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Author Topic: Omnicharge  (Read 17087 times)

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Offline wlp

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #15 on: January 15, 2017, 06:41:38 PM »
Will do. 

Offline old and in the way

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #16 on: January 22, 2017, 08:05:14 AM »
begining to think this is a scam . keep getting excuses and delivery dates that are later and later . their facebook page is full of people with the same thought .no way to get your money back that i know of. so i wait !

Offline Fried Chicken Boy

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #17 on: January 23, 2017, 02:46:19 PM »
I received a shipping notice from Omnicharge about a week and a half ago.  Checking the tracking number on FedEx's website, I should have it in-hand by week's end. 

For the record, I think I was originally supposed to receive it in early December late October/November.

Edit to add: Checking the notes in my Indeigogo account, I was originally supposed to receive the Omnicharge in late October/November.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2017, 01:15:55 PM by Fried Chicken Boy »

Offline wlp

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #18 on: January 23, 2017, 05:48:45 PM »
Per fedex shipping notice, mine will also arrive this weekend.

Offline Fried Chicken Boy

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #19 on: January 24, 2017, 01:28:26 PM »
Received my Omnicharge today, it really exists! ;D 

Will have more time to play around with it later but initial impression is that it appears fairly well made and has a solid heft to it.  I ordered the "upgraded" version with the DC output which was supposed to come with a cable and changeable barrel tip in order to plug other devices in via the battery's charging port.  However, it looks like the cable (and tip) wasn't included in the box and I'll have to get in touch with their customer service. >:(

Offline wlp

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Re: Omnicharge Pro in the house
« Reply #20 on: January 29, 2017, 12:20:10 PM »
Here's some shots of the Omnicharge pro being tested powering a Zoom f8 with phantom power on all 8 channels. I charged it up when I got it, but had to run it down to 0% charge so I could calibrate the battery.  Have not yet run it out in the wild.  As stated above, it seems like a solid, quality piece of battery gear. I also tested it powering the f8 through the hirose power connector.  Everything looks good.  Nice display readout.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2017, 12:29:12 PM by wlp »

Offline dactylus

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #21 on: February 25, 2017, 11:20:56 AM »

Any field tests yet?

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Offline old and in the way

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #22 on: February 26, 2017, 05:43:28 AM »
i'm still waiting . they now say some time in march wtf!

Offline Fried Chicken Boy

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #23 on: February 27, 2017, 09:03:46 PM »
Any field tests yet?

Yes, I've actually taken the Omnicharge into the field for a few shows over the past month.  Have been planning to do a write-up with my impressions so far and kept slipping my mind until now, my apologies.  It's mostly good with some bad, so I'll get on with it:


THE GOOD:
The build feels very solid and it has a nice heft to it.  Weight is about 21.75 ounces and it's almost a perfect 5-inch square (4.75" x 5") with beveled corners, smooth edges, and just a hair over 1 inch thick.  The display on the front is fairly clear (appears to be OLED) and intuitive but the font is on the small side.

It comes with a 19V / 2.37A wall-wart for charging that terminates in a pretty typical barrel connector, and the battery itself can be charged with any voltage from 4.5 up to 36 volts.  I've successfully charged it with power adapters from Toshiba and Asus laptop computers.  The wall adapter from an Edirol/Roland R-44 will fit it BUT since the R-44 has reverse polarity on the plug you would likely fry the battery or at least trip any protection circuits in it if you try to use it. 

I splurged for the "DC Output" upgrade which makes the Omnicharge's charging port do double-duty as another power output in addition to the AC output and the twin USB outputs.  It can be set via the menu from 1.0V up to 24.5V in 0.1V steps, and will ask you to confirm the voltage that you choose.  One thing to note is that if you turn the Omnicharge off the DC output automatically turns itself completely off as well.  When you turn the battery back on you have to go back into the menu to set the voltage of DC output and turn it back on.  It does have a list of common presets and the last voltage setting you used.  I wish they had put this much thought into the main power buttons on the front; more on that in the "BAD" section below.  The DC output cable they sent (which they forgot to include in my initial shipment) is all but useless to me as the tip I requested doesn't appear to have quite the same measurements that they listed.  Not a problem as it uses a standard barrel connector and I was able to rig up a cable in a matter of minutes with Adapt-A-Plug tips and other stuff I had on hand. 

The voltage output is somewhat close to what you expect to come out.  The AC plug output registers 133.7V on a multimeter which is high for the U.S. standard.  The DC output is a little closer to true with 9V reading as 9.25 and 12V reading as 12.25 on a meter.  The power itself seems pretty clean: running an R-44 and a few preamps at their lowest accepted voltage (9V), I can't hear any hum or whine through headphones plugged into these devices.  I can't say that about the Tekkeon MP3300 which will cause a high-pitched whine at 9V into the R-44, and makes me run the MP3300 at 12V to avoid it. 

In use, the Omnicharge gets fairly warm but not hot to the touch.  I've run some devices that you could fry an egg on after a few hours and this battery hasn't come even close to that so far.  The display actually shows the battery's temperature and I've yet to see it read over 101 F.  This is after running several hours in my gearbag right next to my R-44.  Keep in mind that this has been in music clubs at night where the ambient temperature is probably around 75 F (give or take) and not in the heat of the blazing sun during an all-day festival.  Each of the times I've had the Omnicharge in the field, it's powered an R-44 for about 5 hours straight.  With all 4 channels running, full phantom on two of them, after 5 hours the battery is down about a third (ie 33-35%). 


THE BAD:
The buttons on the face of the battery.  My beef isn't with the implementation of the multi-function buttons, which is very straightforward and intuitive (one short press to power it on, two quick presses to access the menu, a long press to power it off; the AC/USB on-off rocker buttons to scroll through the menu), but is with how easy it is to trigger these buttons, which aren't recessed at all.  The "short press" to power on is a fraction of a second, and the "long press" to power it down is barely over a second.  The AC/USB on-off buttons have no delay at all and are instant-on, instant-off.  Combine this with the fact that there is no way to lock any of these unprotected buttons and just the right amount of pressure against them in your gearbag could turn the battery off during a set you're recording.  Not good.  I haven't had that happen yet as I'm aware of the issue, but I think it's just a matter of time and bad luck before it does. 

I did have the battery accidentally turn on while in my bag.  Packed up after a show one night, made sure the battery (which still had over 30% of its charge left) and everything else was turned off, and went home.  Didn't bother to unpack and check everything until the next day and found the Omnicharge was completely out of juice.  It charged back up just fine and, through some experimenting, I found that on the underside of the lid of my gearbag there was something in the pocket hard enough to have pressed the power button while I was carrying it, I guess. 

I reached out to Omnicharge customer support to see if there was any way to lock these buttons that I was unaware of, change the amount of time you have to press a button to trigger something, or if they could address any of this in a firmware update.  Negative to all of the above with the further caveat that there's no way to update the firmware on the current model.  They did appreciate the feedback and said that it will be passed on to the R&D team.  To be honest, this issue is perilously borderline close to a deal-breaker for me and means that I'll have to be very careful or figure out some kind of failsafe when using this battery in the field. 

To a lesser degree, the shape isn't quite what I'm used to using (Tekkeons, DVD player batteries, etc) and the Omnicharge doesn't fit my gearbag as well as I'd like.  At worst, it's been merely a slight annoyance figuring out what arrangement in the bag works best. 


Anyway, that's what I have so far.  Other than the one glaring issue, I'm happy with the Omnicharge and intend to keep taking it into the field unless it does something to really piss me off, lol.  If there are any questions, something you want me to test out, etc, feel free to post here.  Thanks. 

Offline Fried Chicken Boy

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #24 on: March 01, 2017, 12:36:37 PM »
To follow up, the AC socket reading at 133.7 volts was nagging at me so I did some research to find that it is beyond an acceptable limit.  Reached out to support at Omnicharge and they confirmed that the output should be reading right around 120 volts.  Finding out how they plan to rectify this issue and will keep everyone posted.  Thanks. 

Offline old and in the way

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #25 on: April 08, 2017, 03:50:03 PM »
got mine about a week ago. i'll echo everything CFB says about the battery(really touchy buttons) i found a small bottle cap that i cut down . it fits over the power button ,a little gaffer tape to hold it on and waalaah! low tech but it should prevent accidental shut off.i also had to make a power cable up. What they provide was a joke. dc barrel size 5.5 by 2.1.
 14 mm long. i'll test them out soon at a local show or 2

Offline dactylus

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #26 on: April 09, 2017, 06:12:44 AM »

Thanks for the updates guys!  I'm still interested in this product, especially if they can correct the shortcomings that you guys have pointed out to them.  The "exposed" power buttons scare me...
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Offline Fried Chicken Boy

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #27 on: April 10, 2017, 04:40:12 PM »
i found a small bottle cap that i cut down . it fits over the power button ,a little gaffer tape to hold it on and waalaah! low tech but it should prevent accidental shut off. 

Good idea, OAITW!  I'll have to see if I can jury-rig something like that.  I also agree that the included connector cable leaves a lot to be desired.  It will work but you're better off making one or asking one of TS's resident cable makers to build you one, maybe with an Adapt-a-plug end so you can change out different tips. 

FWIW, I traded a number of emails with Omnicharge support in regards to the reading I'm getting for the AC socket.  As they told me:

"The Omnicharge uses PWM (Pulse-width modulation) controlled modified sine wave which is not linear (like the pure sine wave from your home wall outlet), thus it's normal that the voltage reading of modified sine wave can fluctuate depending on the different loads (testing methods). The effective voltage (RMS value) is still 120V."

I forgot that my multimeter doesn't read true RMS - d'oh!  Confirmed by info from the Fluke website that they linked to, it's pretty typical for a non-TRMS meter to read a modified sine wave around 10% high, which falls in line with the readings I'm seeing.  Short of having a TRMS meter or an oscilloscope to read the AC socket, I'm fairly comfortable that this battery won't fry something I plug into it.  Time will tell.  ;)

Offline old and in the way

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #28 on: April 11, 2017, 09:30:53 AM »
it was a small plastic cap off the wife's hair spray or conditioner . but any small plastic cap will work. i cut it down so it does'nt stick up to far.gaffer tape ( no sticky residue).im looking
for something to cover the other button . i may go to Lowes or H.D and get a piece of clear lexan and rig up a cover for for the entire front.

Offline dactylus

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Re: Omnicharge
« Reply #29 on: April 13, 2017, 04:06:31 AM »
Has Omnicharge come up with any fixes for any of the issues that you guys have brought to their attention?  Like locking the unprotected buttons?
hot licks > microphones > recorder



...ball of confusion, that's what the world is today, hey hey...

 

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