Hello. Thanks for checking out the Ego Booster. A number of questions have been asked about the product here and in other forums. Artisan John, our resident electrical wizard, conjured up this FAQ to answer most of them in one place. Actually he didn't conjure it so much as type it, but "conjure" sounds much more wizardy.
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What is the Ego Booster and how does it work?
The Ego Booster is a high frequency buck-boost switching power supply, which can supply a current of up to 3 amps with an input voltage range of 2.5 to 6 volts. The adjustment knob allows variation of the output voltage from a constant 3.3 to 4.7 volts, independent of the input voltage.
Does the Ego Booster pulse or switch its output in any way?
No, other than the normal switching of the buck-boost circuit, if the Ego Booster is supplied with a steady DC voltage, it will produce a steady DC voltage at the rated output current. Thus if you power the Ego Booster with a battery capable of delivering the rated current, it will produce a smooth DC output at whatever voltage you set it to.
If the input voltage to the Ego Booster is pulsed, for instance like the output of an eGo battery, then the output of the Ego Booster will also be pulsed. The Ego Booster will "superimpose" its output voltage on the input voltage supplied to it. Thus if the input voltage is switching (like the PWM output of an eGo battery) between 0 and 3.7 volts, the output of the Ego Booster will switch between 0 volts and whatever the Booster's output voltage is set to.
The output of the Ego Booster (when supplied with a DC input ) is smooth enough to power electronic circuitry, so it can be used as a 3 A variable voltage power supply for electronic projects.
Will I damage the Ego Booster if I connect it to the wrong battery?
Absolutely not. The Ego Booster has a plethora of safety features built into its circuitry, such as short circuit protection, input voltage dropout protection, current limiting, and over temperature shutdown.
The concern in plugging the Ego Booster to an unknown battery is with the battery. If the battery cannot handle the current the Ego Booster draws from it, then the battery could be damaged. This is why we recommend using only genuine eGo batteries (and high current replaceable batteries), since they have both been tested and proven to work reliably with the Ego Booster.
How are you able to make the Ego Booster so tiny?
The eGo Booster uses a state-of-the-art buck-boost switching power supply that switches at 2.4 MHz. Operating at such a high frequency allows the components in the circuit (inductors and capacitors specifically) to be very small relative to circuits that operate at lower frequencies. Technology has only recently advanced to the point where a 3A power supply could be built small enough to be compatible with the eGo form factor: the Ego Booster is the result.
Why didn't you make the output voltage range bigger?
4.7 volts was found to be the highest voltage that could be produced by the Ego Booster using a standard 650 mAHr eGo battery and driving a SR (2.5-3.0 ohm) atomizer. At higher voltages, the eGo battery's own limiting kicks in and the output power hits a maximum. At that point you don't notice any additional increase in vapor production as you adjust the output voltage higher. So there was no point in trying to drive a SR atty higher than 4.7 volts on an eGo battery.
Does the Ego Booster work with LR atties?
Absolutely! However, depending on the capacity of the battery you are using, you will find that the maximum output of the battery will limit out at a much lower voltage setting. The net effect is that the adjustment range of the knob (i.e. the range of knob adjustment for which you notice a change in the vapor output) will be reduced. For instance, we found that with 1.5 ohm LR atties there really is only a noticeable change in vapor production over the lower 1/2 to 1/3 of the knob adjustment range, compared to standard resistance atties which can use the entire adjustment range.
However, if you plug the Ego Booster into a mod with an IMR battery which can handle the higher current, then you should be able to adjust the output voltage over a much greater range. The limiting factor under these conditions would be the eGo Booster's maximum current output, which is 3A. If you try to draw more current than 3A out of the Ego Booster, the current limiting will kick in and the output voltage will stay constant.
Does the Ego Booster work with the Riva or other 3.7 fat batt devices?
Sadly, no. We found that 3.7 volt fat batts just could not produce the current required by the Ego Booster. As mentioned previously, if you connect an Ego Booster to one of these devices you will not damage the Ego Booster, however you may damage the battery.
The Ego Booster uses the fact that genuine eGo batteries use what is called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to control the power going to the atomizer. If you use a device which does not use PWM, the battery must be capable of producing adequate current to power the Ego Booster. This is why we recommend high-current batteries for non-eGo devices.
Does the Ego Booster significantly reduce battery life?
Even when used at its maximum setting (4.7 volts), the Ego Booster should not reduce the time between charges of your battery by more than 25%. This is due to the quadratic relationship between power and current (while the life of the battery is linearly related to current). We will release a detailed explanation of this at a later date.
You will also find that you go through e-juice faster. We don’t think a detailed explanation for this will be necessary.
Artisan John
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Again, thanks for your interest in the Ego Booster. If you have any additional technical questions please add them to this thread, and we'll do our best to answer them. And by "we", I mean John. I just like leeching me some limelight.
TBL36
===========================================================================
What is the Ego Booster and how does it work?
The Ego Booster is a high frequency buck-boost switching power supply, which can supply a current of up to 3 amps with an input voltage range of 2.5 to 6 volts. The adjustment knob allows variation of the output voltage from a constant 3.3 to 4.7 volts, independent of the input voltage.
Does the Ego Booster pulse or switch its output in any way?
No, other than the normal switching of the buck-boost circuit, if the Ego Booster is supplied with a steady DC voltage, it will produce a steady DC voltage at the rated output current. Thus if you power the Ego Booster with a battery capable of delivering the rated current, it will produce a smooth DC output at whatever voltage you set it to.
If the input voltage to the Ego Booster is pulsed, for instance like the output of an eGo battery, then the output of the Ego Booster will also be pulsed. The Ego Booster will "superimpose" its output voltage on the input voltage supplied to it. Thus if the input voltage is switching (like the PWM output of an eGo battery) between 0 and 3.7 volts, the output of the Ego Booster will switch between 0 volts and whatever the Booster's output voltage is set to.
The output of the Ego Booster (when supplied with a DC input ) is smooth enough to power electronic circuitry, so it can be used as a 3 A variable voltage power supply for electronic projects.
Will I damage the Ego Booster if I connect it to the wrong battery?
Absolutely not. The Ego Booster has a plethora of safety features built into its circuitry, such as short circuit protection, input voltage dropout protection, current limiting, and over temperature shutdown.
The concern in plugging the Ego Booster to an unknown battery is with the battery. If the battery cannot handle the current the Ego Booster draws from it, then the battery could be damaged. This is why we recommend using only genuine eGo batteries (and high current replaceable batteries), since they have both been tested and proven to work reliably with the Ego Booster.
How are you able to make the Ego Booster so tiny?
The eGo Booster uses a state-of-the-art buck-boost switching power supply that switches at 2.4 MHz. Operating at such a high frequency allows the components in the circuit (inductors and capacitors specifically) to be very small relative to circuits that operate at lower frequencies. Technology has only recently advanced to the point where a 3A power supply could be built small enough to be compatible with the eGo form factor: the Ego Booster is the result.
Why didn't you make the output voltage range bigger?
4.7 volts was found to be the highest voltage that could be produced by the Ego Booster using a standard 650 mAHr eGo battery and driving a SR (2.5-3.0 ohm) atomizer. At higher voltages, the eGo battery's own limiting kicks in and the output power hits a maximum. At that point you don't notice any additional increase in vapor production as you adjust the output voltage higher. So there was no point in trying to drive a SR atty higher than 4.7 volts on an eGo battery.
Does the Ego Booster work with LR atties?
Absolutely! However, depending on the capacity of the battery you are using, you will find that the maximum output of the battery will limit out at a much lower voltage setting. The net effect is that the adjustment range of the knob (i.e. the range of knob adjustment for which you notice a change in the vapor output) will be reduced. For instance, we found that with 1.5 ohm LR atties there really is only a noticeable change in vapor production over the lower 1/2 to 1/3 of the knob adjustment range, compared to standard resistance atties which can use the entire adjustment range.
However, if you plug the Ego Booster into a mod with an IMR battery which can handle the higher current, then you should be able to adjust the output voltage over a much greater range. The limiting factor under these conditions would be the eGo Booster's maximum current output, which is 3A. If you try to draw more current than 3A out of the Ego Booster, the current limiting will kick in and the output voltage will stay constant.
Does the Ego Booster work with the Riva or other 3.7 fat batt devices?
Sadly, no. We found that 3.7 volt fat batts just could not produce the current required by the Ego Booster. As mentioned previously, if you connect an Ego Booster to one of these devices you will not damage the Ego Booster, however you may damage the battery.
The Ego Booster uses the fact that genuine eGo batteries use what is called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to control the power going to the atomizer. If you use a device which does not use PWM, the battery must be capable of producing adequate current to power the Ego Booster. This is why we recommend high-current batteries for non-eGo devices.
Does the Ego Booster significantly reduce battery life?
Even when used at its maximum setting (4.7 volts), the Ego Booster should not reduce the time between charges of your battery by more than 25%. This is due to the quadratic relationship between power and current (while the life of the battery is linearly related to current). We will release a detailed explanation of this at a later date.
You will also find that you go through e-juice faster. We don’t think a detailed explanation for this will be necessary.
Artisan John
===========================================================================
Again, thanks for your interest in the Ego Booster. If you have any additional technical questions please add them to this thread, and we'll do our best to answer them. And by "we", I mean John. I just like leeching me some limelight.
TBL36
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cool ...I understand now! 
