Presenting Merlin...

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cos

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We'll wrestle for it. Think I can take em :p Pleeeaaaase mamuuuuu:facepalm:
RIMP:evil:

Oh yeh Rimp and i are gonna wrestle. Even if i lose i win lol.
seriously Mamu that is really nice and professional looking. This is why even though you are not here much you are always here. your creations are amazing. would love to build one of these but would never come close. Thanks for showing it.
 

mamu

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Thanks again everyone! Your feedback is very much appreciated!

@retird - sorry I missed your first post asking about the case. I worked with the China company to get a special version made, but you can find the standard case here...
AA charger


The small holes on the front of the case suggest a hand held walkie talkie of some sort .

The small holes are an LED bar. Its original purpose was to indicate battery charging status. I used the LED bar to insert my LED battery status indicator. If the LEDs light the input voltage is greater than 6v. If the LEDs don't light, then it's times to charge the batts.
 
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Bdbodger

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Thanks again everyone! Your feedback is very much appreciated!

@retird - sorry I missed your first post asking about the case. I worked with the China company to get a special version made, but you can find the standard case here...
AA charger




The small holes are an LED bar. Its original purpose was to indicate battery charging status. I used the LED bar to insert my LED battery status indicator. If the LEDs light the input voltage is greater than 6v. If the LEDs don't light, then it's times to charge the batts.


Actually I meant the series of holes at the bottom that are in a perforated pattern but thanks for letting us in on it . How did you manage to get one made for you ?
 

bigblue30

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Merlin vv regulated mod

Features:
- High efficiency 6A, 30W switching converter (OKR-T/6-W12-C)
- Input/output capacitors
- 3A atty switch
- Master on/off switch
- LED battery status indicator
- Extended atty connector
- Finger adjustable voltage control knob
- Juice well
- Rubberized casing with front finger grips
- 3.5 - 6 volt vaping range

Size: 3-1/4" tall, 1-1/2" wide, and 5/8" deep

merlin-1.jpg


merlin-2.jpg


merlin-3.jpg


merlin-4.jpg


Mamu.... As usual.. You do some mighty fine work...
 

Pete54

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Very, very nice looking mod! Does this use the two 14500's in series and then regulate the voltage down? If so, how does that affect battery life compared to a mod that uses one 18650 and boosts the voltage to the desired level? If you were vaping at say, 4.0 volts, would it last longer than using one 14500?
 

mamu

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Thanks guys! :)

Mamu.... As usual.. You do some mighty fine work...

TY Blue!! Good to "see" you!!

Very, very nice looking mod! Does this use the two 14500's in series and then regulate the voltage down? If so, how does that affect battery life compared to a mod that uses one 18650 and boosts the voltage to the desired level? If you were vaping at say, 4.0 volts, would it last longer than using one 14500?

Yes to the first question.

I have mods using an 18650 batt with the TI boost module and also mods with 2, 14500 batts in series with the Murata converter. The two are comparable regarding batt life. I can go all day with either mod and pretty much get the same batt life.

I don't think you could get near the same vaping time with using 1, 14500 batt along with the boost module as you get using 2, 14500 batts with the Murata converter.

If you asked me to explain *why* 2, 14500 batts (with 600 mAh each) in series in conjunction with the Murata converter gives the same vaping time as the 18650 batt (with 2400 mAh) with the boost module I'd be at a loss since the mAh isn't doubled when batts are in series, only the volts. The only thing I can think of is that the boost module uses more power in its attempt to regulate the voltage higher and therefore puts a higher drain on the batt. But I may be way off base there. Maybe someone can pop in and explain that.

Now with 2, 18650 batts plus the Murata converter I can get 3-4 days vaping time before the batts need a charge whereas with 1, 18650 batt plus the boost module I get 1 day of vaping time. Like I said, I don't know how to explain that since the mAh stays the same in each setup.

I have noticed with this Murata module it's efficiency over a linear regulator is a huge plus. I can vape all day with the 14500 batts using the Murata module whereas with the linear regulator I was only able to get 5-7 hours vaping time.
 

CraigHB

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If you asked me to explain *why* 2, 14500 batts (with 600 mAh each) in series in conjunction with the Murata converter gives the same vaping time as the 18650 batt (with 2400 mAh) with the boost module I'd be at a loss since the mAh isn't doubled when batts are in series, only the volts.

You have to think of it in terms of power since these regulators are essentially power converters. They convert power from one voltage and one current to another voltage and another current, similarly to the way induction transformers work with AC power. When you increase input voltage, input current goes down to keep power the same since it's regulated to a specific point. So, adding a battery in series doubles input voltage and cuts input current in half. Charge capacities add.

Of course, there are also power losses due to circuit impedances, but for any of the buck and boost modules, it's usually not more than 10%. Power losses come from plain ol' resistance in circuit traces, resistive losses across MOSFETs, and reactive losses in the inductor and capacitors. It varies with output power and is usually shown on a chart in the in the data sheet (defined as efficiency).

For two 14500's, you might be looking at ~1500 mAh versus ~2500mAh with a single 18650. You should be getting somewhat longer run times with the 18650, but it also depends on efficiency which is not a constant. If the boost converter is a lot less efficient than the buck at some particular power output, then you might see more similar run times. But that's a pretty big disparity. I would suspect worn 18650 batteries. After all, capacity does drop with these batts not only over charge/discharge cycles, but also with age.
 
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