lenmore power port sale 9.99

[boondongle]

Does the 3xAAA have plastic battery dividers? Just curious since I may try that at some point .....depending on your results . Where are you ordering them from? May be a little small for my skills (and patience) even it does fit.

Yup, it has dividers.

 

[etip]

Invest in a Dremel that will make a lot of the cutting so much easier on you. I believe he is using it as a power device for a passthrough rather than a PC USB port.

Yeah, there are a lot of things I would like to invest in if my situation allowed. High on that list would be a place with a garage...to keep all my toys (including those that I don't yet have) For now, I will have to make do with my spare room acting as a storage area, den, computer room, garage, etc and my small drawer of tools.

 

[etip]

Yup, it has dividers.

Thanks, I may have to order one of those at some point.

FYI, Fry's has the PPUMINI for $9.99 after a $6.00 rebate. Their site doesn't specify but would bet that it's a -K. I was in their store today andthey only had K's. I am not personally a big fan of rebates since either I neglect to send the paperwork in on time or when I do bother ....my rebate never comes.

FRYS.com | Lenmar

 

[boondongle]

etip: Nice work on that mod, by the way. How's it working out? I can't tell where you connected the wires to the PPUMINI. Looks like the red is connected to one of the USB leads, but the black seems to be going to the circuit board?

 

[etip]

etip: Nice work on that mod, by the way.

Thank you sir. It's my first....or at least the first that I actually finished. Saw your collection of mods - very impressive. I tend to start on them and not finish or leave them in a cobbled together state until they fall apart. The thing that made me see this through was the ability to recharge via USB & even use it while it's charging.

How's it working out?

Very well - once I fixed a problem with the momentary switch. It was a tight squeeze to get it like I had in the pic - where just the plastic (no metal) was protruding from the battery case. This was putting too much pressure on the switch and somehow causing it to stay on. I fried an atomizer before I realized what was going on. All good now though!

One of the reasons I was hesitant to open the battery for this mod was that I originally envisioned being able to swap out the battery since I have a few of these (and at $10, they are about the same cost as a 901 battery). Can't do that now, but being able to vape while it charges makes it less necessary. Also, last night it occurred to me that I could charge it with a 2nd Lenmar battery. Tested that last night and it works great! Now I am going to make a really short USB to USB mini cable and attach some Velcro to the mod & the battery to make charging battery to battery a bit easier.

I can't tell where you connected the wires to the PPUMINI. Looks like the red is connected to one of the USB leads, but the black seems to be going to the circuit board?

Ah, yes I meant to explain that. After soldering the negative wire to the circuit board, I noticed that the USB socket has little holes in the end of the plastic. Tried the pushing the positive wire into the hole - it fit nicely and made a good connection. Wish I had noticed that before since I hate soldering with a passion. Strangely, the -on the K's I bought from RS (& that have the rubbery/matte finish) the usb out port does NOT have these holes.

 

[boondongle]

Ah, yes I meant to explain that. After soldering the negative wire to the circuit board, I noticed that the USB socket has little holes in the end of the plastic. Tried the pushing the positive wire into the hole - it fit nicely and made a good connection. Wish I had noticed that before since I hate soldering with a passion. Strangely, the -on the K's I bought from RS (& that have the rubbery/matte finish) the usb out port does NOT have these holes.

So where exactly did you connect your black wire? I just attached mine to the USB connection points. I soldered the whole thing together....and nothing. I have about 7 ohms resistance between the tip and ring of the atomizer when I press the switch.

 

[etip]

There are four pins - Positive is on the far Left and Negative is on the far Right. Sorry about my crappy picture. Will see if I can find or take a better pic.

 

[etip]

There are four pins - Positive is on the far Left and Negative is on the far Right. Sorry about my crappy picture. Will see if I can find or take a better pic.

Does this help?

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/8130/img2040ed.jpg

 

[boondongle]

Oh, okay, I get it. You just soldered one to the underside, and one on top.

In any case, I finally got mine working. I realized the problem, and it was a serious "duh" moment -- I hadn't put a charge in the unit, because it didn't make sense to charge it and then take it apart. So, I plugged it in to the USB, thought I'd give it a shot then...nothing. Forgot about it for an hour or so, then tried it again...success!

I'll never try to do it again, but I did manage to get it all inside one 2xAA box. Depending on the battery life, this might become my main device.

 

[etip]

Oh, okay, I get it. You just soldered one to the underside, and one on top.

In any case, I finally got mine working. I realized the problem, and it was a serious "duh" moment -- I hadn't put a charge in the unit, because it didn't make sense to charge it and then take it apart. So, I plugged it in to the USB, thought I'd give it a shot then...nothing. Forgot about it for an hour or so, then tried it again...success!

I'll never try to do it again, but I did manage to get it all inside one 2xAA box. Depending on the battery life, this might become my main device.

That's awesome - post pics! I can't believe you got it in that little box. Did you have to shave the sides of the PCB as well? I can't tell you how many times I forgot to charge when I was putting it together - I kept draining what little charge I had on it when testing and/or by shorting it out.


I finished my "piggyback battery":

The first mod with "shag carpeting"....

Piggyback!

Ugly but functional.

Now I should be able to vape for about a week without needing AC power! Ok, maybe not a week...for that I would need my APC rechargeable.

 

[boondongle]

That's awesome - post pics! I can't believe you got it in that little box. Did you have to shave the sides of the PCB as well?

For some reason, I can't seem to upload pictures to my album here, anymore. I created an account on a free image host:

Casing open (looks like I let a dog chew it open...this part was hard for me):

Then, I shaved the PCB as close as I could:

Then I realized that all that shaving was pointless, because there was no way to change the size of the battery. So I just shaved down the sides of the case so that the battery would fit inside, and cut a little window on one side to let a tiny bit of the battery poke out:

So that's it, really:

Ugly as heck, but it works. And yes, that is electrical tape holding the case together:

I was actually intending to make this as a unit I could just give to a friend's father, but after all the work...I'm not sure I could part with it!

I finished my "piggyback battery":

The first mod with "shag carpeting"....

Piggyback!

Ugly but functional.

Now I should be able to vape for about a week without needing AC power! Ok, maybe not a week...for that I would need my APC rechargeable.

Hah, that's great. A battery backup, backing up a battery backup.

 

[codfish124]

looks good but didnt you see this pic Imageshack - kdk0190 i cut down the edge of it both sides to break it apart

 

[boondongle]

Nope...missed that one.

So how much battery life are you guys getting? Mine only lasts about an hour when unplugged. So it's basically a passthrough with a little bit of battery life.

 

[mnealtx]

At 750 mAh, it's about 80% the capacity of one 14500 battery - it certainly should last more than an hour.

 

[codfish124]

i get a few hours of constant vaping. you might have done somthing bad when you didnt charge the unit frist..... i would keep it on the charger over night. iv modded 3 of these and all last a lot longer than an hr

 

[boondongle]

Just timed it, and I'm definitely only getting an hour of use. Mine uses the PPUMINI-M, though, and I think that model only has 650mAh. Still seems short, though. Two 900mAh 14500s on my 3.7v Nicostick usually get me through the day.

Oh, and has anyone else seen the LED turn purple? Just noticed that while mine was charging. Any idea what that means?

 

[etip]

Nope...missed that one.

So how much battery life are you guys getting? Mine only lasts about an hour when unplugged. So it's basically a passthrough with a little bit of battery life.

I may not be the best judge since I vape inconsistently (sometimes I will go all day without then vape for three hours straight in the evening). That said, I am definitely getting more than an hour - I would say I am getting about the same as Codfish. I am using a -K which is supposed to be 750mAh. Aren't you using the -M? Perhaps that's the difference? Codfish: I looked back through the thread and am not clear which you are using.

Boondongle: Nice job on getting that in such a small case. I like where you have the button & having the charging port at the opposite end is also preferable.

I also had a difficult time breaking that Lenmar housing apart. Mine didn't end up quite as chewed up as yours but the razor blade method didn't work as well for me as it did for Codfish.

 

[etip]

Just timed it, and I'm definitely only getting an hour of use. Mine uses the PPUMINI-M, though, and I think that model only has 650mAh. Still seems short, though. Two 900mAh 14500s on my 3.7v Nicostick usually get me through the day.

Oh, and has anyone else seen the LED turn purple? Just noticed that while mine was charging. Any idea what that means?

I thought the -M was 500mAh? It turns a (purplish?) blue when the charge is complete.

 

[codfish124]

it turns blue when the charge is done but u should let it charge over night. just like when you get a new ecig they say 8 hours


im using the 500mA it seems to last me all day only ever had one stop vaping.

and the first case was a pain to get apart. and i have a nice ct on my hand. set it on a table ( that will get cut ) and force the blade down the joint it is hard but works.

on my mods i have one that is a strait pass through glued to the top of the case. the other 2 im using the TI booster boards with 5.4 and 6.4v options. i have had one of them dis but cant tell you how long i vaped with it as i vaped 1 day then didn't charge it that night.

 

[etip]

it turns blue when the charge is done but u should let it charge over night. just like when you get a new ecig they say 8 hours


im using the 500mA it seems to last me all day only ever had one stop vaping.

and the first case was a pain to get apart. and i have a nice ct on my hand. set it on a table ( that will get cut ) and force the blade down the joint it is hard but works.

on my mods i have one that is a strait pass through glued to the top of the case. the other 2 im using the TI booster boards with 5.4 and 6.4v options. i have had one of them dis but cant tell you how long i vaped with it as i vaped 1 day then didn't charge it that night.

Interesting. I had been using mine for a couple months (mostly with a passthrough) before this mod and I almost never let it charge overnight ; usually unplugging it as soon as it turns blue. Even my initial charge was only until the blue light came on.

Either way, your experience gives me new hope for using the 500mAh version for future mods.