messages I think Mr. Royall mentioned that the system worked fine with the AC adapter that came with the computer so we suspect the problem is that our adapter is not able to source enough input current to keep up the output our adapter is trying to provide. This could be because of the cigarette plug itself, the cigarette receptacle, or the wiring from the battery to the receptacle among other possibilities.
We are going to have one of our installation partners come out to Mr Royall’s home to try and analyze the input to our adapter and see if we can improve the path so that our adapter is able to get enough input current to properly power the laptop. In the next few days I am hoping to get some scheduling information from them so that we can coordinate a good time for them and Mr Royall to examine the situation so hopefully he can be up and running again soon.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On Apr 29, 2015, at 12:15 PM, <Federico_Hernandez> <Federico_Hernandez> wrote:
Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Good Morning Mr. Royal,
After reviewing the screenshots you sent us, we suspect on the following items causing the issue:
1. The cigarette adapter mechanism isn’t providing consistent amperage.
2. The system is checking for the AC adapter ID and since it is not recognizing it, it is moving to battery mode.
I want to confirm you have tested a Dell Branded 240 watt Ac/Adapter. If you don’t have it, I can send you a 240 watts Ac/Adapter to see if we can discard the second option.
Regards,
Federico Hernandez Bermejo
Dell | Alienware Level 3
+1 (506) 8830-2891
My work schedule is 3pm – 10pm CST Monday to Friday.
How was your experience? Please contact my manager eddie_matos with any feedback.
We’ve recently launched Alienware’s Support Portal. Please visit http://support.dell.com/Alienware for the newest content, FAQ’s and most common solutions for all Alienware platforms.
From: Scott Royall [
mailto:royall]
Sent: April 24, 2015 1:52 PM
To: ‘Dave Murphy’
Cc: Matos, Eddie; Hernandez, Federico; ‘Darrel Pinkston’
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Mr. Murphy,
At a minimum, I must credit you for attempting to address my current dearth of skilled personnel. The executive summary of my response to your offer is that I would certainly be willing to meet with a representative of Mobile Mounts as there is nothing to be risked by doing so.
I note that Mobile Mounts is evidently not a regular member of the rehabilitative community, and I frankly regard that as a positive factor. Given your own extensive experience with rehabilitation organizations, you may have noticed a tendency to develop a suite of solutions that is then applied to the majority of cases with varying degrees of success. This tendency to standardize on a solution set is entirely understandable; nobody wants to keep reinventing the wheel. Yet, that sort of approach tends to become one more obstacle to people with my level of disability participating in society, because the individual characteristics of our disabilities and personalities often call for equally individualized engineering or application of diverse existing technologies.
In reference to safety, it is certainly important. However, each of us has to find our own balance between safety and functionalism. We all know the cliché that the safest course is to sit in a dark room and do nothing at all. Once you decide that is not acceptable for you personally, you necessarily start making trade-offs between safety and whatever it is you want to accomplish. I was a computer programmer for Shell Oil for 14 years, and my final location was a research facility where somewhat hazardous experiments were conducted routinely. Local management was initially alarmed that someone with my level of disability was transferred there, until the Health and Safety Director calmly pointed out that I had obviously decided to live my own life despite the fact that everything I did carried a somewhat elevated safety risk. Bright man. Although he had just met me, he correctly summed up my reality, and gave me credit for being capable to make my own responsible decisions. I believe Darrel also needs to follow that course. Every indication thus far is the problem I’m currently working is not due to your adapter or any part of it.
The photograph enclosed is roughly five years old, but it’s sufficient to give you a basic idea of what I’m doing with your products. It also shows that I too know a thing or two about service dogs.
Scott Royall
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave]
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2015 22:28
To: royall
Cc: Eddie_Matos; Federico_Hernandez; Darrel Pinkston
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
My name is Dave Murphy and I am the Vice President of Sales at Lind Electronics. My technical support engineer Darrel Pinkston, brought to my attention a recent problem we’ve encountered providing you with a sufficient product that meets your power supply needs. I want to begin by saying that we are sincere in looking to move forward and work together with you find a solution. A solution that both fulfills our commitment to safety and quality and meets your expectations as a customer. We sincerely appreciate the trust and loyalty you’ve place in us over the last several years.
I cannot be certain that you are only customer that uses our adaptors in tandem with a wheelchair, but I am however, proud that you have chosen us for what is a vital need. On a personal note, my wife and I are long time benefactors of two organizations dedicated to furthering the independence of individuals with physical disabilities. Helping Paws of Minnesota provides services dogs at no cost to those in need of an assistance animal and the Courage-Kenny institute assists people with rehabilitative services in a residential setting. My wife and I also have two golden retrievers who are registered therapy animals that have visited the Courage-Kinney Institute over the past ten years. She has worked with their adaptive water skiing program since 2003 as well.
Therefore, when I learned of the difficulties you were experiencing in using our adaptor to power your laptop, which is clearly an integral part of your independence, I wanted to find a solution. We have a long term partner that could come to your home and assist with testing and work with your system to try and optimize the wiring and connections to the battery. I have reached out to Mobile Mounts in Dallas and they said they’d be willing to help. They are a company that specializes in installing computers in all kinds of vehicles and they will be doing a project in Houston during the first part of May.
Again, please know that we are committed to working together with you to hopefully find a solution that is effective for you as well as fulfilling our safety requirements. I look forward to regaining your confidence in our products and integrity as a business. Please let me know if you would be interested in scheduling a time to meet with someone from Mobile Mounts to determine what we can do to resolve this situation.
Dave Murphy
VP Sales and Marketing
Lind Electronics
6414 Cambridge St.
Minneapolis, MN 55426
952-927-6303 phone
952-927-7740 fax
dave
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Scott Royall" <royall>
Subject: FW: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Date: April 22, 2015 2:04:53 PM CDT
To: <dpinkston>
Cc: <Eddie_Matos>, <Federico_Hernandez>
Darrel,
I said I didn’t have much alternative to doing business with you and sure enough, a situation pops up not a day later proving the point. Dell and I need your input on this matter. Salient points are:
· Your DE2090-3255 is rated at 240 watts by the laptop’s diagnostics.
· Laptop is only supposed to need 180 watts.
· Before you even ask, input voltage to adapter remains constant and the cigarette lighter plug isn’t even getting warm.
· Both the 240 and the 150W adapter exhibit the cycling behavior, but only when this particular laptop is heavily loaded.
Scott
From: Eddie_Matos [mailto:Eddie_Matos@
Dell.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 13:33
To: royall; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Please go ahead, would be very interested in hearing his opinion.
Thanks,
Eddie
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 12:25 PM
To: Matos, Eddie; Hernandez, Federico
Cc: Castro1, Carlos; Villalta, Erick
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)This is becoming even weirder. Out of curiosity, I recreated the conditions that cause the cycling behavior, and then looked down at the DC adapter. Yes, it’s cutting off every three seconds, but that leads to a bigger question. These adapters are reasonably intelligent, and the cycling behavior is a protective reaction to various conditions such as excessive current draw.
I would like your permission to add Lind’s head engineer to the discussion. I’ll even go ahead and answer his first question. The input voltage is steady and the cigarette lighter plug is cool to the touch so no need to point there.
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 12:34
To: Eddie_Matos; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Do you mean I’m once more cutting new trails (American colloquialism for exploring uncharted territory)? How very interesting!
Here’s another piece of the puzzle. This cycling behavior does NOT happen when Lilly is on her official AC adapter, which is weird since her own diagnostics say this DC adapter has 60 more watts available.
From: Eddie_Matos [mailto:Eddie_Matos]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 10:42
To: royall; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Scott, I am adding Fede, my senior-est of techs to the thread.
Fede, please see below. My interpretation of Mr. Royall’s description would be the Hybrid Power Throttling issue that we’ve been working with product group. What do you think?
Eddie
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 3:43 PM
To: Matos, Eddie
Cc: Castro1, Carlos; Villalta, Erick
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Eddie.
Funny that you should ask about the 180W adapter, because I was able to dodge storms and flat tires this weekend long enough to link up with a friend from West Texas who ordered one of those 180W adapters from that troublesome company up in Minnesota and added a cigarette lighter plug. The adapter is in place on the chair and working. In fact, I just ran the laptop’s diagnostics to see how many watts it thought the adapter was generating, and was surprised to see 240. That should be more than enough, but we do still have an anomaly (and that’s why I added Carlos and Erick to the distribution list).
If I put enough of a load on the system, it will start cycling back and forth between the battery and external power roughly every three seconds. This isn’t a big problem because I can configure the power plan so both modes appear to be the same on-screen, but I suppose it would eventually drain the battery if I somehow ran Lilly hard enough long enough. Then again, that would also tend to drain my wheelchair batteries so I’m unlikely to go to those extremes. It is, however, something for Alienware to dig into and investigate.
Scott
From: Eddie_Matos [mailto:Eddie_Matos]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 14:39
To: royall
Cc: Bernadete_Padua
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Great news on Lilly! Any issues with the 180 power requirements?
I’ll take care of Farat.
Thanks,
Eddie
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 1:07 PM
To: Matos, Eddie
Cc: Padua – Mateo, Bernadete
Subject: FW: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Eddie,
Would you please muzzle Farat? The poor guy has not a clue, and I seriously doubt Dedet’s “teeth” are sharp enough to make the slightest impression upon his hide.
In other news, “Lilly” is measuring up quite nicely to the reputation of its namesake and preceding M15. Not even bright sunlight or nasty weather have deterred it from its assigned tasks.
Scott
From: Farat_Herman [mailto:Farat_Herman]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 11:36
To: royall
Subject: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell Customer Communication
Dear Mr. Royall,
This is with reference to the correspondence that reached our corporate office. We appreciate you taking the time to bring this issue to our attention. I tried reaching you on 281-923-3594 to discuss the issue and left a voicemail as you were unavailable. Please provide an alternate phone number and the best time to reach you.
I am looking forward to a response from you at the earliest.
Regards,
Farat Herman
Dell | Advanced Resolution Group
Phone +1 800 624 9897 Ext.: 72-83898
My work schedule is from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm CST Monday to Friday.
P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
Confidentiality Notice | This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential or proprietary information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, immediately contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
*******************************************************************************
Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Dave,
I must point out that you FINALLY gave me the data that has been missing all along. Clearly, the people at Lind recognized the rhythmic on/off cycling as an error code, but nobody bothered to share that information with me. Now I know what exactly the issue is, and the poor guys at Dell can stop scratching their heads. Is it any wonder why I’m not thrilled with y’all (hey, I’m a Southerner, deal).
Incidentally, we aren’t getting a reset, just the whimpering about inadequate current. My ammeter disagrees but I wouldn’t swear by it. No doubt Mobile Mounts also has an ammeter to settle that question.
You see, the devil really is in the details, and whether or not the solution MM comes up with will be appropriate is going to be determined by those details. Now that I know what your adapter is saying, however, I also know where the problem is. We’ll see Thursday, but would Darrel care to make a bet? Knowing my machine, I’d lay good money on the cigarette plug not being the problem.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave@lindelectronics.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2015 10:39
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Federico_Hernandez@Dell.com; Eddie_Matos@Dell.com; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin; Carlos_Castro1@dell.com; Erick_Villalta@dell.com
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Hi Scott,
I do not think they will have any welding cable in their truck so you should be fine on that front. We understand that although our preference would be to tap into the 24 volt system that proves problematic for you for other reasons. So we will have them investigate what they can do to optimize the 12 volt input to our adapter. If they can connect a more robust connector instead of the cigarette plug for the computer alone we would like them to try it. We can provide you with other adapters in the future that would have the mating connector so there would not be issues with anyone that helps you having to change the equipment. We will keep it as simple as possible for you. Mobile Mounts also could look at the terminals you have in the back of the chair and see if they have any that might be suitable replacements if those are negatively impacting the system.
If you are saying that they cannot look at modifying the input method and you have no other option than the existing cigarette plug then you are probably correct that it is not worth the trip.
Based on your description of the problem our adapter is presenting the symptoms of an input power fault. When it is trying to draw enough input current to supply the load the input voltage momentarily drops which causes the chip that controls our adapter to reset it self. The tell-tale symptom of that is the three second blinking LED. When the input voltage to the micro controller on our circuit drops below a certain voltage (even for a few milliseconds) the chip turns itself off and reboots. That process takes about three seconds, if it is still unable to power itself back up it will keep cycling on and off.
If the computer was trying to draw more power than our adapter could provide but the adapter was plugged into a source that could handle the input current our adapter was trying to draw it would behave differently. In that case the adapter would shut itself off and see if the fault condition would cycle back on every 10 seconds to see if it was able to operate normally. The 10 second shutdown is a sequence that we have programmed into the micro controller that controls our adapter. If the adapter is able to keep itself powered up it can determine that the load is trying to draw more current than it is capable of providing and it will turn itself off.
So in a nutshell you need to let us know if you are open to a different plug option for the input of our adapter. We are not saying you need to get rid of the cigarette plugs but what we are saying is that it looks to us like your existing system is not able to provide our adapter with enough input power for us to provide the required output power for the computer you are currently using.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On May 4, 2015, at 2:52 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
It is, it is.
I understand the focus of Mobile Mounts’ assignment, but they also have to comply with the constraints of this wheelchair’s multi-faceted reality. To do otherwise would make the visit a waste of time and money. If making the input run to your adapter robust is their only objective, welding a length of 00-ga. welding cable directly to the battery terminals would achieve that. Of course that would also make the chair otherwise useless, but your goal would technically be reached.
No sir. I submit that, to be useful, your adapters have to help enable me as they always have. That means they must work cooperatively with everything else, and share the common resources. If your equipment necessitates upgrading some of those resources, you should share the upgraded capabilities, and a single visit cannot accomplish that. If Mobile Mounts isn’t aware of the larger picture and prepared to work consistently with that picture, they can stay in Dallas.
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave]
Sent: Monday, May 4, 2015 13:45
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Federico_Hernandez; Eddie_Matos; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
I am glad Thursday will work for you. The purpose of Mobile Mounts visit is to make sure that the input path to our adapter is as robust as possible. They will assess the situation with the wiring and terminal strips to optimize your existing setup. Thanks for the description of your chair. It sounds like your chair is definitely one of a kind.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On May 1, 2015, at 8:37 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
Dave,
Thursday should be fine.
We’re having similar ideas, because I just checked your website to see if Lind has any converters applicable to my needs. Alas, yours are manufacturer-specific, and nowhere near sufficient capacity for my needs.
Your information requests are exactly the type I would anticipate from someone with an engineering background, and I will supply what I can. It’s becoming apparent that the work ahead of Mobile Mounts is going to take multiple sessions, and the first session may well be just photographically documenting the current system and understanding the core requirements it was originally built to meet. Since I originated the requirements, I can at least talk about them with some authority. I find myself wishing, though, that we could somehow include Mobile Mounts in these initial discussions so that they could gain some intelligence on what’s ahead of them and do some preparation. Perhaps that’s something you could investigate.
Let’s define a term first. You may dimly remember that women’s dresses used to have a bustle in back. Some military tanks also have an area on the back of the turret called the bustle. So might as well adopt it as the word for the box on the back of my chair. Technically, It’s a Hoffman box, and you usually see them mounted around industrial plants (oil, chemical, etcetera). Hoffman boxes are semi-sealed enclosures used to provide some weather protection to electronics and sensitive instruments. Since my bustle and the aluminum frame it rides on were created while I worked for Shell, I guess it’s no surprise we used a Hoffman box.
Anyway, my bustle is filled with various necessary electronics like an audio amplifier, USB hub, USB audio adapter, USB GPS receiver (obsolete), USB cellular modem (also obsolete), and of course, those creaky old terminal strips. However, most of the bustle is occupied by an onboard switching-type battery charger. (No, most wheelchairs don’t have onboard ability to recharge.)
Where’s the DC-DC converter? It’s mounted on the outside of the bustle door for cooling. We were originally mounting four Lambda industrial-grade 20A converter modules inside ganged together to meet my requirement for 80 amps, but those things proved to be disappointingly fragile. Even a transient short would blow one or more module despite Lambda’s assurances otherwise. So, with rumors of impending lay-offs at Shell, I ordered a no-name consumer-grade 80A converter on Ebay from China after one or two more failures with American companies. Of course I was very dubious of a consumer-grade Chinese converter, but we threw everything we could at it in Shell’s instrument shop, and it just seemed to give us an inscrutable grin. Our meters never wavered from 12.05-12.1VDC as long as the converter was well-vented. I personally doubt it could tolerate 80A for more than a few seconds, but it thrived on the 30+A load we could put on it. I now have two of the Chinese suckers in keeping with my SOP, a primary and a backup.
I’ll send whatever pictures Mobile Mounts takes, but understand there are a few areas on this chair that a conventional camera cannot reach. The central wiring junction where 24 volts leaves from the batteries to split off to the wheelchair control module and up to the converter is one such area, because it’s literally at the center of the chair. Yet, when you consider that the motive stuff can dissipate up to 1200W peak, and the converter shares a 10 gauge line with the onboard charger, you can sort of appreciate why I’d be painfully aware right quick of any issues there. Looking around, the line to the cigarette receptacles is also at least 10-ga. fused at 20A, but there’s still those chintzy terminal strips in back. If there’s a hardware problem, that’s the place to start looking. Unfortunately, nearly two decades have left the Hoffman box cracked and battered so it time to do some updating and tidying up.
Oh, model numbers. This particular chair is a 2007 Invacare Storm Torque 3, but that’s the thing. The bustle and its frame was designed in 1997 to fit any Invacare rear wheel drive power. That’s possible because Invacare hasn’t changed the basically dimensions of the rear half of the frame since then, and that’s all that matters.
By this point, you should be sitting there wondering why the heck I require 80 amps on the 12-volt side, and the truth is it’s only because of a hypothetical scenario. My nominal load when I’m not running the laptop “balls-to-the-wall” is closer to 10 amps. Yet, as I said yesterday, I am a Ham, and a small percentage of us take at least having the capacity to conduct EMCOM—emergency communications—seriously. And, 80 amps can do some incredible things with modern radios. In fact, 30 would be plenty in most modes, but the extra headroom leaves open the possibility of adding a small radio amplifier if necessary. It’s literally possible for me to take one of my IC-7000s out into the yard, throw a wire antenna up into a tree, and communicate with the world. EMCOM is really just an euphemism for disaster communications, and some disasters are very unkind to internet and cellular availability. I’m the only Ham I am aware of who is always carrying enough “juice” around to put a very credible signal out on what’s commonly known as “shortwave.” Sure, my batteries wouldn’t last long at high power, but they wouldn’t need to. This wheelchair has a few secrets still to be revealed.
On the back of the bustle’s frame are two hinged hardpoints for mounting a platform behind the chair. The purpose of that platform is, wait for it, to carry a portable generator. That’s clearly not an indoor option, but it sometimes proves to be exceedingly useful by effectively turning the wheelchair into the world’s smallest hybrid vehicle by way of the onboard charger! Works rather well when required. In regard to disaster communications, this feature enables me to operate almost anywhere with more signal than most mobiles.
As I say, this capability is normally only of hypothetical value, but, my belief is that, since I must be in this damned wheelchair anyway, I need to turn it to my advantage whenever I can. In addition, there’s an annual US event in late June where some Hams operate for 26 hours on portable or emergency power. Field Day, as it’s called, is set up as a contest to encourage participation, but it’s actually a test of our ability to communicate without relying on the power grid. While I frankly haven’t decided whether I’m going to participate this year, the rules are such that someone with my type of power source would be among the most valuable to contact.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [
mailto:dave]
Sent: Friday, May 1, 2015 11:44
To: Scott Royall
Cc: Federico_Hernandez; <Eddie_Matos>; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
It looks like Thursday will probably be the day that Mobile Mounts will come by. I am not sure about timing but I will let you know as soon as they get that figured out.
In the meantime would you be able to send us the name and part number of the 80A 24V/12V converter you are using and what kind the make and model of your chair is. We don’t want to do anything that will violate warranties but we would like to know a bit more about what you currently have. If it is possible to send photos of the cig socket area, the terminal strips, and where the 24 volt converter connects to the battery that would be helpful as well.
Between Lind and Mobile Mounts that we will take care of any charges for the time and materials needed for this visit.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On Apr 29, 2015, at 9:39 PM, Scott Royall <royall> wrote:
All,
Hold the phone, Batman!
These two screen-shots of CPU_Z directly contradict everything we have been leaning toward with this power issue. As I write this email, Lilly is basically running flat out floored in fifth gear on wheelchair power. (I know the first screen-shot says 3.1 GHz, but I’ve seen 3.6. I simply couldn’t catch it!)
To explain, I’m currently a suite of four games to simulate very heavy loads. After all, Alienware machines are primarily built for gaming, although I don’t do a lot of that. My philosophy is that whatever is on my wheelchair had better be ready to do anything I decide to do. Thus, this is essentially a shake-down cruise for Lilly, to identify all potential issues.
The problematic screen-shots I sent to Federico earlier were generated by loads of two games. What you see below is a load generated by a game that’s still in closed-beta. As I said, I’ve seen 3.6GHz, which, for the benefit of the Lind bunch, is this computer’s equivalent of the red line on a racing car’s tachometer. The adapter is toasty to touch but purring happily.
What this all tells us is that we’re actually staring at a software issuance. The Lind bunch can be a big help by revealing what a laptop could do to cause this adapter to cycle power off and on while not exceeding 14.7A input. That’s what certain software loads are causing.
<image001.jpg>
<image002.jpg>
Scott
From: Scott Royall [
mailto:royall]
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 19:55
To: ‘Dave Murphy’; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Eddie_Matos; ‘Darrel Pinkston’; ‘Tom Martin’; Federico_Hernandez; Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)All,
I see I need to clarify a few points: I don’t have a 240W AC adapter. Erick equipped me with the 180W adapter, and that runs the same program load without complaint. However, anticipating Federico’s next question, I haven’t yet tested this load configuration with CPU_Z; it is possible—even likely—that Lilly (that’s this laptop) is indulging more heavily in throttling to comply with the limit of 180 watts.
Federico, what we are focusing on is the 240W Lind Electronics DC adapter mounted on my wheelchair. Dave Murphy is correct, it is that adapter that’s cycling off and on, and then only when certain conditions are met. (Nice memory, Dave.) This is where things get murky, based on fresh data I just collected.
In fact, I picked up an ammeter during my travels this afternoon, and just ran some load tests with the laptop and adapter already in the anomalous states. Peak input amperage to the adapter was ~14.7A, and peak current to the cluster of cigarette receptacles was 14.85A. The discrepancy is probably due to the idling current to my smartphone, which says this meter is functioning. In any case, neither reading was anywhere near the 20A limit. (Ahem, Darrel.)
Before we conclude that the problem lies with the adapter, I remind everybody that the laptop’s UEFI is identifying it as 240W so that information is reaching the laptop intact. Also, I haven’t yet had a chance to clamp the meter to the input to the laptop. (Although simple math says the peak current can’t exceed 8.82A even at 100% efficiency.)
While establishing an ongoing relationship with Mobile Mount would be helpful in many other areas, the latest data indicates this is one problem they cannot fix because the adapter isn’t drawing even close to the circuit limit, and the cigarette plug is cool to the touch.
Scott
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave]
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 13:18
To: Federico_Hernandez
Cc: royall; <Eddie_Matos>; Darrel Pinkston; Tom Martin
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Importance: HighHi all,
Based on the earlier messages I think Mr. Royall mentioned that the system worked fine with the AC adapter that came with the computer so we suspect the problem is that our adapter is not able to source enough input current to keep up the output our adapter is trying to provide. This could be because of the cigarette plug itself, the cigarette receptacle, or the wiring from the battery to the receptacle among other possibilities.
We are going to have one of our installation partners come out to Mr Royall’s home to try and analyze the input to our adapter and see if we can improve the path so that our adapter is able to get enough input current to properly power the laptop. In the next few days I am hoping to get some scheduling information from them so that we can coordinate a good time for them and Mr Royall to examine the situation so hopefully he can be up and running again soon.
Dave Murphy
Lind Electronics
952-927-6303
On Apr 29, 2015, at 12:15 PM, <Federico_Hernandez> <Federico_Hernandez> wrote:
Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Good Morning Mr. Royal,
After reviewing the screenshots you sent us, we suspect on the following items causing the issue:
1. The cigarette adapter mechanism isn’t providing consistent amperage.
2. The system is checking for the AC adapter ID and since it is not recognizing it, it is moving to battery mode.
I want to confirm you have tested a Dell Branded 240 watt Ac/Adapter. If you don’t have it, I can send you a 240 watts Ac/Adapter to see if we can discard the second option.
Regards,
Federico Hernandez Bermejo
Dell | Alienware Level 3
+1 (506) 8830-2891
My work schedule is 3pm – 10pm CST Monday to Friday.
How was your experience? Please contact my manager eddie_matos with any feedback.
We’ve recently launched Alienware’s Support Portal. Please visit http://support.dell.com/Alienware for the newest content, FAQ’s and most common solutions for all Alienware platforms.
From: Scott Royall [
mailto:royall]
Sent: April 24, 2015 1:52 PM
To: ‘Dave Murphy’
Cc: Matos, Eddie; Hernandez, Federico; ‘Darrel Pinkston’
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Mr. Murphy,
At a minimum, I must credit you for attempting to address my current dearth of skilled personnel. The executive summary of my response to your offer is that I would certainly be willing to meet with a representative of Mobile Mounts as there is nothing to be risked by doing so.
I note that Mobile Mounts is evidently not a regular member of the rehabilitative community, and I frankly regard that as a positive factor. Given your own extensive experience with rehabilitation organizations, you may have noticed a tendency to develop a suite of solutions that is then applied to the majority of cases with varying degrees of success. This tendency to standardize on a solution set is entirely understandable; nobody wants to keep reinventing the wheel. Yet, that sort of approach tends to become one more obstacle to people with my level of disability participating in society, because the individual characteristics of our disabilities and personalities often call for equally individualized engineering or application of diverse existing technologies.
In reference to safety, it is certainly important. However, each of us has to find our own balance between safety and functionalism. We all know the cliché that the safest course is to sit in a dark room and do nothing at all. Once you decide that is not acceptable for you personally, you necessarily start making trade-offs between safety and whatever it is you want to accomplish. I was a computer programmer for Shell Oil for 14 years, and my final location was a research facility where somewhat hazardous experiments were conducted routinely. Local management was initially alarmed that someone with my level of disability was transferred there, until the Health and Safety Director calmly pointed out that I had obviously decided to live my own life despite the fact that everything I did carried a somewhat elevated safety risk. Bright man. Although he had just met me, he correctly summed up my reality, and gave me credit for being capable to make my own responsible decisions. I believe Darrel also needs to follow that course. Every indication thus far is the problem I’m currently working is not due to your adapter or any part of it.
The photograph enclosed is roughly five years old, but it’s sufficient to give you a basic idea of what I’m doing with your products. It also shows that I too know a thing or two about service dogs.
Scott Royall
From: Dave Murphy [mailto:dave]
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2015 22:28
To: royall
Cc: Eddie_Matos; Federico_Hernandez; Darrel Pinkston
Subject: Re: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Hi Scott,
My name is Dave Murphy and I am the Vice President of Sales at Lind Electronics. My technical support engineer Darrel Pinkston, brought to my attention a recent problem we’ve encountered providing you with a sufficient product that meets your power supply needs. I want to begin by saying that we are sincere in looking to move forward and work together with you find a solution. A solution that both fulfills our commitment to safety and quality and meets your expectations as a customer. We sincerely appreciate the trust and loyalty you’ve place in us over the last several years.
I cannot be certain that you are only customer that uses our adaptors in tandem with a wheelchair, but I am however, proud that you have chosen us for what is a vital need. On a personal note, my wife and I are long time benefactors of two organizations dedicated to furthering the independence of individuals with physical disabilities. Helping Paws of Minnesota provides services dogs at no cost to those in need of an assistance animal and the Courage-Kenny institute assists people with rehabilitative services in a residential setting. My wife and I also have two golden retrievers who are registered therapy animals that have visited the Courage-Kinney Institute over the past ten years. She has worked with their adaptive water skiing program since 2003 as well.
Therefore, when I learned of the difficulties you were experiencing in using our adaptor to power your laptop, which is clearly an integral part of your independence, I wanted to find a solution. We have a long term partner that could come to your home and assist with testing and work with your system to try and optimize the wiring and connections to the battery. I have reached out to Mobile Mounts in Dallas and they said they’d be willing to help. They are a company that specializes in installing computers in all kinds of vehicles and they will be doing a project in Houston during the first part of May.
Again, please know that we are committed to working together with you to hopefully find a solution that is effective for you as well as fulfilling our safety requirements. I look forward to regaining your confidence in our products and integrity as a business. Please let me know if you would be interested in scheduling a time to meet with someone from Mobile Mounts to determine what we can do to resolve this situation.
Dave Murphy
VP Sales and Marketing
Lind Electronics
6414 Cambridge St.
Minneapolis, MN 55426
952-927-6303 phone
952-927-7740 fax
dave
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Scott Royall" <royall>
Subject: FW: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)
Date: April 22, 2015 2:04:53 PM CDT
To: <dpinkston>
Cc: <Eddie_Matos>, <Federico_Hernandez>
Darrel,
I said I didn’t have much alternative to doing business with you and sure enough, a situation pops up not a day later proving the point. Dell and I need your input on this matter. Salient points are:
· Your DE2090-3255 is rated at 240 watts by the laptop’s diagnostics.
· Laptop is only supposed to need 180 watts.
· Before you even ask, input voltage to adapter remains constant and the cigarette lighter plug isn’t even getting warm.
· Both the 240 and the 150W adapter exhibit the cycling behavior, but only when this particular laptop is heavily loaded.
Scott
From: Eddie_Matos [mailto:Eddie_Matos@
Dell.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 13:33
To: royall; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Please go ahead, would be very interested in hearing his opinion.
Thanks,
Eddie
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 12:25 PM
To: Matos, Eddie; Hernandez, Federico
Cc: Castro1, Carlos; Villalta, Erick
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)This is becoming even weirder. Out of curiosity, I recreated the conditions that cause the cycling behavior, and then looked down at the DC adapter. Yes, it’s cutting off every three seconds, but that leads to a bigger question. These adapters are reasonably intelligent, and the cycling behavior is a protective reaction to various conditions such as excessive current draw.
I would like your permission to add Lind’s head engineer to the discussion. I’ll even go ahead and answer his first question. The input voltage is steady and the cigarette lighter plug is cool to the touch so no need to point there.
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 12:34
To: Eddie_Matos; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Do you mean I’m once more cutting new trails (American colloquialism for exploring uncharted territory)? How very interesting!
Here’s another piece of the puzzle. This cycling behavior does NOT happen when Lilly is on her official AC adapter, which is weird since her own diagnostics say this DC adapter has 60 more watts available.
From: Eddie_Matos [mailto:Eddie_Matos]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 10:42
To: royall; Federico_Hernandez
Cc: Carlos_Castro1; Erick_Villalta
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Scott, I am adding Fede, my senior-est of techs to the thread.
Fede, please see below. My interpretation of Mr. Royall’s description would be the Hybrid Power Throttling issue that we’ve been working with product group. What do you think?
Eddie
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 3:43 PM
To: Matos, Eddie
Cc: Castro1, Carlos; Villalta, Erick
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Eddie.
Funny that you should ask about the 180W adapter, because I was able to dodge storms and flat tires this weekend long enough to link up with a friend from West Texas who ordered one of those 180W adapters from that troublesome company up in Minnesota and added a cigarette lighter plug. The adapter is in place on the chair and working. In fact, I just ran the laptop’s diagnostics to see how many watts it thought the adapter was generating, and was surprised to see 240. That should be more than enough, but we do still have an anomaly (and that’s why I added Carlos and Erick to the distribution list).
If I put enough of a load on the system, it will start cycling back and forth between the battery and external power roughly every three seconds. This isn’t a big problem because I can configure the power plan so both modes appear to be the same on-screen, but I suppose it would eventually drain the battery if I somehow ran Lilly hard enough long enough. Then again, that would also tend to drain my wheelchair batteries so I’m unlikely to go to those extremes. It is, however, something for Alienware to dig into and investigate.
Scott
From: Eddie_Matos [mailto:Eddie_Matos]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 14:39
To: royall
Cc: Bernadete_Padua
Subject: RE: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell – Internal Use – Confidential
Great news on Lilly! Any issues with the 180 power requirements?
I’ll take care of Farat.
Thanks,
Eddie
From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 1:07 PM
To: Matos, Eddie
Cc: Padua – Mateo, Bernadete
Subject: FW: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Eddie,
Would you please muzzle Farat? The poor guy has not a clue, and I seriously doubt Dedet’s “teeth” are sharp enough to make the slightest impression upon his hide.
In other news, “Lilly” is measuring up quite nicely to the reputation of its namesake and preceding M15. Not even bright sunlight or nasty weather have deterred it from its assigned tasks.
Scott
From: Farat_Herman [mailto:Farat_Herman]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 11:36
To: royall
Subject: Regarding the Dell Computer (Incident: 30726783)Dell Customer Communication
Dear Mr. Royall,
This is with reference to the correspondence that reached our corporate office. We appreciate you taking the time to bring this issue to our attention. I tried reaching you on 281-923-3594 to discuss the issue and left a voicemail as you were unavailable. Please provide an alternate phone number and the best time to reach you.
I am looking forward to a response from you at the earliest.
Regards,
Farat Herman
Dell | Advanced Resolution Group
Phone +1 800 624 9897 Ext.: 72-83898
My work schedule is from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm CST Monday to Friday.
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