Nisei

Well, not really useless. I mean, you wouldn't want the charge circuit to be active when it's connected to a power supply

I know how it's connected inside the battery but that doesn't matter since the + side of the battery gets disconnected when you insert a plug into the DC connector I've drawn in my schematic. The only important thing I need to know is if the balancing lead for cell #3 is connected to the B+ connector on the DNA200 somehow. If not, my setup would work and the DNA can be left at the "Battery" setting even when you're using external DC since it still measures the balancing of the cells through the balancing leads.

Thanks. So you've measured it with a multimeter? (sorry, I want to make sure) That would mean the balancing wire from the battery connected to the pin labeled #3 is actually redundant because the connection is already hard wired on the board.

Sorry, I called it pin 3 but I mean the pin most to the left labeled 3. Like you said, it would be considered the + of the battery. So what I'd like to know if it is perhaps connected to the B+ terminal on the board.

Perhaps someone with a multimeter could check if pin 3 of the balancing connector (left pin) is connected to B+?

I want to completely bypass the battery while still having the battery inside the mod (and without having to change the power source in e-Scribe). Like mentioned before, connecting the DNA200 through the USB connector only means you're charging while vaping. You're not actually passing through anything (I really wonder who came up with the term "passthrough" because in my opinion it's wrong). Let's say your battery has 10% useable charge left and you go on a car trip for 4 hours. There's no way the charger can keep up with your vaping (unless you're a tootle puffer ) so after about an hour you're still left with an empty battery and can't vape anymore. Using real pass through you could vape as long as you want and at the end of the trip the battery still has as much charge left as when you stepped into your car.

I'm not so sure about that. What if the cell 3 balancing lead terminal is directly connected to B+ on the DNA200 board? I don't have a board yet so I can't check this. That would mean the switch of the socket doesn't actually do anything and you're connecting the DC input straight to the battery... I've sent John a PM asking if someone of the team can answer this but I guess he's too busy atm.

No-one?

I'm using an Ersa RDS80 but I wouldn't recommend you a $150 soldering station if you're not seriously thinking about soldering at least a couple of times a week. If only used for hobby and small components a simple fine tipped 40W model will do the job very well.

Interesting, thanks for the link. However, as already mentioned in the replies, diodes will give a voltage drop, something you really don't want in this case. And to be honest I'd feel more comfortable with a physical switch. Hope a member of the Evolve team can chime in and tell what's the best way to accomplish this.

I'm not sure what you have in mind. Could you post a drawing? Where do the diodes come in?

I wouldn't even consider torturing the USB connector with a 23A current.

I think the term "pass through" is usually being used completey wrong. You can charge your battery while vaping but you can never vape directly from a 1A USB connection. When I'm in my car and behind the computer I want to be able to (chain)vape from an unlimited power source, so without draining the internal battery at all. So yes, I want to be able to completely bypass the battery in such cases.

That's exactly what I'm trying to accomplish here Laguz75 But without having to take out the battery when connecting it to an external source.

Thanks John I was planning on setting the DNA source selector to Battery, not Power Supply. Kinda like fooling the DNA into thinking it's being powered by a battery even though it's getting its power from an external source. I think I've explained everything pretty much like what it is: A mod that has a battery inside plus a DC connector that lets it run straight from an external DC source (car battery) without having to change the power source in escribe. All I'd like to know is if this setup would work. But please share your thoughts on this.

I have an idea to make a mod that supports both an internal battery and DC power in socket. You have these DC sockets that have a physical switch which disconnects the internal power source when you insert a plug. Pretty easy but the problem is that you can only switch between Battery power and Power Supply through escribe. My question: what would happen if I wire it up like in the drawing below and leave it set to Battery in the power source setting all the time? When powered from an external source the board would still measure the voltage of the individual cells from the battery but get its main power from the external source.

Ah well if it's permanent I'd just put the fuse on the car side instead of the mod.

Ah yes, looks like a car fuse. But may I ask why you want to use a fuse? If you make sure everything's wired up like it should then there's no chance it's going to blow unless something would be seriously wrong with the board itself.

Great idea. You can make a very sleek and light mod when using external power. Please post when finished. Oh, a tip; I'm not sure how you were planning on installing the fuse but there's a great lighter plug on eBay that has a built in, easy to replace (by unscrewing the tip) fuse. http://r.ebay.com/ZLdqnw

Oh, I forgot to mention you don't need to wire any balance connectors when making a mod for your car. And in escribe, set Battery type to Power Supply. Doh! Forgot about that myself so it won't be possible to switch between internal and external power on the go

You mean the last

Yeah I had that idea too. Shouldn't be a problem to hard wire it. The board can take an absolute max of 16V. I'm already using a mod with my own regulator I built myself in the same way. The DNA200 mod I'm going to build will have dual power options. It's got a battery inside and a DC Power In socket which will disconnect the battery when you put a plug in the socket. That way you can use it as a regular mod on the go and save battery power while it's connected to an external power source (car battery or other DC power supply).

Not quite. DNA's have a "limp mode" where it will still fire at low battery conditions. Unless the battery is completely dead, you should still be able to vape (not chain vape).[/QUOTE] Cool, that I didn't know about.

Oh I know. But my comment was about when you forget charging and do run flat halfway through the day. I just like to have a spare available at all times. Fixed batteries just ain't my thing.

Why not?[/QUOTE] Because then the charger would have to be able to deliver all the power. A phone hardly uses any power, an APV needs lots of power. When your APV cuts out because the battery is low and you then plug it into a charger doesn't mean you can start vaping right away.