TRACE Up - Wanted

[blueplanetsurf]

We still have some of the Trace Up's in stock at our shop. 
Beasho, you can order one by calling our shop at 808 596 7755

[blueplanetsurf]

I also posted the two we have left on Amazon, so you can order here and click available from other sellers at bottom:
https://www.amazon.com/Trace-Action-Sports-Tracker-Cameras/dp/B017OCMT82

[blueplanetsurf]

Wow, that was fast, both the Trace units we had left sold already on Amazon, so we are out of stock as well.

[surfcowboy]

I think Val Surf in LA might have some too.

[Beasho]

Wow, that was fast, both the Trace units we had left sold already on Amazon, so we are out of stock as well.

You're welcome!   

Jeff Clark bought one of those.  I am trying to get him set up.

I also received a very generous donation of a TRACE from Mark in New Zealand.  He Paid if Forward.  His has been shipped and should give life back to my data.    Thank you, Thank you, Thank you StandUpZone community World!!!!!!!!!

[PonoBill]

I received the trace yesterday, the case is actually fairly easy to open, though getting at the battery is a bit of a challenge. I'll replace it with a new one. There might be enough room for a bigger battery but the battery looks to be a reasonably large size single cell pouch Li-poly. Not much reason to hack the case to make it bigger, so I'll just replace it, restore the waterproofing and fire it back to you.

[Beasho]

I received the trace yesterday, the case is actually fairly easy to open, though getting at the battery is a bit of a challenge. I'll replace it with a new one.

Super-Fantastic.  Thank you again!

Pono had offered to restore my original Trace.  The theory was that the electronics are still healthy so rather than toss the thing just replace the aging battery. 

I have become a TRACE Collector.  Now anticipating failing batteries and the mantra 2 is One and One is None.

[PonoBill]

The good news is I can replace the battery, though this thing is absolutely not made to do so. The bad news is the case got damaged in the attempt, and won't likely be waterproof when I put it back together, so the most effective way to do this is the Frankenstein battery option.



I needed to unsolder the posts that connect the circuit board to the charging connector. The best way is usually to use a SMD rework tool, which uses very hot air to melt the solder, and then wick away all the solder until the posts are clear. Unfortunately, there are components crowded around so I had to direct the heat at the posts instead of the board, and the case melted some before the solder melted. Bummer.



I did manage to lift the board enough to extract the battery, which is a 600mah, 3.7v Lithium as expected.



The third wire is kind of odd. It connects to the board, but it's probably just a balancing lead intended for use in multicell batteries. That's my guess, or it's monitoring for an onboard BMS. The battery I'd replace it with has it's own built-in BMS, so I'd ignore the white wire. I've never seen a single cell like this with three wires and I doubt I could find a direct replacement without help from the management. I expect they'd be less than supportive of my surgery.



Since the case will no longer be waterproof the best option is to fit a 2000mah 3.7 v lithium on the outside and use it in a waterproof bag.

I can see why the company has ditched the product, this is a seriously complex bit of electronics and would be a bitch to support. So many things to go wrong, so few ways to fix it. Given the price they charged and likely size of the market, I'd call this impossible.



Let me know if the Frankenstein option appeals. I'd say this one has a 60 percent chance of working when I'm done. It's a fun challenge to dig into stuff like this.

[Beasho]

Pono:  Another idea is to consider that first TRACE as a sacrificial opening.

Your original TRACE has 1) A good batter and 2) A Good case. 

Since you learned on the first I could send the second.  Combine the electronics from my Original Trace, DC, with the battery and Good parts from your TRACE, PB.

3 Wires, Good Battery, Good Case.  The only risk is if you fry the case again.   

For now I have a working TRACE.  And the electronics in your original TRACE (PB) would drop 3 minutes of every 10 minutes of data.   It was maddening.  You never knew which wave it would fully record, or if it Wouldn't Count a wave because it would bonk half-way through the wave. . . . .

Let me know.

[Beasho]

Here is what a clean Data Pull looks like with the TRACE.

Great Session today 9.0 / 10.0.  Sets were pumping 3.3 @ 17 seconds delivering long, groovy rides on the Go Foil IWA and Easy Foiler.

Crazy thing was that my break, which at most usually has 2 foilers has had 7 yesterday and 6 today. 

Plenty of waves for everyone BUT I was NOT used the crowd. 

9 Waves averaging 338 yards per wave.

[PonoBill]

Pono:  Another idea is to consider that first TRACE as a sacrificial opening.

Your original TRACE has 1) A good batter and 2) A Good case. 

Since you learned on the first I could send the second.  Combine the electronics from my Original Trace, DC, with the battery and Good parts from your TRACE, PB.

3 Wires, Good Battery, Good Case.  The only risk is if you fry the case again.   

For now I have a working TRACE.  And the electronics in your original TRACE (PB) would drop 3 minutes of every 10 minutes of data.   It was maddening.  You never knew which wave it would fully record, or if it Wouldn't Count a wave because it would bonk half-way through the wave. . . . .

Let me know.

A learned a bit, but the underlying problem is desoldering those four pins. This trace is working, I connected it to my SMD rework station's variable power supply and the LED does all the appropriate blinking. It can't connect to GPS inside my shop, but I can see the antenna getting pulsed in the current draw, so I suspect everything is still functional.


Turns out the battery does have some kind of onboard bms and third wire (white) connects to the charge controller (positive) wire. But I think the three wire battery is unnecessary--it's operating happily on my bench with just the pos and neg connected.



The original battery is 25mm X 30mm and 600mah. I can get a 400mah 30x35 battery into the case, but that would deliver less time than the original. I can do the 2000mah battery as a plug in so it would be replaceable externally and the contraption should last days. Current draw connected is 30ma. You'll be able to charge on the original charger base and download the data through the base. The only bummer is waterproofing and a bit of clumsiness. Slip it all into a cellphone bag and strap it to the board. Doable, but ugly.
For that matter I could connect it to a cylindrical 18650 LiPo cell in a holder and you could swap batteries as necessary. Those little pouch cells are kind of nasty no matter how small they are. They're the ones most likely to catch fire. The one that came out of your Trace was puffy.

[PonoBill]

And yes, my days as a hand model are over.

[APPST_Paddle]

Nice work replacing the battery, unfortunately my issue is the case on both of mine. It seems to have separated at the seam a bit on the bottom.

I did really enjoy the Trace while I had it, and the guys there are super nice (it helps I won a trip from them to Tavarua - just to stick that in there one more time).

I'm using the Rip Curl SearchGPS now, and while not perfect, it's durable.

[Beasho]

Pono:  You should be able to test the functionality by downloading the TRACE app.

It is agnostic.  The app will also give battery status, which if you have mutated it, might go to 11-000%

[APPST_Paddle]

On a completely unrelated note, has anyone been able to remove the trace mount from their board without taking the top coat off with it?