User's Manual

77
Section 7. Optional Equipment and Accessories
77-0100-001 12 September 2000
Communicating with Other Devices
The vehicle cradle is designed with a standard serial port so you can connect external devices such as a printer or
modem. Specify COM2 when you select the communications port in your application. Connect the external device to
the serial port on the back of the cradle, and then place the GoBook onto the vehicle cradle. You can install or
remove the computer from the vehicle cradle without connecting or disconnecting a printer or modem cable from the
computer.
Important
• A temperature of -20ºC to +60ºC (-4ºF to +140ºF) is recommended when
charging batteries with the vehicle cradle. Batteries may not charge
successfully outside this temperature range.
• If you charge your battery daily, rely on the gas gauge reading to determine
battery capacity. The gas gauge displayed by Battery Status may show that
the battery is full, but the external power indicator light may still be blinking.
This typically occurs if the charge mode switched from Fast to Slow because
the battery became too hot. The charging process is trying to put a little more
capacity into the battery; however, external power can be removed since the
battery is virtually full.
• If your battery is new or has not been used for several weeks, rely on the
indicator light to determine when the battery is fully charged. The gas gauge
is unreliable in these cases; it may read 100 percent, but the actual capacity is
only 10 percent.