Smart Battery Workshop is a tool,
which is useful in a process of notebook battery repair. It uses
Philis Standard I2C Parallel
Port Adapter
that can be assembled in one hour by person with no electronics skills
and does not require any hard-to-find components. Total components cost
is around $1. (Must be assembled by user.)
Main features:
- Smart Battery Workshop provides read-only access to all the
data listed in Smart
Battery DataSpecification Revision 1.1 via
LPT->SMBus adapter directly from battery terminals (57
parameters).
All the BitFlags are decoded into human readable clear text.
- Allows user to reset Smart Battery EEPROM to its initial
values.
This will erase all tracks of previous battery usage. All the Permanent
Failure Flags if such will be found will be cleared. This will unlock
the battery if it is locked . So user will have a "brand new" battery
after repacking. Electronics skills are also not needed. Everything
works automatically. No editable fields. Just choose chipset and press
"Reset" button. The software will recognize MCU firmware version and
will make all neccessary changes. Chipsets supported by current version.
- Allows to read and write contents of EEPROM chips most
frequently
used in batteries. Fully functional EEPROM/FLASH programer included.
Chips supported by current version: 24C01, 24C02, 24C04, S29190A,
S29220A, 93C66, 93C76, S29394A, S29194A, AK6440A, AK6480A, AK93C45A,
25LC040, BR9040.
- Allows to read battery data directly from EEPROM dump file.
You can analyze your dump just choosing it in "EEPROM Read/Write" tab.
(For supported chipsets only).
- Allows to analyze battery and slect cells for battery pack.
Battery
Analyzer included. A simple hardware required. Connections are shown here.
This software has no parameters to be
adjusted by
user. Simply connect the battery or EEPROM chip to adapter and start
the program. The only thing user has to remember - adapter must be
connected to LPT1 with the following settings in BIOS: address - 378,
modes - EPP or ECP. SBWorkshop can be run under the following versions
of Windows: Win95/Win98/WinME/Win2000/Win2003/WinXP. If you
work
under Win95/98/ME then SMARTVSD.VXD MUST be installed: just copy it
from \windows\system to \windows\system\iosubsys and reboot.
No special requirements for PC hardware. Full version will be tied to
your Primary Master hard disk.
F.A.Q.
Q. How can I read
the battery data?
A. You need to
connect SCL, SDA and GND
pins of adapter to SCL, SDA and GND pins of the battery with any
suitable wires. Then press "Read" button. Cells must be connected and
battery must be initialized if you just assemble it (in some cases). To
initialize the battery you need just to apply power to "+" and "-"
battery terminals from any DC power source (about
9V).
Q. Where are SCL,
SDA and GND pins on my battery?
A. Different
batteries have different
terminal pinouts so the only way is to try different combinations.
Connect GND pin of adapter to GND terminal of your battery then try
different combinations of connecting SCL and SDA pins. SCL and SDA pins
are always next to each other. It will take no more then 5 minutes. You
need just not to connect battery "+" terminal to adapter. All other
combinations are safe. But you have to remember that not all
the
batteries are SBS compliant.
Q. What does it
mean, "to reset the battery"?
A.It means to
erase all tracks of previous
battery usage and to roll back all the vital parameters to factory new.
For example, to roll back charge/discharge counts to zero, to make Full
Charge Capacity equal to Design Capacity, to make Manufacture Date
equal to current date, to erase Permanent Failure Flag (Error Flag) and
so on. All above changes are made in SBWorkshop
with just
one button click .
Q. How can I reset
my battery?
A.Actually, to
reset the battery you need
to reset EEPROM chip because EEPROM chip is the place, where tracks
of previous battery usage are stored. Unsolder cells, connect
EEPROM chip to adapter (described in GIF file with chip name in ZIP
with demo), choose the chipset in "Chipset" listbox and press "Reset
EEPROM" button. Then you can assemble the battery.
Q. I have a dump
file from another similar battery. Can i refill my dead battery with
this dump?
A. It's extremely
undesirable to use dump
from another battery. Each battery has its own individual configuration
data, which is stored in EEPROM. Using dump from another
battery
can't guarantee proper battery working.
Q. Do I have to
unsolder EEPROM chip when I want to reset it or I can leave it on board
and tap the wires?
A. We recommend
you always to unsolder the chip.
Q. "I have no Visa
or Master Card" or "I live in <some country>" how can I
pay for the program?
A. All the
payments are made via Share-It!
Payment Processing System (Germany) or via Plimus Payment Processing
System (USA) so all the questions should be addressed them.
Q. What is a
chipset?
A.Chipset is a
combination of microcontroller chip and EEPROM chip. E.g. M37515 and
SL220.
Q. Can I use my
notebook/desktop internal power source to power up the adapter?
A. Yes. You can
connect USB power wire
(red) to +5V terminal of adapter. You need just one wire. No need to
connect GND as it's connected via internal PC
circuits.
Q. What is SMBus
Packet Error Checking?
A. Packet Error
Checking (PEC) as a
mechanism to confirm proper communication between SMBus devices. Using
this mechanism makes SBData reading more accurate. However, if you
don't know if your battery supports PEC and you want to find SCL and
SDA terminals then leave PEC unchecked because old batteries
don't support PEC. When terminals found you can chek PEC checkbox and
find out if PEC is supported.
