Question for LITE users

[Skiron]

Question for LITE users regarding WS4 battery duration

Hi,

I'm a LITE user of the deus (don't have the remote) and I'm using the WS4 module wired to blue xp backphones, in order to have the module in my hands for settings, vdis etc.

However I have noticed that, after full charging the WS4 module & the coil for 3+ hours, the WS4 module seams to drain it's battery really fast and faster than the coil!!!
eg the screen shows 3 bars full for the coil battery, but drops to only 2 bars full for the module battery itself and this happens after about only 2-3 hours of ws4 module use !

Is this normal

 

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[signal_line]

The lithium batteries have a break-in period.

 

[Skiron]

Thanks Signal line.... so with the wired backphones setup, based on your experience how many hours of use (a rough estimate) should I expect for the ws4 module when fully charged?

 

[HuntinDog]

You should get a full days worth of battery out of them.
They did have a battery porblem with V5 and an update fixed it.
Maybe reinstall the update after you have fully charged all of your components.
Be sure to follow the promps on your computer.
Also if you are running a high TX power it will shorten your battery time.

 

[signal_line]

It depends on how you use it and what the temperature is. My opinion if you use the pinpoint button it will draw more battery. Don't run an new battery down flat, but you can run it down to one bar will help to teach it to take a charge. Don't store it fully charged (40% - 70%). Avoid extreme heat like leaving it in a closed car. You'll be just fine. It takes more than a dozen charges to get full capacity. The coil battery is the one you want to watch.

 

[Skiron]

Thank you both..!

I think I'm experiencing some "abnormal" behavior at the WS4 battery and it's charging process... (for example today, and while it was showing 2/3 bars full for the WS4, after only an hour of use the ws4 showed 0/3 and turned off by itself..!!!)

Anyway....as they shuted down today I have to suppose their battery is empty....so I just put the ws4 module alone in charge again some minutes ago, and I will keep an eye on it for the next hours....
Strange thing is, that after only some minutes charging, it's already flashing 3/3 fully charged...... but when I unplug and replug the charger, the charging continious.....:/

I will leave it in charge for at least 3 hours total and will check their duration tomorrow.....I hope that it will stabilize itself after a dozen of charges...otherwise there's maybe something wrong with it.

(coil battery seems to be ok...no problems with it)

 

[signal_line]

Something definitely not right. Almost sounds like a short in the headphones wire. Do you have a different pair of headphones you can try?

 

[Skiron]

hmm... that's something that definetely didn't cross my mind....so is it possible to have the blue backphone's wire short-circuited in some spot and this causes the quick ws4 module battery drain....However I believe that if I had a short-circuit in the wire, I would be able to hear that when using the headphones...

Anyway, I'll try a different pair of wired headphones to see if that solves the issue....and maybe I'll also open the ws4 module after fully charging, to check the inside Li-Po battery with a voltometer to see if it's ideed fully charged (4.2v) or not (3.7v)

Thanks for your tips signal line!

 

[signal_line]

You're probably right. But still something not right. Is this a new machine with V5.21? V5.2 has a battery drain issue sometimes.

 

[signal_line]

Soon after you turn on the WS-4 it will say "5" then the next screen will say "21" meaning V5.21 otherwise you should update.

 

[vferrari]

Yes, update to 5.21, problem is you are going to have to find someone with a remote in order to update. One of the many drawbacks to the lite package.

 

[Skiron]

Thank you guys,

My machine is already running V5.21 and is brand new.

Anyway, I gave WS4 a full 3 hours charge yesterday. In the beginning of the charging process, the bars were alternated between "full charge"/"charging" as I already stated above, but I pluged/unpluged again the charger and at last after a while they stayed in "still charging" status.... so I leave them charging for full 3 hours.

I will use them today and tomorrow and I hope that the issue was just an one-time malfunction...

thanks again

 

[vferrari]

5.21 was released specifically to address a WS4 headphone battery drain issue during standby, if it the issue persists after your "full charge".

 

[Skiron]

Unfortunatelly, even after the 3-hours full charge of the ws4 module yesterday, today after only 10 minutes of use the bars gone from 3/3 to 2/3....in just 10 minutes!!!

So there is definetelly something wrong here....I checked again my version and is indeed V5.21...

I took the risk and carefully opened the module to read the small Li-Po battery's voltage, and it's reading 4.10V in my voltometer.....so the battery is >90% charged and the bars should be 3/3

Since the battery is indeed fully charged, I believe that the issue is maybe not in the battery itself, but in the "battery-level reading" circuit of the software.....battery full but reading is wrong....

Maybe I have to go to my dealer to reload the 5.21 update and/or replace the module...

I hope at least, that in tommorow's 4-5 hours hunt, the module will last and will not kill my hunting session...:/

 

[vferrari]

OK, you posted 5.1 before you apparently edited it, so that is why I replied. Even at 2/3, you should be ok for tomorrow's hunt, but I would definitely get it checked at the dealer and perhaps get a replacement set WS4.

 

[Skiron]

yes, I mistyped 5.1 instead of 5.21 so you're right and I edited it for not congusing anyone....sorry for that.

I hope that tomorrow I'll be able to hunt, but I will definetelly go asap to my dealer to check this issue.

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[signal_line]

Bring along a smartphone USB charger just in case.

 

[Skiron]

Everything fine today regarding WS4 battery issue...it stayed solid @ 3/3 bars after a 5 hours hunting

However, there's something that I need to share...whenever I noticed this ws4 battery "wrong charge-reading" after a full charge, I realize that I was at home using deus and making my usual air tests....and never had such a problem out in the field......so MAYBE, the huge EMI indoors fools the system and causes the misreading

Just a thought for anyone dealing with the same problem.

Thanks a million for your help guys!

 

[signal_line]

Super! When it is charging the three bars light up in succession one, two, three, one two, three, until it is fully charged then they all blink at once. So possibly you were excited and didn't see this?

 

[Skiron]

No no....in the end of yesterday's full charge, it was standart 3/3 full bars blinking all together....showing that charging was completed....but after 10 minutes of (home) use the bars went @ 2/3 full.....

I recharged and the same thig happened again, so I'm sure about it.

Anyway, since today everything was fine in the field that's all that matters and let's hope that problem solved!
However, I wiil keep in mind my note above regarding EMI falsing the charge-reading in house conditions.....I have read the same exact comment yestarday in another forum so maybe that's was the case