iPower QC/low voltage

The Ipower Report

Quality Control.

Fresh off the assembly line the batteries are given a full charge to
8.4
VDC and then discharged to check capacity. Anything below 470mAh is
rejected. Then the batteries are are charged to 8.4 and stored for a
20 day
cooling period. After 20 days the batteries are discharged to test for
leakage, self discharge and overall capacity. Duds get the hook. Then
they
receive a partial charge to 7.9 VDC (70%) and tested again, any
batteries
not up to 7.9V are rejected. By law, the batteries can not be shipped
at
full charge, 70% max.

Based on feedback and analysis from Tyler, and Renauld at Trew Audio
Canada, and Rick Patton, (formally of Location Sound Canada, now with
Trew Audio Vancouver), we tested and logged the behavior of the
original 400 mAh
version, which lead to the current 500 mAh version, which was sent to
Larry
Fisher, where more extensive testing was done again. It took over a
year to
get a product worthy of hard core professional audio users, and any
cutbacks
in quality would undo this effort. iPower has worked openly to upgrade
the
product, and shortages have occurred from rejecting lesser quality
Lithium.
The Lithium Polymer is used in many other OEM products, but it is the
fine
tuned battery electronics (inside the battery) that allow this product
to
exist, and refining that circuitry will be the enhancements that will
make
this battery the best it can be. As the returned batteries come in,
the
factory is analyzing them and logging the component failure. When
reoccurring component failure is detected the component will be
upgraded.
There have not been enough returns to find a weak spot. If you walk
into
your dealer you can exchange them there. If you buy by mail order you
can
also send them to iPower. We try to be as responsive as our dealers,
but
they set the bar very high.


Low Voltage.

The low voltage issue seems to be pointing at the charging process.

If the battery is charged in the NMH position it will usually charge
to 7.2
VDC. and the run time will be diminished. If the Li-Po charging
circuit is
defective it may cause a similar result. Any partial charge symtom
will
yeild a lower voltage. If the battery is defective but still working,
it
should still charge to 8.4, but should have a reduced run time. this
should
be the case 95% of the time.

Also if the terminals are not mating properly the same low voltage
result
may occur.
This could be caused by a defective terminal or terminal conection, a
loose
terminal, or improper insertion. If the battery is wobbly the
terminals are
streched or defective. The terminals were upgraded around 8 months
ago.
The charger returns have been very low, and it is possible that the
batteries are being blamed for charger/charging problems. Especially
when a
group of batteries are showing low voltage symptoms. It is harder to
detect
as the channels are independent, and any or all of the channels may be
at
fault. It is best to cycle the batteries a couple of times to
stabilize the chemistry.

Please email or phone me if the above low voltage explanation does not
seem
to apply, as we are still learning, and don't have all the answers
yet.

I feel the to need to point out that the money our customers are
saving
usually comes straight out of the dealers pocket and no other industry
has
displayed the dedication to clean power and customer satisfaction that
Trew
Audio and the location sound dealers across America and the UK have
shown.
Lectrosonics, Shure, ComTek and BeachTek have also worked hard in
bringing
this product to the marketplace.

We have no intention of letting them down.

Best Regards,

Richard Lintlop
iPowerUS
866-436-4400
richard.DeleteThis@ipowerus.com

Richard

My hat is off to you.

I have had my set for about a year now, with NO problems. When I
received them, I did as you suggested above and cycled them 3 -4 times
before putting them into service.

I use them in Comtek receivers and a set of talkback boxes. Since
they don't demand a lot of power, I can't say what your batteries
would do under more strenuous conditions.

To wind this up, your little jewels have saved me many, many boxes of
batteries. Batteries that would have gone into the landfill. Your
batteries have GREATLY EXCEEDED my expections. Job well done!!

Have you considered using this technology in other battery
configurations (i.e. AA)?

Have a GREAT DAY!!!

Ray