Little itty bitty mods under $100.
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Yeah, no!Sorry for my brief disappearance, but I'm been honing my skills at using a new cell phone after 3.5 years. There's a BIT to learn!
However, since I've been paged, here's an UPDATE!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-z_V674p-5HYa9uzMqj1mq67da8-hnOOh2NNB2-ifgI/edit?usp=sharing
I actually did make some minor changes through out the doc. And for those who have not, you might just want to do the same and bookmark it. Eventually, this thread may go the way of many before it, and you may not have access to all the info here. The Sheet is all of yours, even at the point when I no longer hold the keys.
You can also make a copy of The Sheet for yourself and keep it in your own Google Docs/Drive.
After some 60 odd devices on there...... it seems to me this is slowing down. What do you guys think?
This tells me you have caught up the old devices and at a point now of only having to add new ones as they hit the market.
Thanks, DP
you had me stumped for a minute I had to look up wellys. I have a star by them on my "interesting" list. Did you get the perfect30 or the dvp50? I really like their looks.
not sure, Ian, I can't find a lot of reviews/teardowns yet and I'm still very much a student. The ones I've read about so far are:
* Katady e-Power 3/4 - Katady describes the e-Power as "internal Texas Instruments circuitry".
*iCig V9 50watt - advertised as "Texas Instruments Chip" (I have one of these coming on a slow boat from china)
*SMY-35 25watt - described as "inherit advantage of original God180/SMY250" "chip is TI430 in this device"
Texas Instruments happens to have a MSP430 line of microcontrollers but I'm not smart enough to know if they are regulator/controllers or something else. Not sure why a retailer would crow about a TI 'chip' if it was a dime-a-dozen part. Dunno.
Low-power Microcontroller | 16-bit MCU - Overview - Ultra-Low-power MSP - TI.com
My Athena Smart-30 is here! Been using it for about an hour. The shape is very different; seems like it would be bulky but actually it has a nice feel in the hand. Works just like any of the iSticks; 5 clicks on/off, 3 clicks to change from volts to watts, up and down arrow keys (.1 increments, hold for quick flow up or down), display is the same - ohms, volts, watts, draw timer. About the same weight as the iStick 50, which I like. Came with a USB cable and the same 510/ego adapter like the iSticks. All packaged in a nice box. Nothing special about the box, but a nice box. Because of the shape, the atomizer sits more centrally on battery.
for comparison of size, iStick 20, Heatvape Defender, Athena Smart-30, iStick 50
side view
all dressed up with my Lemo Drop (you will notice I wrap just about everything!!)
for comparison of size, iStick 20, Heatvape Defender, Athena Smart-30, iStick 50
side view
all dressed up with my Lemo Drop (you will notice I wrap just about everything!!)
Curious, that...
Maybe crowing about TI chips to set them apart from who knows what factory... and maybe thinking that since TI at least used to be a US company, it adds some cachet to the sales pitch?
The Smowell DPV-50 (a.k.a. "Welly") I ordered from GearBest on March 12th arrived two days ago. $26.19 shipped. This one works (unlike the one I got from Fasttech, which is now mired in the replacement pipeline). The blue case is pretty nice, although I think the black might look sharper. The (unpainted?) silver is sort of ordinary, especially since the Welly has an aluminum case, which is its weakest build quality point for me, since the case feels a bit cheap and suffers from slightly rough machining. It's no worse than the early iSticks, however. The painted finish (epoxy? powder coat? who knows?) helps to smooth out the look and feel. Ergonomics are good---the Welly's half-round shape (like a reversed KBOX) fits my hand and feels comfortable. All three buttons are clicky, and though the fire button is a tad rattly, that's no big deal.
The hex screws that secure the battery cover are tight, and the included hex key isn't a great fit. I ended up using one of my own hex keys, since I feared stripping the heads of the screws. Given the major hassle involved to swap batteries, I'll always recharge it via USB, exercising especially gentle care when inserting the micro-USB plug, since the jack doesn't feel particularly sturdy. Battery life when vaping in the 20-30 watt range seems slightly less than my other single-18650 regulated boxes, but again, no big deal. Charging via USB isn't ultra-fast (judging from my recharge times so far, I'd bet that the Welly allows only one amp USB charging rather than two). When recharging, the battery display shows a bar graph plus a numerical percentage of full charge as it goes, which is nice, but the display turns off after about ten seconds (during both charging and vaping) and has to be refreshed by pushing the fire button. There's no apparent firing delay upon the display awakening from sleep mode.
The chip is the same in the Welly as in last year's early edition SMOK 50W box, which was roundly criticized for auto-limiting the power at certain coil resistances by lowered increments of 5 watts at a time, presumably as a safety feature to keep the chip from overheating or maxing out. Users hated that, and SMOK either replaced the chip or modified the software (I forget which, maybe both). I wonder if Smowell might not have bought a truckload of those chips from SMOK and used them to make the Welly. The manual does refer to that feature in typical Chinglish: "POWER REDUCED: The system will inform you automatically when lower the power. (Such as now the power lowered by 5 watts)."
So far, I haven't noticed any power shortfalls with any of the RTAs I've tried---an Erlkonigin, Orchid V6, Taifun GT-T2, and an Atlantis, all of which are coiled with resistances from 0.5-1.2 ohm. At identical wattage settings, the vape I've gotten from all those tanks is the same as with any of my other regulated mods.
I did have one weird, unsetting moment. I was vaping the Erlkonigin (1.2 ohms at 15 watts) on the Welly, and everything was fine, but suddenly I got the worst burned/dry hit imaginable. So bad it made me cough like crazy. I looked down at the Welly display, and it read 4.5 ohms, meaning that the Welly had dramatically upped the amps to get to 15 watts. What the hell? I unscrewed the Erl, put it back on my Cloupor Mini 30W, and checked the resistance---1.19 ohms, just as it was before. Vaped fine on the Cloupor. So, I returned it to the Welly and checked again. Whatever the glitch was had vanished, back to correct reading of resistance and a normal vape.
The good news is that this weird glitch happened only once. The bad news is that even once is unsettling---it doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the Welly.
I'll post any updates worth sharing as I use the Welly over the next week or so.
The hex screws that secure the battery cover are tight, and the included hex key isn't a great fit. I ended up using one of my own hex keys, since I feared stripping the heads of the screws. Given the major hassle involved to swap batteries, I'll always recharge it via USB, exercising especially gentle care when inserting the micro-USB plug, since the jack doesn't feel particularly sturdy. Battery life when vaping in the 20-30 watt range seems slightly less than my other single-18650 regulated boxes, but again, no big deal. Charging via USB isn't ultra-fast (judging from my recharge times so far, I'd bet that the Welly allows only one amp USB charging rather than two). When recharging, the battery display shows a bar graph plus a numerical percentage of full charge as it goes, which is nice, but the display turns off after about ten seconds (during both charging and vaping) and has to be refreshed by pushing the fire button. There's no apparent firing delay upon the display awakening from sleep mode.
The chip is the same in the Welly as in last year's early edition SMOK 50W box, which was roundly criticized for auto-limiting the power at certain coil resistances by lowered increments of 5 watts at a time, presumably as a safety feature to keep the chip from overheating or maxing out. Users hated that, and SMOK either replaced the chip or modified the software (I forget which, maybe both). I wonder if Smowell might not have bought a truckload of those chips from SMOK and used them to make the Welly. The manual does refer to that feature in typical Chinglish: "POWER REDUCED: The system will inform you automatically when lower the power. (Such as now the power lowered by 5 watts)."
So far, I haven't noticed any power shortfalls with any of the RTAs I've tried---an Erlkonigin, Orchid V6, Taifun GT-T2, and an Atlantis, all of which are coiled with resistances from 0.5-1.2 ohm. At identical wattage settings, the vape I've gotten from all those tanks is the same as with any of my other regulated mods.
I did have one weird, unsetting moment. I was vaping the Erlkonigin (1.2 ohms at 15 watts) on the Welly, and everything was fine, but suddenly I got the worst burned/dry hit imaginable. So bad it made me cough like crazy. I looked down at the Welly display, and it read 4.5 ohms, meaning that the Welly had dramatically upped the amps to get to 15 watts. What the hell? I unscrewed the Erl, put it back on my Cloupor Mini 30W, and checked the resistance---1.19 ohms, just as it was before. Vaped fine on the Cloupor. So, I returned it to the Welly and checked again. Whatever the glitch was had vanished, back to correct reading of resistance and a normal vape.
The good news is that this weird glitch happened only once. The bad news is that even once is unsettling---it doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the Welly.
I'll post any updates worth sharing as I use the Welly over the next week or so.
Bill's nice review on the Welly inspires me to add about the Athena Smart-30 that I get no rattles and the fire button feels solid, clicky without sounding clicky; just a firm, easy to fire, feel.
Here's (edit) three new ones (end edit) for you Katdarling
Smart30S - 2200mah batt, 2-20w, 1-8.5v 0.5-4.0ohm VV VW APV Box Mod 83mm high z$34.04@notsoFasttech
https://www.fasttech.com/products/3...rt-30s-2200mah-vv-vw-variable-voltage-wattage
*Phimis Wee 2 Mini 35W 18650batt, 7-35W, .2ohm-3ohm, VW oLED, side firing button $34.18 in colors @FastTech (but it's 92mm, so might not make your list?)
**Zero Modz styled 50W VW G-Sensor 7-50w .2ohm-? $58.78 84mm high @FastTech.com - 1:1 clone by Yosen - I really like the acrylic on the green one - loosely reminds me of mother of pearl
https://www.fasttech.com/products/3...-modz-styled-vw-variable-wattage-g-sensor-apv
Smart30S - 2200mah batt, 2-20w, 1-8.5v 0.5-4.0ohm VV VW APV Box Mod 83mm high z$34.04@notsoFasttech
https://www.fasttech.com/products/3...rt-30s-2200mah-vv-vw-variable-voltage-wattage
*Phimis Wee 2 Mini 35W 18650batt, 7-35W, .2ohm-3ohm, VW oLED, side firing button $34.18 in colors @FastTech (but it's 92mm, so might not make your list?)
**Zero Modz styled 50W VW G-Sensor 7-50w .2ohm-? $58.78 84mm high @FastTech.com - 1:1 clone by Yosen - I really like the acrylic on the green one - loosely reminds me of mother of pearl
https://www.fasttech.com/products/3...-modz-styled-vw-variable-wattage-g-sensor-apv
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I have decided that this is the KINDEST review ever. For anything. In all of history.
More to follow.
Uh oh...... I think the Smelly, I mean the Welly is not doing so Welly by you, DPL? (No need to send. I trust you implicitely.)
Ha ha ha. Come join me and be my VP, mud? That job might just be open soon.
(send me yer resume)
All added, thank you so much, TTRP.
UPDATE
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-z_V674p-5HYa9uzMqj1mq67da8-hnOOh2NNB2-ifgI/edit?usp=sharing
Once again, big thanks to nemesis rds for the comments and corrections to The Sheet. Go Greek Power.
This tells me you have caught up the old devices and at a point now of only having to add new ones as they hit the market.
Ha ha ha. Come join me and be my VP, mud? That job might just be open soon.
(send me yer resume)
All added, thank you so much, TTRP.
UPDATE
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-z_V674p-5HYa9uzMqj1mq67da8-hnOOh2NNB2-ifgI/edit?usp=sharing
Once again, big thanks to nemesis rds for the comments and corrections to The Sheet. Go Greek Power.
But what about regulated, shorty tube mods? Am I the only one who still prefers the tube form factor? I can't believe they haven't miniaturized 20-30W DNA or Yihi circuitry so that regulated tube mods don't have to be lightsabers.
I prefer the tube over the box, but the length is over the specs.
Wish there were some more regulated 14500/14650 mods around, but not many that I have found.
In the early 1960's, a consortium led by Bill Lear (of Lear Jet) set out to create The Greatest Practical Joke Man Has Ever Known.
The 8-track player they came up with proved to be a resounding success. These things would:
a. Change tracks in the middle of a song -
b. Could not be fast-forwarded or reversed -
c. The tapes ad an average lifespan of approximately 48 seconds, after which they would slow down and start to sound like the adults in a Peanuts cartoon.
And that's not all. Basically, they were simply terrible.
This success greatly angered the nation of China. China was bigger, stronger, older & wiser, yet they were not the ones to come up with this amazing trick on humanity. Since that day they have been focused on an even better practical joke. They've gone to great lengths, and dedicated a tremendous amount of resource, into finally upstaging the hallowed 8-track tapes & players.
Well, the king is finally dead (and love live the king!).
Ladies & gentlemen, I give you The Smowell. I don't even know where to start. Let's see....
OK - the battery compartment. The Allen screws are so tiny that one might require a microscope to remove and replace them. Plus, they don't even sit straight in! You've got to find the correct angle, then HOPE to get them in securely.
Build quality. Oh boy. I firmly believe that if I squeezed hard enough, in one hand, I can crush this thing. It's build like an old, cheap soda can from 1972 ("Tab" comes to mind).
The buttons rattle like a group of kindergarten kids with symbols.
It's a 25 dollar mod that I wouldn't pay 25 cents for (too late now, Bucko!). I'm sorry but the thing just plain bites.
How does it vape, you ask? HOW THE HECK WOULD I KNOW??? I couldn't even get the dang batteries inside.
Kat had originally nicknamed them, "Welly" because she wrestled with the enunciation of the idiotic name "Smowell". I agree, it's a tough-talk. I have now officially changed "Welly" to "Smelly".
And, before I put them up in the classies as a buy one, get one free ("Smelly BOGO Sale, IF YOU DARE!"), I must tip my cap to China. They won.
The 8-track player they came up with proved to be a resounding success. These things would:
a. Change tracks in the middle of a song -
b. Could not be fast-forwarded or reversed -
c. The tapes ad an average lifespan of approximately 48 seconds, after which they would slow down and start to sound like the adults in a Peanuts cartoon.
And that's not all. Basically, they were simply terrible.
This success greatly angered the nation of China. China was bigger, stronger, older & wiser, yet they were not the ones to come up with this amazing trick on humanity. Since that day they have been focused on an even better practical joke. They've gone to great lengths, and dedicated a tremendous amount of resource, into finally upstaging the hallowed 8-track tapes & players.
Well, the king is finally dead (and love live the king!).
Ladies & gentlemen, I give you The Smowell. I don't even know where to start. Let's see....
OK - the battery compartment. The Allen screws are so tiny that one might require a microscope to remove and replace them. Plus, they don't even sit straight in! You've got to find the correct angle, then HOPE to get them in securely.
Build quality. Oh boy. I firmly believe that if I squeezed hard enough, in one hand, I can crush this thing. It's build like an old, cheap soda can from 1972 ("Tab" comes to mind).
The buttons rattle like a group of kindergarten kids with symbols.
It's a 25 dollar mod that I wouldn't pay 25 cents for (too late now, Bucko!). I'm sorry but the thing just plain bites.
How does it vape, you ask? HOW THE HECK WOULD I KNOW??? I couldn't even get the dang batteries inside.
Kat had originally nicknamed them, "Welly" because she wrestled with the enunciation of the idiotic name "Smowell". I agree, it's a tough-talk. I have now officially changed "Welly" to "Smelly".
And, before I put them up in the classies as a buy one, get one free ("Smelly BOGO Sale, IF YOU DARE!"), I must tip my cap to China. They won.
One of the many reasons I have to NO plans to ever use anything rebuildable. Between eyesight and dexterity, it's just not for me.
I've had plenty of mods that I needed to use screwdrivers with, but this stupid thing is ridiculous.
You want 'em? BOGO, baby!!!! ;-)
I didn't say that. We can't talk about it here. Not that I expect anyone WOULD, given my "outstanding" review (cough).
Here is about the Best thing I have bought in the Last 10 Years.
Maybe you could have someone put the Battery in your Mod for you if the Screws are Too Small for you?
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