Where/how to purchase spare classmate

[Mark McLeod]

Originally Posted by thefro526

(I'm really starting to miss the blue box from last year.)

I have one you could borrow

[PhilBot]

Originally Posted by Mark McLeod

I have one you could borrow

Joking right? They're not legal are they (I have several) ???

I wish they were

[PhilBot]

Originally Posted by thefro526

I believe we have a spare battery in route, but I'd be more comfortable with another source...

Any way you could find out exactly what you ordered, and where from?

[Mark McLeod]

Originally Posted by PhilBot

Joking right? They're not legal are they (I have several) ???

I wish they were

Just joking...
There's no power for them at the Driver Stations this year either, so they'd be deader than a Classmate with a weak battery...
about the same as your Classmate...

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by Mark McLeod

I have one you could borrow

Hmmm... if only we could use them... *Sigh*

Originally Posted by PhilBot

Any way you could find out exactly what you ordered, and where from?

I'm having a hard time getting a definitive answer as to what we bought, because apparently we may have ordered the wrong battery...

But, here is a page that lists three different battery models, you may have to call them to get a correct answer:

http://www.ctlcorp.com/v4/c-70-2go-p...ook-parts.aspx

[PhilBot]

Originally Posted by The Lucas

We bought the iGo battery from Radio Shack. Seemed to work fine when we used it during Philly elims.

I see these on sale online at igo.com

If I try to locate a charging tip that works with the 2GO netbook is says it can't find one. Does the tip you use have a number on it? ANy other way to ID it?

Does the Radio-Shack one come with a compatible tip?

Thanks.

[PhilBot]

Originally Posted by thefro526

I'm having a hard time getting a definitive answer as to what we bought, because apparently we may have ordered the wrong battery...
http://www.ctlcorp.com/v4/c-70-2go-p...ook-parts.aspx

That's what I wanted to avoid.... Not having a lot of luck with Tech support.....

[The Lucas]

Originally Posted by PhilBot

Funny... I thought you were pointing to a battery....

So you used the Igo charger powered from a 12V battery (like a car charger).

Gets rid of clunky inverter.

Cool.

Sorry, I meant DC-DC converter. People keep referring to it as the "battery" now they have got me doing it. I'm pretty sure we use it with an Anderson connector as instead of cigarette adapter. I really didnt work on it or even see the finished product (just a cable attached to the cart), I just suggested it based on a Eugene Brooks post.

[EDIT]

Originally Posted by PhilBot

I see these on sale online at igo.com

If I try to locate a charging tip that works with the 2GO netbook is says it can't find one. Does the tip you use have a number on it? ANy other way to ID it?

Does the Radio-Shack one come with a compatible tip?

Thanks.

I think we just bought it from Radio Shack. It was purchased and built quickly as we were motivated by loss of comms due to low Classmate battery in Chesapeake SF1-4 that lead to our elimination. You probably could compare power adapter tips in the store.

Originally Posted by thefro526

Brian, to make this work you did what, just cut off the cigarette lighter end and replace it with an Anderson battery connector? I just realized that we need to figure out some system to keep our Classmate Charged for the Championship, since up to now we relied on the pits being 30 seconds away from the field... I believe we have a spare battery in route, but I'd be more comfortable with another source...

(I'm really starting to miss the blue box from last year.)

Someone tried to bring them back the blue box DS at Philly this year. It worked in the shop atleast. Luckily, we got them a Classmate and updated code.
[/EDIT]

[Mark McLeod]

Originally Posted by The Lucas

Someone tried to bring them back the blue box DS at Philly this year. It worked in the shop atleast. Luckily, we got them a Classmate and updated code.

Same thing happened with one team at SBPLI, luckily they brought their (never opened) Classmate box with them.

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by The Lucas

I think we just bought it from Radio Shack. It was purchased and built quickly as we were motivated by loss of comms due to low Classmate battery in Chesapeake SF1-4 that lead to our elimination. You probably could compare power adapter tips in the store.

I'm going to look into the model of inverter you guys purchased. Luckily, the only time our classmate died on us was in a practice match.

Originally Posted by The Lucas

Someone tried to bring them back the blue box DS at Philly this year. It worked in the shop atleast. Luckily, we got them a Classmate and updated code.

I can't wait for a team to show up at an event with a full IFI system... Lol.

[PhilBot]

I just got the (only) iGO travel charger at my local (45 miles away) Radio Shack.

So... in case anyone wants to buy the cheaper unit online from www.iGO.com ... the card that comes with the unit indicates that the "206" tip is the one for the CTL 2GO Netbook. I'll know later if it really is the right one

[PhilBot]

As a fallback plan, I've also purchased a replacement battery.... hopefully the problem is in the old battery, not the Classmate itself.

This is what I was told to order:

Replacement/Spare 6 Cell Battery for 2go Classmate PC Atom and Celeron (EO9)
SKU: NBB2GO96CELL

http://www.ctlcorp.com/v4/p-811-repl...leron-eo9.aspx

Can't help feeling slightly ripped off paying $120 for the battery of a $440 PC.

[The Lucas]

Originally Posted by PhilBot

I just got the (only) iGO travel charger at my local (45 miles away) Radio Shack.

So... in case anyone wants to buy the cheaper unit online from www.iGO.com ... the card that comes with the unit indicates that the "206" tip is the one for the CTL 2GO Netbook. I'll know later if it really is the right one

I'm glad you got one. I forgot about your locale, 45 mi to Radio Shack is crazy . I drive past at least 3 Radio Shacks on the 10 mi drive to our shop.

[TeraViks]

If anyone has a "dead" classmate, I'd like to buy it from you for the screen. Ours decided to take a dive off the table and the screen is now only half viewable (other half blank). The PC works OK, and I hate to spend $500 to replace it. Oh, and the power charger was so disgusted with the PC diving, it ran away and cannot be located (need it too).

Thanks!

Brian
Team 3145, TeraViks

[Jon Jack]

We thought we had a dead Classmate. The computer quit recognizing the battery. Anytime we'd boot the classmate, it would try to boot Windows and then shut down (thinking its battery was dead) or it wouldn't boot at all. When we swapped the battery into a different classmate everything worked just fine. No problems with the battery...

Before we went down the road of getting a replacement (which did not look like a trivial process) we called GoToPC's tech support.

Apparently they are aware of this issue and they have a fix. I was not the one that called, so I cannot say what the fix is. The person that did call said it was a hardware reset and the Classmate has been working just fine since. Give them a call... It might not be as bad as it seems...