Power Meters?

On Mon, 10 May 2021 22:50:44 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Sun, 09 May 2021 21:00:05 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

So, what will it take to convince you to switch to the dark side and
get a smartphone?

A halfway-decent keyboard would do it.

"Are there still any phones with a physical QWERTY keyboard?"
https://www.androidauthority.com/keyboard-phones-845839/

The problems with mechanical keyboards on cell phones numerous:
1. Keyboards add cost.
2. Keyboards get dirty and jam or become intermittent, especially
heavily used keys.
3. Keyboard area is typically same size as screen area, which tends
to create a rather large phone.
4. Membrane keyboards are easily destroyed by sharp fingernails and
"pointers".
5. Keyboard layout is fixed, while an on-screen keyboard can be
adjusted for whatever is needed (QWERTY, foreign language, number pad,
scientific symbols on calculator, simple yes/no, etc).
6. My spatulated finger tips, from years of piano pounding, do not
work well with tiny mechanical keys.
7. etc...

There's a reason that on screen keyboards are far more common than
physical mechanical keyboards. Are you sure that on screen keyboards
are so intolerable that you would prefer to live with the
aforementioned problems?

And, of course, a battery that won't run out in the middle of a ride.

The typical smart phone has a 2500 to 3000 ma-hr battery. My current
phone (Moto G Power 2020) has a 5000 ma-hr battery. I charge it every
3 days, which is about when it gets to 50% charge. I once ran it down
to 25% charge, which took 5 days. Except for endless games of
Solitaire, which is a real battery burn due to backlighting, I only
talk about 10 minutes per day. If you're in a low signal area, where
the phone compensates by increasing transmitter power, battery life
will probably be less.

Perhaps a smart phone could come with a hand-cranked generator like
the one in my ninety-nine cent flashlight.

That's an optional extra:
https://www.google.com/search?q=hand+crank+phone+charger&tbm=isch
Prices vary from $5 on eBay, to about $300 for something that will
survive a nuclear war. I have a $15 charger which has proven to be
totally useless because it can take several hours to obtain a full
charge. However, it's great for keeping visitors busy and
entertained.

People are always saying "and I have an entire library in my phone!".
A friend was unexpectedly detained for two hours. I commented "at
least you had a lot of books on your phone"; he answered "I didn't
want to run the battery down."

1. Carry an e-Paper reader, such as the popular Kindle "paper white"
readers. If I plan to do some heavy reading, I copy all the necessary
PDF files from either the cloud (internet), or one of my devices, to
the reader. Reading on a reflective, no backlighting, type display is
MUCH easier on my eyes than something that shines a light in my eyes
while reading.

2. Carry a battery bank.
https://www.google.com/search?q=battery+bank&tbm=isch
I have several scattered around in my house or car. The local coffee
shop used to have them available for customers who run down their
laptop, tablet, or phone battery. One nice thing about Li-Ion
batteries is that they maintain their charge for a long time without
self discharging. You can charge up a battery bank and it's ready
when you need it. However, there is one catch. Li-Ion batteries
sometimes catch fire. I suggest a heavy metal box for storing the
battery bank when not in use.

Perhaps, for me, the solution would be a flip phone for communication,
and a disconnected smart phone for taking voice-to-text notes.

That's exactly what I did for about 2 years. However, the
smartphone(s) did use Wi-Fi to pickup email, download updates, text
messages (Skype), and otherwise communicate on the internet. It had
everything a smartphone might need, but no cellular data contract,
much like many tablet computers.

Then
running the battery down would not be an existential problem. And I
would not need instant access to the smart phone, and could carry it
in a pannier or my go bag.

I try not to run my batteries down below about 25%. Li-Ion batteries
do not like being run down and announce their displeasure by
drastically reducing their expected lifetime. Most "smart" devices
will turn themselves off below some preset limit.

Anything that has to go into a holster on my belt is absolutely OUT. I
don't wear a belt.

I have good news for you. Utility belts are now a fashion accessory:
https://www.google.com/search?q=utility+belt+fashion&tbm=isch
If you don't like wearing one on the waist, there's always the over
the shoulder style available. If you want something less "aggressive"
looking, I suggest an EDC (every day carry) sheath or bag:
https://us.newchic.com/ekphero-wallets-3614/p-1704506.html
Finding one that is arranged to your specifications might be
difficult. However, if you don't mind buying some leathercraft tools
or breaking a few heavy duty sewing machine needles, you can probably
hand or machine sew a nice leather (or cloth) version.

One opportunity to design a phone to your liking died with Google
Project Ara:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara
https://www.google.com/search?q=project+ara&tbm=isch
The idea was to create a modular phone that could be assembled into
something that you find acceptable or convenient. I still think it's
a good idea, but will need to wait until there is more demand for a
customizable phone.


--
Jeff Liebermann
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Tue, 11 May 2021 08:15:56 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

There's a reason that on screen keyboards are far more common than
physical mechanical keyboards. Are you sure that on screen keyboards
are so intolerable that you would prefer to live with the
aforementioned problems?

I forgot to mention that you can get a small folding Bluetooth
keyboard that works with a smartphone:
https://www.google.com/search?q=bluetooth+keyboard+for+phone&tbm=isch
https://www.google.com/search?q=bluetooth+keyboard+for+phone
A Bluetooth mouse will also work, so you could use a smartphone as if
it were a laptop or desktop with external keyboard and mouse. I tried
this several years ago and had problems with "gestures" which are
difficult to reproduce with a mouse and/or keyboard, such as two
finger scrolling. Anyway, if you're planning on doing some writing on
a smartphone, but don't want to poke at the screen, an external
keyboard might be useful.

--
Jeff Liebermann
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558