*GEM: A new RTA by MarkBugs

[TheotherSteveS]

While you are making correction, you can exclude me.

I mentioned the pin only as an adjustment in the dna 200.

lol! Apologies bud. I will remove you from the list of GEM-Klutzes...unless you would like to remain as an honorary member?!?!?


Having said all this, mine is working beautifully at the moment. Exceptional vape!!! She is a fickle little thing though...Everything needs to be just so, but when it is, good things ensue!

 

[druckle]

whoops. Sorry mate. You are a klutz too!! lol!

...in fact I will edit the post to correct my egregious error of omission!

You bet I'm a klutz but I'm a very stubborn one. Most of my experimenting and failing with the poor positive pin connections on the GEM has been with Titanium wire of various gauges and a DNA 200. The wandering resistance has been consistently horrible. I tried to stick with Titanium coils because of the fantastic flavor and good temperature control on other atomizers but it wasn't working with the GEM.

In search of something that would make the GEM at least usable I decided to wrap a 5 wrap 28 gauge 430 stainless steel coil.

That give a significantly higher resistance (0.5 vs ~ 0.2 ohm for most of the Ti coils). No doubt there will be some significant loss of temp limit accuracy because of the lower TCR of the stainless but the vaping experience is vastly better as a result of the higher resistance. I assume the poor contact resistance of the GEM positive connector is somewhat "hidden" by the higher overall resistance of the installed coil.

For those struggling with the wandering resistance of the GEM 430 stainless might be worth exploring.

Duane

 

[h00ligan]

How are you liking the Radius. I was on the fence about this or a Wizard App 2 today. Love my provari's but I am a DNA fanboy.

Yah the provari p3 is nice and everything. The boost feature works really well and it's built like a tank but I don't want to go out of the house usually with only a 18350 battery and the 18650 mode is bloody huge. So for me it's an at home mod. I regret buying it for my needs. And will probably be
Listing it for sale. But I'm addicted to tiny mods. The gem is tiny. Doesn't pair well with a large mod.

Just my opinion and certainly I can't diminish how awesome the p3 is in use. It's just not the right choice for someone who wants all day power in a small form factor.

 

[h00ligan]

You bet I'm a klutz but I'm a very stubborn one. Most of my experimenting and failing with the poor positive pin connections on the GEM has been with Titanium wire of various gauges and a DNA 200. The wandering resistance has been consistently horrible. I tried to stick with Titanium coils because of the fantastic flavor and good temperature control on other atomizers but it wasn't working with the GEM.

In search of something that would make the GEM at least usable I decided to wrap a 5 wrap 28 gauge 430 stainless steel coil.

That give a significantly higher resistance (0.5 vs ~ 0.2 ohm for most of the Ti coils). No doubt there will be some significant loss of temp limit accuracy because of the lower TCR of the stainless but the vaping experience is vastly better as a result of the higher resistance. I assume the poor contact resistance of the GEM positive connector is somewhat "hidden" by the higher overall resistance of the installed coil.

For those struggling with the wandering resistance of the GEM 430 stainless might be worth exploring.

Duane

So one of the big selling points of the DNA 200 is the sample rate. It's also one of the hints that makes it a pain to use.

I went through every atomizer I own and like three of 30 worked well and consistently on the Dan 200. I was able to get the gem to play nicely with very low ohm
Nickel builds most of the time but not many others. And it took some fiddling.

As much as I love the features of the dna200 devices imo a new type of connector needs to be used not s little tiny flap of metal. For new devices.

I wish everyone would form a consortium and address how bad the 510 is in general for high sample devices.

Ultimately I had to return my devices. I had two hat were broken. And I opted not to replace them with another Dna200 device because nothing works right consistently and the battery life vs size is poor. The benefit of the escribe stuff just isn't there for me. Compared to all he hassle the devices caused. Especially as I didn't find them more consistent or better than other temp devices with lower cost. Better battery and smaller footprints.

I really believe if they used something like s p3 connection or the one markbugs uses it would have been better. Until then I believe Evolv need to give us a choice to turn the sensitivity down.

Especially since even locking the device doesn't hold after sleep (a bug they may have fixed)

I totally agree stainless works way better and to
Me tastes of nothing compared to both nickel and particularly titanium.

Which device are you using? The one that drive me crazy trying to figure out what was wrong was the opus mod)

 

[TheotherSteveS]

You bet I'm a klutz but I'm a very stubborn one. Most of my experimenting and failing with the poor positive pin connections on the GEM has been with Titanium wire of various gauges and a DNA 200. The wandering resistance has been consistently horrible. I tried to stick with Titanium coils because of the fantastic flavor and good temperature control on other atomizers but it wasn't working with the GEM.

In search of something that would make the GEM at least usable I decided to wrap a 5 wrap 28 gauge 430 stainless steel coil.

That give a significantly higher resistance (0.5 vs ~ 0.2 ohm for most of the Ti coils). No doubt there will be some significant loss of temp limit accuracy because of the lower TCR of the stainless but the vaping experience is vastly better as a result of the higher resistance. I assume the poor contact resistance of the GEM positive connector is somewhat "hidden" by the higher overall resistance of the installed coil.

For those struggling with the wandering resistance of the GEM 430 stainless might be worth exploring.

Duane

Great minds think alike (and so do ours apparently..). I was just contemplating sticking in a 30g Ti to get the res up to
the 0.4 range for exactly the same reason (if I can get the thin wire to behave itself). It is working great at the moment but I know if I take it off the D2 and futz with it, when I put it back the res will be off again. Very frustrating and I really do feel your pain. It shouldnt be like this to be honest and it really spoils the experience of what is otherwise a fantastic atty...Hang in there brother and let us know how the SS goes.

...Of course you arent a klutz...

Actually I might try a 7 or 8 wrap 27g NiFe48 microcoil....hmmm...

 

[h00ligan]

Annoying is that the gem works rock solid on a $30 istick tc

It also works without issue on the Yihi 350j chipset in my experience.

How's a NiFe build? I haven't used it does that get the resistance up?

 

[TheotherSteveS]

Annoying is that the gem works rock solid on a $30 istick tc

It also works without issue on the Yihi 350j chipset in my experience.

How's a NiFe build? I haven't used it does that get the resistance up?

I havent tried it on the DNA200. I'll whack it on and report back. The NiFe48 will only give an appreciable advatnage if ~I can get a microcoil in there. I only have 27g (and 25) but I might fill in the gaps and get some 26 and 28. For a restyricted build space like the GEM, eing able to put in a decent non-spaced coil makes some difference (although I just realised I have a Ti microcoil in there at the moment..aaaaaarrrrggghhhh)

 

[chia]

I haven't built with Ni200, but maybe this helps:



R

looks almost like a contact coil?

 

[druckle]

Great minds think alike (and so do ours apparently..). I was just contemplating sticking in a 30g Ti to get the res up to
the 0.4 range for exactly the same reason (if I can get the thin wire to behave itself). It is working great at the moment but I know if I take it off the D2 and futz with it, when I put it back the res will be off again. Very frustrating and I really do feel your pain. It shouldnt be like this to be honest and it really spoils the experience of what is otherwise a fantastic atty...Hang in there brother and let us know how the SS goes.

...Of course you arent a klutz...

Actually I might try a 7 or 8 wrap 27g NiFe48 microcoil....hmmm...

I didn't have much luck adding turns to the Titanium coils because of the super small space for coils in the GEM. Shorts happen.

I did explore NiFe 48/52 but as I remember the resistance was going the wrong way big time.

Duane

 

[h00ligan]

When I wrap contact for the gem I use a cooling tool. Get it as close as possible but I never squeeze it. I leave a tiny bit loose on the cooler and then allow the pressure from each side of the gem to push it all together. Using 7 wraps or so of 28 gauge.

Allowing the gem to push the coil in helps prevent shirts and risks of ruining the coils with squeezing and lumping and overlap in the coil.

Just s thought on what works for me. I can make nickel contact coils like that without issue surprisingly.

 

[qorax]

looks almost like a contact coil?

Yep, almost.
Btw, I've stated this earlier as well, I have "no issues" with contact coil in Ni200 builds. To me they perform exactly the same as in spaced builds.

 

[chia]

Yep, almost.
Btw, I've stated this earlier as well, I have "no issues" with contact coil in Ni200 builds. To me they perform exactly the same as in spaced builds.

hey thanx love my Gem.. only deck drawback is the tiny space for the coils.. kindda restricts the knid of wires/coiling we can use..

 

[TheotherSteveS]

looks almost like a contact coil?

@qorax seems to be able to get Ni contact coils to work beautifully. I suspect he is not of this earth...

 

[druckle]

So one of the big selling points of the DNA 200 is the sample rate. It's also one of the hints that makes it a pain to use.

I went through every atomizer I own and like three of 30 worked well and consistently on the Dan 200. I was able to get the gem to play nicely with very low ohm
Nickel builds most of the time but not many others. And it took some fiddling.

As much as I love the features of the dna200 devices imo a new type of connector needs to be used not s little tiny flap of metal. For new devices.

I wish everyone would form a consortium and address how bad the 510 is in general for high sample devices.

Ultimately I had to return my devices. I had two hat were broken. And I opted not to replace them with another Dna200 device because nothing works right consistently and the battery life vs size is poor. The benefit of the escribe stuff just isn't there for me. Compared to all he hassle the devices caused. Especially as I didn't find them more consistent or better than other temp devices with lower cost. Better battery and smaller footprints.

I really believe if they used something like s p3 connection or the one markbugs uses it would have been better. Until then I believe Evolv need to give us a choice to turn the sensitivity down.

Especially since even locking the device doesn't hold after sleep (a bug they may have fixed)

I totally agree stainless works way better and to
Me tastes of nothing compared to both nickel and particularly titanium.

Which device are you using? The one that drive me crazy trying to figure out what was wrong was the opus mod)

The only atomizer I have had problems with on DNA 200 devices is the GEM. Everything else has been rock solid. I have several DNA 200's and all have been fine. I am using primarily an Evolv Reference Mod, Hciger VT 200 and a 3D printed case mod that I assembled.

I don't have any experience with the Opus but I know that early on they had problems with shorts caused by the way they mounted the board to the casing.

I have explored using the GEM with YiHi SXM and the updated firmware with abysmal results and with the Koopor Mini. So far, by far the best GEM set up had been 430 Stainless steel coils on a DNA 200 and the 430 SS .csv from Steam Engine.

I haven't had battery life problems with the DNA 200 because I vape at generally low to moderate power levels and prefer temperature control mode. The Hcigar VT 200 has a bit larger battery than the Evolv Reference Mod and I tend to use the VT 200 more because I find it comfortable in the hand.

Duane

 

[TheotherSteveS]

I didn't have much luck adding turns to the Titanium coils because of the super small space for coils in the GEM. Shorts happen.

I did explore NiFe 48/52 but as I remember the resistance was going the wrong way big time.

Duane

Yeah. As I was writing that post, the numbers were stacking up badly in my head....oh well...

 

[TheotherSteveS]

hate to throw the cat in amongst the pigeons but I just threw it on the boxer DNA 200 with a generic Ti preset (well 133 actually, dual 18650) and it vapes just fine. I think I have 60 or maybe 80 W preheat. Using SE csv for Ti Gr1 at 440F and 22.5W....go figure..?!?!? Might leave it on there as its working....

 

[qorax]

@qorax seems to be able to get Ni contact coils to work beautifully. I suspect he is not of this earth...

Not just me ~ I've found quite a few others here as well

 

[h00ligan]

Not just me ~ I've found quite a few others here as well

Definitely the less is more as far as squeezing it together seems to work for me.


Interesting results listed with the dna200. As to my comment of battery life. Yes I agree it's fine for a day but for the amount of battery I get can be had from a mod half that size that doesn't require lipo

I'm hoping more people to the boxer route less power and 18650 I don't recall even needing more than 40 watts. 60 max on my Dna200. I need to get my boxer mailed out. Ginger has graciously agreed to look into what happened to it. Very kind of them.

I'm in a land of no temp control really. Just the istick left standing. And an Evic mini on the way replacing a ipv d2 which worked great but the battery ribbon pulled out on day two.

 

[druckle]

Yah the provari p3 is nice and everything. The boost feature works really well and it's built like a tank but I don't want to go out of the house usually with only a 18350 battery and the 18650 mode is bloody huge. So for me it's an at home mod. I regret buying it for my needs. And will probably be
Listing it for sale. But I'm addicted to tiny mods. The gem is tiny. Doesn't pair well with a large mod.

Just my opinion and certainly I can't diminish how awesome the p3 is in use. It's just not the right choice for someone who wants all day power in a small form factor.

h00ligan

I know this is off topic but if you like small atomizers you might want to explore the small tank option of the Ubertoot. It's near impossible to get an original now days but the Coppervape clone sold by GearBest and others is excellent. Some of the other clones are NOT so good.

(I wish originals were more available. Sad when a great atomizer is designed and not produced in quantities able to satisfy the market).

My experience is that the Ubertoot provides me with the absolutely best vaping experience for a tank so far and very flexible with respect to build options and simplicity . The Ubertoot is of the same general character as the GEM which suits my vaping style. I doubt it would satisfy someone who is deep into huge clouds although it is a very good vapor producer for the mouth to lung crowd.

I'm always looking for something better and always will I suppose.

Duane

 

[TheotherSteveS]

Not just me ~ I've found quite a few others here as well

there is only one Q though!!!