The AccuVote that Came in from the Cold

["Ian Piper" <ian@gesn.com>]

 

Does cold (20F) have a significant effect on the units?

Yes.  The unit is meant to operate in a temperature range of 40F to 100F.  It should be allowed to warm up to within that temperature range before attempting operation.

 

Some of the things that cold does to an AccuVote:

- The grease in the readers bearings gels up.  This may cause the reader to be sluggish and reject ballots, until it warms up.

- The LCD will be dim, until it warms up.

- The battery operating time will be shortened, until it warms up.

- Moving from a cold environment into a warm environment may cause condensation to form on the circuitry.  In dryer climes, that is less likely.

    I took 79464 back to the office and attempted to force a ballot through to clear any debris that might be in the unit. You could not force a ballot through. The motor would start up when a ballot was inserted but it did not appear that the drive wheel was turning. I removed the motor, turned the gear by hand and replaced the motor. Same problem but I wqs able to force a ballot through from the back.

That doesn't make any sense.  If you could push a ballot through from the rear, why couldn't you push a ballot through from the front?  Unless the blockage in the paper path gives way with paper coming at it from the rear.

 

Could you see a blockage, if you looked at the paper path from the exit area with a light shining through from the entrance?  Primarily check the card guides on either side of the paper path to ensure that they are clear.  The card guides are the narrow gap on the either side of the paper path, that prevents two ballots from moving through the reader.

 

Ian