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RCB failures


DougT

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I am new to the CI world as of March 2021. I live in North Carolina. I exercise outside some and have had a lot of trouble with my equipment. I think the trouble revolves around the RCB adapter. While exercising and getting sweaty the CI will make a bunch of noise. I put it in the dryer and it works OK. This goes on for awhile until eventually the RCB adapter does not work at all. Since March, two adapters have failed. During the first incident of adapter failure I wasn't sure which piece of hardware was really failing or possibly the failing adapter ruined other pieces. In any event, during the first failure I also got a replacement Sonnet2 and a replacement Audiostream. During the second failure I isolated the adapter pretty quickly and don't think I damaged the Sonnet2 or AudioStream. Have others experienced this problem? 

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@DougT

I have read about RCB adapters needing to be replaced by others too. I prefer to use Power One Implant disposable batteries with my Sonnets.  

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Please pardon my ignorance. What is an RCB?

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Rechargeable battery RCB

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1 hour ago, Mary Beth said:

Rechargeable battery RCB

Doh!

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  • 1 month later...
On 8/4/2021 at 2:53 PM, DougT said:

I am new to the CI world as of March 2021. I live in North Carolina. I exercise outside some and have had a lot of trouble with my equipment. I think the trouble revolves around the RCB adapter. While exercising and getting sweaty the CI will make a bunch of noise. I put it in the dryer and it works OK. This goes on for awhile until eventually the RCB adapter does not work at all. Since March, two adapters have failed. During the first incident of adapter failure I wasn't sure which piece of hardware was really failing or possibly the failing adapter ruined other pieces. In any event, during the first failure I also got a replacement Sonnet2 and a replacement Audiostream. During the second failure I isolated the adapter pretty quickly and don't think I damaged the Sonnet2 or AudioStream. Have others experienced this problem? 

I have had to replace three RCB adapters over the past 4 years. MedEl has updated the design (it now has a little white tab) to make it more robust, and none of these replacements have failed on me (yet), but it's clearly a frequent, known problem.

I have also experienced the same issues as you when working outside in high humidity or exercising--scratchy distortion and crackling sounds. However, I do not think the issue is the RCB adapter: it's the microphones. Even though these are IPv4 rated (I think), they really should not be exposed to any moisture if you can help it. I place a piece of scotch tape over my mics when I'm working out, and I simply take them off when I'm working outside in the heat. No issues since. 

I'm guessing it's just a coincidence that you've had two RCB adapters fail in the last six months. Sadly MedEl products are just not very durable.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Doug, I think my RCP connector is kaput after 18 months.  Did you have to buy one or was it replaced under warranty? They are not cheap. 

Regarding the sound distortion for me that has happened when the unit gets sweaty, what I believe to be moisture in the microphone cover openings.

 

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My initial rcb adapter was defective, and i use them at home. After reveiving a replacement, its basically all i use. Now my disposable battery tray is misplaced. I would use the disposable alot more, for day trips and resting the chargables,

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22 hours ago, Dave J said:

Doug, I think my RCP connector is kaput after 18 months.  Did you have to buy one or was it replaced under warranty? They are not cheap. 

Regarding the sound distortion for me that has happened when the unit gets sweaty, what I believe to be moisture in the microphone cover openings.

 

Fully covered under the 5-year warranty.

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In the US, activation kits have components that are under warranty for a maximum of 5 years.

Starting in 2020, upgrade kits have components that are under warranty for a maximum of 3 years.

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