Rondeo

[Joan]

@Tim @John Schulz  I am bilateral with Rondo 2s. Although I have no problems with charging my Rondo 2s, I wanted to try the Rondeo before “putting out the word” about it to others.
 

My first use (which was at night) with the Rondeo was with mixed results. One Rondo 2 charged fine, and the aircharge pad reacted normally. However, the other Rondo 2 was still not charged when I awoke some 5+ hours later (note: my Rondo 2s normally fully charge in less than 3.5 hours). I re-seated the Rondo and the charging appeared to resume. In the morning, the Rondo was charged but the aircharge pad was blinking red.

Using the Rondeo, the only way the Rondo will charge is if the Rondo light is at the top. If I place the Rondo with the light near the Rondeo and aircharge words, the charger will not activate. Is this Rondo placement normal?

Also, it appears to me the two crossbars should be lower by just a tad. As they are now, they don’t allow for the charging circle to be fully accessed (see attached photo). Perhaps that is an issue? Or not?

Although I do not have any idea if the Rondo 2 and Rondo 3 might differ in configuration internally, I do wonder if their internal magnet locations are slightly different, therefore requiring the Rondo 2 to need to be seated “bottom side up” in order to activate the charger.

Just some observations on what is an exceptional idea brought to fruition. 

[Tim]

Joan - thanks.

I was able to test many times with a Rondo 3 for overnight charging but I only able to test physical fit for Rondo 2 but not electrical charging. 

@John Schulz Can you try shifting the bar a little or should we do it and send you the new files?
 

 

[Tim]

@Joan John will refund you for the Rondeos.  Sorry about the inconvenience.  

Could you please take a look at the position of your Rondo 2 on the charging pad while charging and compare it to the Rondeo?  My hunch is that it must so close that 2 mm will fix it and not cause Rondo 3 problems but I want to test and confirm.

Unfortunately I can't do that until I get back in town in the middle of September. If you can wait, I'll send you out two from Portland State directly.  (I have two other color choices - black with glitter and a white marble.) 

Again, sorry for the problem!  I wish that I knew a Rondo 2 user in Portand!

 

 

[John Schulz]

Full refund has been issued and the listing has been revised to only mention Rondo 3. 

[Lauren]

Happy to report one night of successful charging. No medium or large earthquake yet but my cats were happy to oblige with a full night of playing. They romp around with each other (re: stampede around like a herd of elephants). 

I checked both batteries first thing and for a change they were charged to 100%. Normally it’s hit/miss on where around 90-100% they’ll be charged to and they never get charged to the same percentage. 

I also did not feel the need to constantly check placement after setting them down the first time and confirming the charging lights were on. 

[Joan]

@Tim  the photo on the left shows both Rondo 2s in the same orientation, with the processor on the left in the position it was seated using the Rondeo (which I carefully lifted off). I placed the processor on the right as “high” as it would go on the circle and still charge. 
The photo on the right is both processors in the inverted position in the Rondeos, the only position in which they will charge.

Does this help? Wish Portland was nearer so I could be your Rondo 2 test driver!

[Joan]

@Tim once the above was posted I realized the photos are not left and right but, rather, top and bottom…duh!!!😅

[Tim]

@Joan So the Rondo 2 charges with the lettering of MedEl oriented the opposite of the Rondeo but not very reliably it seems.  When I get back to Portland, I'll give the mod a try.

I think it is probably just very close and perhaps slight combination of tolerances in the aircharge, Rondeo, and Rondo 2. 

You might be able to do a little hacking on the Rondeo yourself.  A quick and dirty trick might be to use a piece of tape at the top (between the processor and the top bar) and a little bit of sandpaper/nail filing above the "ND" in RONDEO.  Doing both, it shouldn't be hard to shift the Rondo 2 down 1 or 2 mm. 

Don't worry about messing around with the Rondeo.  We engineers call this "destructive testing". 

 

[Joan]

@Tim I hesitate to do that “destructive testing” right away since John so generously and quickly processed a refund yesterday so I offered to return both Rondeos to him and I’m still awaiting his reply. If he suggests I keep them, I’ll certainly do some hacking in an attempt to shift the Rondo 2 down a mm or two.

[Joan]

@Tim I didn’t realize @John Schulz had replied to me on your original Rondeo topic. Since I’m to keep them, I’ll do some hacking as you suggested.

[Dianna]

You guys are GREAT!!!!

[Joan]

@Tim Just an FYI. I’ve been fiddling with sandpaper on the Rondeo but, thus far, without success. I’ve sanded the crossbar down in the center so it’s curved slightly into the top of ND. When the Rondo 2 is in the correct “upright” position, the charge pad still will not turn on. I’ll keep working on it.
Just a suggestion, if you and @John Schulz make any modifications to the Rondeo for Rondo 2 that you’d like me to test, if you’d send me one, I’ll gladly do so and send it back.