Rondo Cradle-Goodbye to failed overnight charges?

[Tim]

I've got a Rondo 3 and early on I had a lot of failed charges where it seemed that during the night. Plenty of others have had similar problems.   @Roy mentioned using a rubber band to hold it in place while on a boat at sea.  I've been using a rubber band and that works well for me.

On the other hand, being an engineer, I thought perhaps we could could come up with something better. That got me thinking it would be nice to make something that could hold it in place.  I talked about the idea with @John Schulz who said if I could design it, he would make it available to others.  Challenge accepted!

I have a prototyping lab down the hall so yesterday I asked a colleague, Dr. Bill Dresselhaus, which CAD program he recommended for use on the printers.  He said Fusion 360 was his usual recommendation but if I sketched out my idea, he would make enter the first version in Fusion 360.  Second challenge accepted!  (He is a ringer and I was not going to neglect that offer, he worked with Steve Jobs as the industrial designer for the Apple Lisa computer.)

I collected measurements and sketched out a basic design on Wednesday night. I sent Bill the sketch and the next day he  sent me the CAD file.  I walked it down to the prototyping lab and Ed Ivory was able to quickly queue it up for a 3D printer before he had to leave.

Design requirements:

• Material is non-ferrous and doesn't interfere with charging.
• Should fit both Rondo 3 and Rondo 2.  Including the Rondo 3 with clothes clip still attached.
• Open design to allow air ventilation around processor and pad.
• Sits on charging pad (no risk of damage to charging pad like a sticker.)
• Needs to keep charging port accessible and LED light visible.
• Designed to fit Med-El aircharge rectangular Qi charger.

I have more testing to confirm that the Rondo doesn't wiggle off to get a failed charge overnight but without further delay, here is the fruit of our little project.  Thanks to Bill Dresselhaus, John Schulz, and Ed Ivory!  Shout out to Roy too for the rubber band idea that was a big help for my Rondo use and triggered the idea.

All of this happened in 16 hours hours from the design sketch to the first successful charge pictured below!

Without further delay, here is the Rondo charging cradle!  

This is the first prototype and we have a some possible tweaks and testing.  We'll post a 3D printable file up at some point for free download and printing.  On the other hand, people that don't want to mess with a 3D printer will be able to order one from @John Schulz in a couple of weeks. 

Why call it Rondeo?  I was thinking it was like a corral for the bucking bronco of a processor.  That made me think of Rondo+Rodeo=Rondeo.  Probably a bad name but then I'm an engineer, not a marketer.  Feel free to suggest an alternative name.

Also, if you have suggestions for changes, let me know.  Again, we plan on making a design available on-line for free but will let John Schulz be the "exclusive distributor" with a version available for sale (I won't make anything on it - I want to support a hardworking, CI-wearing college student!)  We'll post in here as it progresses and I can feel greater confidence that it works consistently for my Rondo 3.  (Size should work for a Rondo 2 but I don't have one to test.)

Again, thanks to a wonderful team!

 

 

 

[Lauren]

Keeping with Med-El’s musical theme, might I suggest Etude for the name.

[Tim]

I thought you were going to say AudioCorral since it seems like a requirement that nearly every accessory and app must start with Audio? 🙂

[Enegra]

I suggest a Lullaby, since the cradle is supposed to put the Rondo to sleep. Please no "Audio" prefix, Med-El really ought to unlearn it by now!

[Mary Beth]

I LOVE this!!!! (Rondo 2 does not seem to rotate on the charger.  I have not read user reports of failed charging issues due to positioning for Rondo 2.)

Do you think it would be helpful to have markings on the cradle that people can use to line up the cradle so they position it correctly on the pad and the Rondo 3 is in the optimal position like Med-El’s recently posted pic?

 

Naming- I am in favor of calling it a name that clearly shouts its use.  So I like Rondo Cradle.

 

link to recent Med-El pic of optimal charging position 

 

[Mary Beth]

@Tim I hope you will share this at our August 20th GoogleMeet 

[Tim]

@Mary Beth Of course, happy to talk about that and/or the Anatomy Based Fitting appointment in an hour. 

Speaking of which, I'll show the cradle off to my Audi and the Med-El rep. That was part of why I was racing to try getting the first one done so quickly. Hoping they have a Rondo 2 around for testing.  (Any Rondo 2 users in the Portland metro area?)

 

 

 

[Anthony Canada]

I haven't had any problems charging my Rondo 3 on the supplied air charger but this is a great modification for anyone with kids or pets that might bump the table.

[Lauren]

@Anthony Canada my area has been seismically active and just in the past week I’ve had multiple failed charges. So this Rondo Cradle (though why NOT call it AudioCorral 😛) would be perfect to have.

[Tim]

@Anthony Canada Glad to hear that you haven't been having problems with the Rondo 3 charging.  I haven't had problems in a while not either since using the rubber band. You're right about the kids and pets also being a possible problem.

By the way, I just finished showing it to my Med-El rep (Sarah) at the ABF appointment this morning.  She loved it and her first thought is how helpful it would be for a person she knows in Alaska that had her Rondo stop charging due to an overnight earthquake.  I said, that wouldn't happen to be @Lauren and she said yes!  Small world syndrome!

The rep said she could also envision it being very helpful other users:

• a blind Rondo user she knows would helped a lot
• people with decreased dexterity, (Parkinson's and related issues)
• in dorm settings for college students

 

[Lauren]

I suspected we would have the same CAM as Sarah covers Alaska. We even had an earthquake at my first ABF appointment. She was attending via zoom though but my Audiologist and I about dove for cover. 

Can’t wait to hear about your experience with ABF and what your thoughts on it are. Really hoping it will help you. Sounds like your clinic finally got the right file to them at least?

[Tim]

@Mary Beth  Thanks for the suggestion about text or some orientation cue. 100% agree.   Have a few ideas - just didn't make it into the first prototype. 

Glad to hear that Rondo 2 users don't seem to have the problem.  At my ABF appointment this morning, my Audi gave me one of her nonfunctional Rondo 2 demos - "no need for this any longer - you can have it!"

The result is that I can confirm that the first prototype fits the Rondo 2 physically as well as a Rondo 3 with clothes clip.  I can't confirm that the position for the Rondo 2 works for charging yet. 

I mentioned my hypothesis that the Rondo 3 is more susceptible to movement with the clothes clip might change the

• location of the contact point,
• center of gravity,
• and the size of the contact point.  

My Med-El rep agreed that the clothes clip might accentuate the issue and problem for some users. 

 

 

[Anthony Canada]

You get a Med-El rep at your appointments?

[Tim]

29 minutes ago, Anthony Canada said:

You get a Med-El rep at your appointments?

@Anthony Canada This was the first time I've had a Med-El rep at an appointment and it was largely because of being just the Audi's 2nd ABF.  The rep is based out of Seattle just 3 hours away so it was an easy drive down to Portland. 

I think Audis can request assistance as needed as well so maybe for tricky or problematic cases.  Might also depend on how good the relationship is between the Audi and the Rep.

Lastly, very country specific, the Med-El US division almost operates like a distinctly separate company from Med-El's HQ.  Med-El US does some things that other countries don't like the 1:1 zoom settings for help but also doesn't do certain things that are covered elsewhere like the Meludia subscription. 

The crazy over-priced US healthcare system has at least a benefit here that the CI companies seem to provide wonderful customer service.

No idea what the situation is like in Canada though.

[Anthony Canada]

@Tim I have been called both of those things more than once

Canada has a weird hybridized medical system that is provincially based (slightly different but akin to state based). For example, I would have waited about 8 months for my CT scan but it was less than 48 from my email saying I would pay out of pocket to the time my doctor had the results. In terms of CIs in Alberta it is entirely covered and you get a single unit. Other provinces might be different. 

I was able to meet the Med-El audiologist for Canada during my first appointment. I think she was there because Alberta is a new area for them but maybe they do that for everyone? I don't know any local Med-El recipients to compare my experience with. Aside from the lack of local contacts I have no complaints about the support I've received so far.

Sorry about derailing your thread.

[Tim]

Here are the frequencies...

[Posted in wrong place.  Content moved to ABF topic]

[Tim]

Lots of fun little design changes we've made since that first prototype rolled off the 3D printer.  Prototype 5 is on the printer as I write this but won't be the last.  They each take 30-90 minutes to print. 

Lots of good name ideas - thanks everyone!  I looked at all the ideas but decided to stick with Rondeo for several reasons:

• I wanted to keep it as short as possible since it will be 3D printed on the device to get an orientation cue - therefore just one word. So Rondo Cradle, AudioCorral
• Avoid using the name "Rondo" directly since I don't want to cause problems with Med-El or confusion that it is from Med-El.  So Rondo Cradle, 
• Try to keep name unique, worried there would be too many other lullaby items. So Lullaby.
• Signal something about usage or which device it is useful for.  Etude.
• Lastly, just spend more time on the design than on the name have it ready for Sunday! 🙂

Lucky to have a rock-star team including a person that designed Apple's first mouse and another that is the head of a prototyping lab. 

Looking forward to showing it off on Sunday morning at the Google Meet. We will be eventually posting the design online for people to be able to print themselves for non-commercial purposes but for those that don't do 3D printing,  @John Schulz will have a link on Sunday for anyone that wants one.  (Also a chance to help out a college student that wears 2 CIs.)

[Tim]

Here is the design of the Rondeo! 

@John Schulz's ordering link will go live in a couple of days but people wanting early access can reserve your place here.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdVP7seaS4oKJ0rvl0qOcUYOoXNmYoSL-H2a8zH6OwgeTO0OA/viewform

We'll post the actual ordering link here as soon as printing on the new 3D printer is confirmed.

Cost is $27 and $50 for two. 

[Mary Beth]

I submitted my request for a set to order.

 

thank you @Tim and @John Schulz

[matzze2000]

Hey, cool solution. I also had the problem for a couple of times. Do you plan to publish the STL-File/ 3D-Model for home-printing on thingiverse or something like?

[Tim]

@Mary Beth Thanks!  I enjoyed showing off the Rondeo.  @John Schulz had a bit of a delay on the 3D printer so he will need to wait a few days to go live with the ordering form.  In the meantime, there are eight reservations for initial production. All colors are picked other than black.  This will be a help to avoid a lot of color filament changing early on.

@matzze2000 It is in the plan to put a file up at some point but I wanted to let the dust settle some first. 

 

 

 

[John Schulz]

Hello all,

Thanks for the pre-oders so far! I look forward to getting the production started, hopefully tomorrow. I will post and email a link once all the reserved units are printed. I apologize for the inconvenience that the delay has caused. Let's just say that a bee was not too fond of me being in my dorm room 😅. I will set up my printer ASAP once my assigned room is safe to be habitable again.

[Mary Beth]

@John Schulz

That sounds painful!  Charge the bee rent.

[Tim]

Rondeo ordering is available!  @John Schulz  set the price at $27, including free standard US shipping.  International shipping is extra, discount for two or more.  (I suggested $40 but he wanted to keep it lower!)

The 3D printer is humming and John has started shipping out the pre-orders.  The picture below shows the three "fun" colors as printed by his 3D printer.  So far no one has ordered black so he has not printed one for a picture and is prioritizing the popular colors.

I've been using Rondeos now for two weeks and have yet to have a failed charge on my Rondo 3. 

My team from from Portland State University is not receiving any commission or other benefit and instead letting John partially offset the cost of his 3D printer.  We were happy to help support a talented and hardworking double Sonnet CI-wearing engineering technology college student. I lost my hearing in just one ear after becoming a college professor - I cannot imagine making it through college myself needing double CIs.

I'm going to be taking a few samples to give to Portland CI audiologists. 

Feel free to ask any questions  here or show off a picture of your Rondeo! 

Big thanks to the team for their immense patience through 7 prototypes, dozens of emails, and dozens of chat messages:

• Dr. Bill Dresselhaus (a former Apple design engineer)
• Ed Ivory (Program Manager - Electronics Prototyping Lab) and
• John Schulz. 

It is hard to believe that it was exactly two weeks ago when I casually said to John:

Quote

 

— 08/09/2023 2:29 PM:  Tim said

If you wanted to extend the ReHear product catalog, a 3D printed little positioner for Rondo2/3 could sit on the Qi charging pad. Maybe I'll try going over to our prototyping lab and play with making one.

 

 

John challenged me to design it and just two weeks later, the first units are on the way to other Rondo users.  Less than two weeks from the first idea to shipping products. 

 

[Mary Beth]

Excellent volunteering and collaboration!  I will be sharing it for sure.

thank you and congratulations to @Tim and @John Schulz