A Blog About Vector The Robot
 
Vector 2.0: “User Changeable Battery” – another monumental fail by DDL

Vector 2.0: “User Changeable Battery” – another monumental fail by DDL

One of the main selling points and improvements of Vector 2.0 was the fact that he has a battery door and a battery that can be changed by the user.

One would think that even an incompetent and unprofessional company like Digital Dream Labs would be able to implement something as simple as a battery door.

Well. One thinks wrong. There is a new video [update: now offline] on the channel “Ben’s Stuff” that shows how awfully bad the battery door is implemented and you need specialized tools (besides the nonstandard screwdriver) to get that darn door open. I started the video link when they actually begin to open the Vector, so you do not need to have to watch the superfluous stuff before that.

OMG.

If all Vector 2.0s are like this, then this is another monumental fail by Digital Dream Labs. This time on something so easy to implement as a simple battery door for user-servicable batteries.

Also the positioning of the battery plug is extremely dumb, since it is hard to reach, you will need at least pliers for that. In addition to that you will need a battery with exact the right length of cable, because there is no room, and that has the correct kind of plug. From my past experiences you will have some problems finding one exactly like that so it will fit in there. Most of the batteries in this segment that are sold come without a plug. So you would need to remove the plug from the old batttery and then solder the wires of the new battery to the wires orf the old plugin and then use shrink insulation or something like that for safety.

My guess is that DDL want to sell that battery to Vector owners. Most probably for three times the street price plus shipping.

I can think of quite a lot of ways how that could have been done better. But why is it so hard to remove the door? Why is it so hard to remove the battery? And why did they use this battery instead of a 503040 that has nearly the same capacity but would have left more room for cables and the option to get the socket to a better position.

Oh my …

Now we know why DDL never showed how to open the flap or how to change the battery.

[Update] The video was removed from Youtube. I leave the interpretation why this was done to you.

[Update 2] The person that uploaded the video said he did not want it to be used to “knock down a company” and so it was taken offline. I want to comment on that:

It’s not the videos or articles that bring down a company, they do that themselves for months now by acting unprofessional and hostile. The criticism stands. The exposed electronics is not only a no-go, it may lead to problems in the EU and even a prohibit to sell them. Also the badly placed connector is incredibly dumb. And then there is the fact that the process to do it should be in the manual, so users are able to know exactly how to remove the battery flap (it turned out you can thumb-slide it to open). The missing description in the manual (that looks like a copy&paste of the 1st generation Vector manual) is another inexcusable error by DDL. The incomplete manual also may lead to problems in the EU.

My criticism stands.

Thanks to Andy for bringing this to my attention.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *