thanks jack

thanks jack

As you recall, I had a bad experience with the docking station. I sent it back to Metronet and they will be sending me a new one.

My question in the meantime -- to all you docking owners -- is:

Did you also have problems with the "blinking light" on the docking station? What did you do to resolve it?

My brother told me that after the light started flashing, he simply pushed some buttons on the Pronto, it came to life, and then it charged up fine.

My guess is that since the battery seems to ship completely uncharged, the Pronto doesn't sense that it has a battery in it until the battery reaches some voltage level.....

Enough rambling. Anyone have any answers?? Thanks.

Rob,
We have now received back your faulty dock and I have looked at it personally. My conclusion is that the problem is in the battery pack. I believe that ther is an intermittent connection between the cells. I placed the pack into my demo Pronto, dropped it in the charger, and the charger clearly is passing voltage as the Pronto comes on in the charger. When I lifted it out of the charger it was dead to the world. I then laid it face down on the table and a few seconds later, it beeped (turned on). I then put a slight pressure on the top of the battery pack and it again went dead.
Conclusion: Bad battery pack.
We will get you a complete new dock as soon as we receive them from Philips. Sorry for the trouble. I guess the battery was assembled on a friday. FYI It comes out a French Philips facility. I am also checking into alternative sources and replacement battery packs.

Thanks for the info, Jack. Look forward to receiving the replacement!

Thx for the input on the NiMH "memory" question. I was aware of the statement in the instruction manual, but with all of this discussion about batt. life, I just thought that I'd ask.

Rob, I had the same problem with my dock. initially. The first time I placed my Pronto on the dock, it started flashing instead of just steady lighting, so, after I took out the battery pack and replaced it, set it back on the dock, it was fine...go figure???? The unit hasn't given me a problem since, so I assume everything's ok. Good luck with your new one, but I'm sure Jack will probably check it out before you get this one!! :)

I also had trouble initially with my dock. It turned out that the (-) contacts within the Pronto battery compartment were not pressing firmly enough against the battery pack. If you too are having trouble with the battery, you may want to check the contacts.

The Pronto would appear to have no power until I pressed down on the bottom of the battery - then the lights on the hard buttons would flicker but the unit would not stay on.

I examined the battery/battery compartment and noticed that the outer two bottom contacts supply negative(-). I took a small pin and used it to pry these two contacts so that they protruded slightly more. Put the battery back in and voila! Now it works perfectly. One note of caution - be careful that you do not exert too much force bending the contact or it may snap off.