MikeTheVapeDude

I got a few boards off a buddy. I'm starting a line of my own mods in custom cut, finished/stained mahogany wood box, 5,500mah Floureon 3S Lipos with an XT60 connector, with a sliding magnetic door. You can either charge and use the lipo into the box, or you can change them out. But this isn't the point. When working on my Reuleaux, and just hearing people in general, I found out the ribbon cable on the DNA200 screen was sensitive, easy to break. WELL I ended up literally flattening a fold on a ribbon, swore I had to have broken it. Nope, then I got curious, as I got two extra screens off him just in case this happened. I have bent, pinched, moved, folded and put pressure on this ribbon EVERY which way, even in the locations next to the ZIF connection pins and next to the area on the glass itself. NOTHING will break this ribbon. NOTHING. I have TRIED, well I'm not going to outright destroy it by cutting it in half, but after the stress tests, it's held up fabulously. Did Evolv beef these up, or is this just the little screen ribbon who could? The first screen on my Reuleaux went out when I just barely BENT the ribbon, this one has at least 20 folds in it (full crease, flattened folds) in every place imaginable and it WILL NOT break.

See I figured it'd be there but I thought EARLY firmware meant at the beginning of the DNA200's life, but I guess it's still in the early phase. My bad. AH I see, the firmware is INCLUDED WITH Escribe, I didn't know that. Thank you.

I swear I have looked EVERY where and I cannot find where Evolv puts the latest firmware updates. Like, Escribe is set to default update but it doesn't. The newest I can find is the 9-2015 update on Wismec's website, which I have updated. But where is the official Evolv source? I can take a DNA200 apart and put one together but I have NO idea where to find the firmware. LOL I checked the sticky topics, searched, googled and still no luck. Someone help my poor stupid ass.

I've completely reground my Reuleaux, swapped ALL the stock connection wires with bigger ones and safely positioned the ribbon out of harms way. On the DNA200 board, once the mod is taken apart, you should see two 510 connections on the top of the board. GRND is where the issue is (as Wismec decided a small screw was enough to ground an entire 200W board), I recommend you do what I did, take a piece of copper wire, 16-18awg, I used 16awg silver stranded, and solder it to grnd, and run it up to the bottom of the 510, and solder it directly to the metal piece of the 510. Now you have a much better, more secure ground. But yes, you will need a soldering iron, wire and general soldering/electronics know how. I do not recommend you just go pick up an iron and some solder and try to do this winging it. I took out the entire board and clamped it to a helping hands station doing this, the only thing I soldered inside the mod was the ground when I put the board back in, as I soldered it to the 510 which was obviously already inside the mod, as well as the 510 positive. In order to take the sled out, you will need to remove the two starbit screws on the top and bottom of the mod, and all the screws (ground included) on the back of the sled. Then you just firmly, but carefully, pull it out. The way Wismec grounded it also evidently has something to do with the first balance port, which you'll have to resolder as well if you intend on charging batteries inside the mod. But take note, four of the screws inside the sled go to the faceplate, so when you take them off, make sure you're holding the plate so you don't lose the freefloating + and - buttons. MAKE 100% SURE WHEN YOU GO TO PUT THE MOD BACK TOGETHER THE NEW AREAS YOU HAVE SOLDERED ARE OUT OF THE WAY OF CONTACTING/SHORTING --ANY-- OTHER PARTS, RATHER IT BE THE BOARD, THE WIRES OR THE CASE ITSELF. A SHORT COULD BLOW YOUR FUSE OR BEST CASE KEEP THE MOD FROM WORKING, OR WORST CASE CAUSE YOU TO SHORT AGAINST THE BATTERIES AND CAUSE A RUNAWAY EVENT. DO EVERYTHING I'VE STATED --AT YOUR OWN RISK.-- Redoing the ground on your own without experience could mess up the negative connection on the sled, cause a short, possibly ruin the board, as well as other things. Also, grounding it to the metal threads of the 510 could only be done if you can get the wire positioned correctly AND solder it CLEANLY and SAFELY onto the 510, to where everything still fits, the connection is secure and nothing is at risk of shorting. If not, find another ground.

Feel free to speak to me in Polish, as I know the language as well as German fairly well, also a number of Slavic languages as I'm originally a native to Serbia who moved to the US. I know what it's like learning English, and how frustrating it can be to never seem like you're saying the right things. I've been there, and I'm happy to help if the store doesn't get it sorted out from you. But to me, if Escribe wasn't even reading a resistance in the atomizer analyzer, it's probably a 510 issue, but the screen being dimmed out sounds like an issue with the board itself or a connection if the brightness was maxed out. Unless you have horrible luck, and your button flexed your screen ribbon to death, AND you came up with a 510 issue. Either way, best of luck still, and I'm happy to help if the store can't in any way I can, as I also know what it's like to have frustrating issues with a DNA200 device.

Czy chcesz powiedzie?, ?e jasno?? ekranu jest pewne na maksimum? Bo widz?, ekran, ledwo. Wewn?trzna ZIF mog? by? lu?ne, lub sama wst??ka mo?e by?. Tak?e by zdoby? jeden z wcze?niejszych wersji, gdzie przycisk uderzy?a wst??k? raczej ?le. Fakt, nie ma odpowiedzi do rozpylacza jest problem sprawia, ?e rzecz mo?e mie? lu?ne po??czenie gdzie?, czy mo?e ca?a p?yta jest z?a. Przepraszam za to, mój polski jest o jak twój angielski, nie najlepsze. Id? do analizatora rozpylacza w Escribe i upewni? si?, czy urz?dzenie jest w?a?ciwie odczytuj?c opór (Ohms) urz?dzenia.

I think that's a bit harsh of a comment. They added those battery rings to protect the board and the mod, and chances are if your batteries aren't making a connection, it's an issue with the wraps and those batteries shouldn't be used until they're properly wrapped. A lot of the battery sleds in mods tear at the top and bottom of the battery wraps, especially the top. My Reuleaux doesn't do this, and I've had several kinds of batteries in it. That isn't to say the Reuleaux doesn't have problems. I took mine apart, positioned the screen ribbon out of harms way, took out all the wiring for the power connections on the board and replaced it with thicker, more conductive wire and grounded the board out better. Since I replaced the wiring, the mod is much more efficient on battery life, I don't have to worry about my screen failing and I know it's got a good, secure ground. This mod, especially now that I've fixed it properly, is my favorite device. I have a Lavabox DNA200, a Vaporshark DNA200 and in the past I owned a Pre-Production Hana Modz V200 DNA200 (That thing was just garbage.) as well as other non-DNA high wattage/TC devices. Is that to say Wismec shouldn't have waited instead of just releasing the mod with these issues? No, that's not okay at all. But I wouldn't boil it down to them being money hungry bastards, more just, not knowing what to do with their first DNA200 mod, it's the first retail mod of its kind. A DNA200 under $200 that takes 18650's opposed to a pre-installed small ass lipo. They're also correcting these issues on the newer Reuleaux's. The reason the RX200 doesn't have them is a mixture of people bitching about the positive rings and the fact that the mod is $100 cheaper, and is constructed out of cheaper materials to cut cost. But I wouldn't take an RX200 if you handed me one for free, at least one has outright blown up that we know of, and the mods are dying left and right. Not to mention it still suffers the same issues of the DNA200 version, minus the screen ribbon, as it has undersized wiring and is only grounded with a screw. It's a sketchy, virtually untested chip in a more cheaply made frame. It also couldn't even pass a cotton burn test at launch. I love my DNA200 Reuleaux, I love the DNA200. Did my Reuleaux have problems? Yes, none that I didn't fix before they became ACTUAL problems, everything I did was preventative, but it's been doing good for about a month now. Were the problems hard to fix? No, not really, but I'm an amateur mod maker and an engineer by occupation so it's probably easier to me than most, I'm surgeon steady with a soldering iron these days. But should Wismec have corrected these issues before launch? Absolutely, but I'm not sure they were 100% aware of all the problems, I know in the beta units the wiring was even smaller, so they at least tried. People are being harsh on the Reuleaux because it's the new kid on the block. Basically EVERY SINGLE retail DNA200 device launch has came with its fair share of issues on this forum, and from what I can tell, honestly, the Reuleaux has had far less than some of the other's like the Hana Modz V200 and the VT200 Box. Make sure your batteries are properly wrapped and the positive tab has a protection ring around it to where ONLY the positive dent tab is sticking out. Otherwise, not only is it unlikely the Reuleaux will even accept your batteries for use, it's just outright unsafe to do. Is the Reuleaux DNA200 perfect? No, it isn't. Does it have some minor issues? Yeah. Major issues, I'd say no. The screen ribbon thing is its biggest problem, as the wiring is still within minimum Evolv standard and the ground on the DNA200 version is at least decent, and the mod still works without a screen. But that doesn't excuse the issues or make them okay. But I'd rather get a wonky Reuleaux that I had to fix, than get another V200 or a VT200. People really need to calm down about this mod, other than the screen ribbon concerns, it has no SERIOUS issues with it. The battery tabs thing isn't even a 'problem', because 18650's are designed IDENTICALLY, the difference is the internal cell chemistry and the wraps, and SOMETIMES the length can vary SLIGHTLY, but the positive tab is gonna be the same. It's how it's wrapped that matters. I would not say the reason for Wismec releasing the mod like they did was a result of greed or carelessness, I'd chalk it up to inexperience, it's their first high wattage mod, their first DNA200 mod, the first retail DNA200 that takes three 18650's and one of the few DNA200's under $200 that isn't an absolute shitpile like the VT Box was. (Not the VT200, though it did have problems, the one with the vented magnetic door that was made out of plastic and fail.) The important thing is, they're helping their customers out by fixing and/or sending them newer versions of the mod, and if you don't want to wait, the problems are fairly easy to fix on your own, and cheap. They're also correcting these issues for the newer versions. Now the RX200.. that thing is just, unacceptable. Much like my opinion on the IPV4 and the 50 Watt iStick, any mod that can just explode at idle rest without a direct short (AKA user carelessness) should be recalled and pulled from store shelves. That's dangerous, and when the mods do go bad, it makes us ALL look bad in the vaping community.

To be, it seems like it'd be difficult to mess up the polarity on a three battery mod. There's just more work, so more attention. Probably just me. But every triple 18650 sled I've seen is well labeled. But it certainly wouldn't hurt to have it protected. Great idea though, I used to rig up PFET's on my old Raptor boxes, as well as zener diodes for voltage cutoffs, but I NEVER thought of an LED, that's a really solid idea. The double 18650 caps the chip at 133, doesn't it? Because I hardly ever have my DNA200 above 100W, this could be the first DNA200 configuration I try to make, as I already own a triple 18650 Reuleaux I've torn apart, replaced all the wiring with thicker gauged stranded silver wire, regrounded the mod more securely and adjusted the ribbon out of harms way on. I've been thinking hard on making my own DNA200 as a fun project, as I own a Lavabox, a modified Reuleaux and a VS. I WAS considering using a shapeways 3D printed box with a 2,200mah Turnigy but I may just get a buddy to cut me out a wooden enclosure with walnut and make a dual 18650 DNA133. Lol. Thanks for this, mainly just the LED thing, I NEVER thought of that piece of genius. Though I will say I've never been a huge fan of the keystone sled, though I know any - + + - series sled is obviously wired the same way as the keystone in the diagram. Thanks Mamu.

Connect it to Escribe with no batteries in it to see if Escribe recognizes the device. If so, carefully insert three, married, fully charged properly wrapped batteries (the positive contacts on the Reuleaux DNA200 are picky and won't let you use batteries with wonky wraps, at least up top), then go a complete restore to defaults and a hard reboot. Go into the device monitor, with an atomizer attached (use the 'Set Power' option in the device monitor menu to up the wattage to a reasonable number), also, before you do this, go into the atomizer analyzer to make sure it's accurately reading the ohms of whatever device is connected. If all is good, device is connected, mod works, good batteries, a decent wattage option is set, hit the firing button in the device monitor to see if it's sending power. If it isn't, click the firing button five times to see if it's locked, which if it is, that will unlock it and try again. If the chip is good and Escribe recognizes it, and the 510 is making contact, plus you know it isn't locked, and it won't fire, I have NO IDEA what your problem is, but it's unlikely all this would occur. If Escribe won't recognize the device at all, batteries in it or not, your entire board is dead, could be anything, but I'd check the fuse if this is the case to see if it's simple to fix. If Escribe is recognizing it and your ohms are off or not reading, the 510 has an issue. If all that is fine, but it still won't fire, your firing button could not be connecting, or a solder joint/wire is faulted somehow and needs to be replaced/resoldered. If it fires, is recognized, reads and all that, your mod is either in stealth mode or the ribbon cable has gave from being flexed or something like that. Or your batteries could just be making the mod not want to power up because of how they're wrapped. Try all this and post your results. Make sure you let us/me know if Escribe is even recognizing the device, you kinda didn't give any details last time. All the little stuff matters.

I love my Reuleaux, but, I've replaced the screen entirely because I broke the first one, though the replacement has the ribbon cable safely out of the way, I replaced the wiring with more conductive, thicker wire and I grounded it out much more efficiently. Bone stock, I'd worry about these things. Weren't too hard to fix, but I make mods and even I broke the screen once. I'd say the ground (which is only a f'ing screw) on the sled is probably loose or your batteries aren't connecting if it's completely dead, though your zif socket could be f'd, your ribbon broke, or etc and the mod works, you just don't know it.

I got mine fixed, I bent an inward U into the ribbon on the newer screen Evolv sent me. But I also dismantled the entire mod and used lower gauge, thicker silver wiring because it was to my understanding that the stock wires were barely good enough to get the job done. I also grounded it better. I really like this mod. I love the DNA200, I like the battery life I can get out of three 18650's without having to shove some big 3,200mah 3S lipo into a box, the 510 is strong and conductive, easy to remove battery door, responsive buttons. But with the screen at risk and the wires undersized, that's a big no. Not everyone has the stones to tear apart their mod to fix it like I did and some others have, so I really hope Wismec gets these three things done. Bigger wiring Better sled ground Ribbon cable fix I already have a Reuleaux that's like this, and I'll say, it's more efficient on the batteries and I don't have to worry about random failure as much. I dig it. To anyone who has a Reuleaux, some 14-16awg wire, and some 22-24awg wire with a soldering iron/solder, I recommend replacing the battery sled connection wires and the 510 wires, then the balance wires. Also, tighten that ground screw securely, I completely took it out and grounded it to solid metal, but, to each their own.

So I just tried some 430 SS and I must say it vaped fantastic compared to 316-316L-317L wires.

I never claimed the DNA200 was magical or that SS beat all other forms of TC. Though I do like it. Honestly I like Titanium the best so far, it's a fun wire for TC, given that I can build crazier coils without having to worry about uberlow resistance.

There could be a issue with the connection from lipo pack to board. I'm not sure if the VT200 has the battery soldered directly to the board, or if it has connectors. The solder connection could be loose if it's soldered in, or the connector to board solder joints could be loose if that's the case, as well as a loose connection in the actual connectors if they're there. Also, you could've depleted your lipo pack too low, but I say it's HIGHLY unlikely to have depleted your lipo pack that low without it venting, as well as having two of the three cells in great shape. Once a 3S gets below about 2.5-2.8V it enters the venting danger zone, but the board as a cell cutoff so again, unlikely. There's most likely an issue with the battery to board connection, or maybe an overall board problem, but BtB connection is your most likely issue. If you got the stones, tear it apart and check out the connections. It could be the battery itself though, as one cell being depleted could signal the 3S has lost an internal connection to one of the inner-3.7V cells within the pack, and it wouldn't necessarily mean the battery was ever in danger of venting. I'd say best case scenario, you tighten a connection/touch up a solder point or get an identical lipo pack to install in the mod, worst case scenario need a new board. But I doubt it's a board issue. Probably a build issue, or the pack itself as stated.

Got the screen, took it, U folded the cable inward in, the button just barely misses the cable, but no flexing or touching is down at all, reused the sticky pad, took just a dab of new glue, fitted the screen on, tightened the screws. Batteries, moment of truth.. it can see. The screen is alive and the cable is 100% out of harms way. I'm back in action glowin' in the dark. Thanks for the speedy service response Evolv. You guys really do care.

Well, according to the tracking ID from USPS, it'll be in my PO box tomorrow around the time I wake up. I'll swing by radio shack or home depot to get the required glue and reuse the pad. Here's hoping I don't ruin screen #2, and also hoping I haven't somehow ruined the ZIF connector to where even a functioning screen wouldn't work.

Define bend it with a credit card. Like press the wire down with a credit card or fold it over a credit card? All I care about is that the ribbon isn't flexed by any buttons and stays in place inside the Reuleaux.

I can tell the difference between regular wattage on stainless steel wire and TC curves on it. Besides, trying to vape with SS wire on a DNA200 tends to be a bit annoying as all of my DNA200 devices confuse themselves and start in TC mode then eventually swap to regular wattage. The coefficient of SS wire is high, yes, but TC is still definitely an option. It's not like you're using regular curves, it's a whole different material setting on the CSV, so that higher coefficient is accounted for in the different curve setup, and the much smaller changes in resistance can be accounted for by the device. I mean, the experience will obviously differ, because the coefficients of the SS wire changes between type (304, 316L, 316, 317L, etc.) also, some different kinds of SS will work better. There's actually some types of SS wire with ideal coefficient ratings to use with TC, they're just not actively being used that I know of, it's kind of a all in theory thing. But I do know that with custom material settings on a new curve, the DNA200 can use SS wire with temperature control fairly well, maybe not as good as Nickel or Titanium, yet, but it's definitely a viable option. The future holds promise, though.

I've used the Aspire Triton .3 316L SS coils in a Supertank Mini for a few days with the CVC off Steam Engine and it's worked great, though when I tried to use actual 317L wire I could NOT get it to work until I spaced the coils out (a lot, like OCD spaced perfectly, it was more trouble than it was worth imo) but when it finally did work it worked good. SS seems to be my personal favorite TC wire at this point, but I can feel the stress of trying to get 317L wire to function properly. But it CAN be done.

I F'd up the screen on my Wismec Reuleaux DNA200D (my own fault, the mod is still holding up fantastic though I did tear it apart and use lower gauge, thicker 100% stranded silver wire on all the connections). Evolv said they'd send me a new screen today, so now I'm waiting. When I get the new screen, I already know (because I screwed my last screen's ribbon cable up) the ribbon cable is hellatiously sensitive to bending, so how should I go about installing it? I also want to make 100% sure I don't install it the way Wismec did factory (with the button flexing on it) so what's the best way for me to SAFELY do an S fold on the ribbon, install it into the ZIF, lock it and press it down? Also, does that sticky pad with glue COME with the screen or do I have to glue it in myself? If I do, what kind of glue should I use? My only experience with DNA200 boards is with pre-assembled chips and screens with the fuse in place and the screen glued in. Thanks in advance.

My screen is now completely dead but the mod is fine. I removed every wire in the mod and replaced them with lower gauged, thicker 100% silver stranded wire and got them all seated nicely, I used 93% Tin, 5% Silver, 1.9% Copper and 0.1% Gold solder. It's expensive, thick stuff but I always use it because it seems to stick well and is high conductive. The mod is still working great, once I get a new screen and make sure the cable is out of harm's way this will probably be a very fitting and enjoyable mod provided the board stays good, but I plan on ordering two spare boards just in case, because I really am loving the whole DNA200 experience with triple 18650's powering it. On an unrelated note, I just screwed a Supertank Mini with a .3 Ohm Aspire Triton 316L SS coil fitted inside, set the .316L Steam Engine custom CSV curve on it, set it to vape at 467F at 52W standard at a 65W 1S 8.6 punch preheat, tank's filled with 1.5mg Nic Pink Doozie (Strawberry Donut) and this thing is giving the best vape. GREAT flavor, I recommend trying SS TC on the DNA200 with a custom CSV curve if you haven't, because I usually vape Titanium and Nickel but SS TC is WHERE IT IS AT. I've gotten to where I very rarely vape in regular wattage non-TC configs.

Savior is a choice word. Some of us are vaping blind DNA's now because of this thread. I'm kidding, I know he only meant help and no harm and it's my fault. Lol. But for real, not everyone got the long end of the stick on that deal.

Believe me, I saw the post where dude (maybe you?) broke his screen, and I made 110% sure it was secure right, even now that it's broken I still baby it. My ZIF flap is still in tact and appears to work fine. So I'm just using Escribe Device Monitor and locking the wattage, but it works. I submitted a help ticket also. So, when I DO get a new screen if ever, does it come with that, glue sticky pad? Or no pad? Or pad but no glue? Would I have to glue the screen on myself, find a seat for the underside of it, etc?

I fixed my screen, but it flickers. So I still need a new one. Installing it seems easy, I was just too rough on the ribbon cable. Will a DNA40 screen work fine or? Give me a link to ANYTHING I can use, this is the only DNA I got. Also, in this general area, is there anything I can damage besides the screen? Could I ruin the ZIF connector or anything on the board?

Where do I get a screen, and how to I install it? That's all I want to know.