Carlson Surveyor 2 Battery Life Indicator Problem

YES YES YES

I have a support ticket in with Hayes on that since December and have not heard a thing about it. (I will call them back to rattle the cage) I thought after only a year my battery was going bad, as it would be 100%, but then after some use drop to 15%, then 5%, so I replaced the battery. I also thought the charger wasn't seated right as it would only show 5% charged after being on overnight. Replacing the battery did not solve the problem, and lately it has been doing another thing, it comes up with this nag message about the power system monitor not responding, and the window has to be closed every few minutes. DC seems to still work OK, just that box keeps popping up.

toivo1037, post: 408608, member: 973 wrote: YES YES YES

I have a support ticket in with Hayes on that since December and have not heard a thing about it. (I will call them back to rattle the cage) I thought after only a year my battery was going bad, as it would be 100%, but then after some use drop to 15%, then 5%, so I replaced the battery. I also thought the charger wasn't seated right as it would only show 5% charged after being on overnight. Replacing the battery did not solve the problem, and lately it has been doing another thing, it comes up with this nag message about the power system monitor not responding, and the window has to be closed every few minutes. DC seems to still work OK, just that box keeps popping up.

Oh great...more problems. I know a lot of people love Carlson, but my experience has been awful with them both field and office. Let me know what you find out!

The following Knowledgebase Articles might provide some ideas:

• Juniper Systems articles for the Allegro2: See Power (Battery or External Supply)
• Carlson article 981: Carlson Surveyor 2 ‰ÛÒ Battery won‰Ûªt charge
• Carlson article 994: Power Monitor Error on Surveyor 2

Otherwise, a common suggestion I provide to clients is to:

1. Pull the battery(ies) from the unit.
2. With the battery(ies) removed, press and hold the Power button on the collector for 15 seconds to discharge an internal capacitor in the unit.
3. Re-insert the battery(ies) and power the unit back on.

I hope this information helps.

First, make sure you are running the latest version of firmware: 1.7.6
There have been some power related issues. Once you have the latest firmware, and have gone through a charge cycle, if the problem persists I would call Juniper Systems (actually I would just stop in as they are only 8 blocks from our Logan place) but you can call them: 435.753.1881. Everyone at Juniper is absolutely tops. They always have been that way. If there is an endemic issue, then they will take care of you directly (at least in my experience.)

However, this is a good time to talk about charging batteries. Lithium Ion batteries are like puppies. If you leave them in your truck when it is really hot, it will kill them. And if you charge them at temperatures below freezing you will also kill them. From the extreme temperature section of Charging Lithium Ion batteries on Wikipedia:

[INDENT]Consumer-grade lithium-ion batteries should not be charged at temperatures below 0 å¡C (32 å¡F). Although a battery pack may appear to be charging normally, electroplating of metallic lithium can occur at the negative electrode during a subfreezing charge, and may not be removable even by repeated cycling. Most devices equipped with Li-ion batteries do not allow charging outside of 0‰ÛÒ45 å¡C for safety reasons, except for mobile phones that may allow some degree of charging when they detect an emergency call in progress[/INDENT]

I would also pull the battery and determine if the cell pack has bulged. If it has, then there is your answer (we assume that a bulged battery pack has been left in a vehicle in the summer.) I suspect that replacing the cell pack may fix your issue completely. The way to get the freshest battery pack is to order from Juniper Systems directly. Here is the [ Link ] look midway down the page.

toivo1037, post: 408608, member: 973 wrote: YES YES YES

I have a support ticket in with Hayes on that since December and have not heard a thing about it. (I will call them back to rattle the cage) I thought after only a year my battery was going bad, as it would be 100%, but then after some use drop to 15%, then 5%, so I replaced the battery. I also thought the charger wasn't seated right as it would only show 5% charged after being on overnight. Replacing the battery did not solve the problem, and lately it has been doing another thing, it comes up with this nag message about the power system monitor not responding, and the window has to be closed every few minutes. DC seems to still work OK, just that box keeps popping up.

I have been having the same issues. It just started within the last two weeks. I find it unfortunate that others are experiencing the same issue, but am glad to see this thread.

Mark Silver, post: 408671, member: 1087 wrote: First, make sure you are running the latest version of firmware: 1.7.6
There have been some power related issues. Once you have the latest firmware, and have gone through a charge cycle, if the problem persists I would call Juniper Systems (actually I would just stop in as they are only 8 blocks from our Logan place) but you can call them: 435.753.1881. Everyone at Juniper is absolutely tops. They always have been that way. If there is an endemic issue, then they will take care of you directly (at least in my experience.)

However, this is a good time to talk about charging batteries. Lithium Ion batteries are like puppies. If you leave them in your truck when it is really hot, it will kill them. And if you charge them at temperatures below freezing you will also kill them. From the extreme temperature section of Charging Lithium Ion batteries on Wikipedia:

[INDENT]Consumer-grade lithium-ion batteries should not be charged at temperatures below 0 å¡C (32 å¡F). Although a battery pack may appear to be charging normally, electroplating of metallic lithium can occur at the negative electrode during a subfreezing charge, and may not be removable even by repeated cycling. Most devices equipped with Li-ion batteries do not allow charging outside of 0‰ÛÒ45 å¡C for safety reasons, except for mobile phones that may allow some degree of charging when they detect an emergency call in progress[/INDENT]

I would also pull the battery and determine if the cell pack has bulged. If it has, then there is your answer (we assume that a bulged battery pack has been left in a vehicle in the summer.) I suspect that replacing the cell pack may fix your issue completely. The way to get the freshest battery pack is to order from Juniper Systems directly. Here is the [ Link ] look midway down the page.

Mark, when upgrading to the latest firmware is it also necessary to load Carlson SurvCE again? Is this a pretty straight forward procedure.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here is a shortcut for updating the firmware on a Surveyor2 (actually and DC):

1. Copy the entire 'SurvCE' folder from the 'Program Files' directory to the SD card (or your PC).
2. Make sure you don't have any other user data (GEOIDS or such) laying around on other places. Backup if you do.
3. Do the firmware/OS update, which will delete EVERYTHING on the data collector (but leaves the SD card alone.)
4. After the update, copy the SurvCE folder back to 'Program Files'.
5. Now reinstall the latest version of SurvCE in the major version train. For example if you were at 4.03, install 4.07; if you were at 5.02 then install 5.04 (the latest version number will change over time if you happen to be reading this in the future.

The advantage of copying the whole folder is that you won't need to re-enter your serial number or change key.

Yep, Hayes just called, and that is pretty much what they recommended. I am running 1.5.something, and the latest is 1.7.something, so firmware update it the first step. They also said there had been power nitpicky problems with the power that were fixed here and there with the firmware versions. One of the issues was something about the bluetooth pulling too much power and triggering some issues. My latest/biggest issues were in the colder weather, and while tethered to teh GPS head with bluetooth. The newest firmware supposedly also helped the amount of power that is chewed up while the DC is sleeping - but not powered off. That was my biggest early gripe is a lot of times it would only last a day or 2 in sleep mode.

I'm not going to attempt this today, but will report back when I am done.

Mark Silver, post: 408735, member: 1087 wrote: Here is a shortcut for updating the firmware on a Surveyor2 (actually and DC):

1. Copy the entire 'SurvCE' folder from the 'Program Files' directory to the SD card (or your PC).
2. Make sure you don't have any other user data (GEOIDS or such) laying around on other places. Backup if you do.
3. Do the firmware/OS update, which will delete EVERYTHING on the data collector (but leaves the SD card alone.)
4. After the update, copy the SurvCE folder back to 'Program Files'.
5. Now reinstall the latest version of SurvCE in the major version train. For example if you were at 4.03, install 4.07; if you were at 5.02 then install 5.04 (the latest version number will change over time if you happen to be reading this in the future.

The advantage of copying the whole folder is that you won't need to re-enter your serial number or change key.

Thanks Mark. Got everything loaded and all seems good at this point. Haven't been able to get it out and put it through its paces yet, but I'm confident it'll work out fine.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have two Surveyor 2's with the correct build. One continues to give me "The power system has stopped responding. Close all files and applications. Press and hold the power button to reset the device." This machine has been running for about 6 months daily without a hitch. Until the weather turned cold, I believe that it is weather related. I am talking Southern California cold weather, sub 32å¡, not sub zero. Carlson help recommend what Mark has discussed above, but with the current build, I think it is the hardware not the software.

I have the the same problem, but mine will not respond when I tap the battery when in SurvCE. I have to exit out of SurvCE and back in to SurvCE and than the battery symbol will respond.
I also have a problem with Bluetooth. It will not communicate with my Nikon Nivo 2m.
Carlson has tired but have not been able to help.
Consensus of other surveyors I have talked to is Nikon is making it that you have to use their equipment.
I am going to try a new firmware update and see what happens.

I know this is an old thread, but ran into the Power Monitor Error issue and have been just dealing with it for a while. Finally called up Juniper Systems and they directed me to a patch for this. Figured I'd post it here for anyone else needing this fix.

https://www.junipersys.com/support/article/14429

That patch worked! Until yesterday. When the temp fell below 35?ø. Anyone else apply that patch for a temporary fix? Disheartening..