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Unreliable battery info

Rui Guerra

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Disclosure: I've just edit this post to reflect my last conclusions

I'm having a random issue that sometimes the battery remaining time / percentage doesn't shows up in the monitor (in those times only the voltage shows up or, in are occasions, an N/A.
And other times, the remaining time / percentage doesn't change (like it's blocked/freezed in a certain value) although the battery obviously continues to be discharged by the camera.

I have noticed it only after upgrading to v7.2.0 so I was thinking it was a firmware bug related to this last version. But after some tests and roll backs and forward several times between these three firmware versions, I confirmed that it also happens sometimes with the two previous ones (v7.1.0.1 and v7.0.4), although it's much more frequent and obvious with the latest release v7.2.0.

So I'm leaning right now for a firmware problem because of the higher frequency that it happens with this last version.

Anyone have experienced something like this before?
And, just in case it can be related with some bad contact in the contacts of the battery data, any suggestions on what to use to clean the contacts in the batteries and V-mount expander?
I'm also asking this, although all the contacts look like new and shiny!

I'm using the Weapon MG 6K and all my batteries are PAG Link's.

Thanks!

All the best,
 
Last edited:
I've just run some more tests with v7.2.0.
After the time remaining went off, I'f tried to reboot the camera several and charged batteries with no positive results.

As you can see in the photo appended, in the power menu the only info available is voltage.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v9yjaziycnwaqsr/IMG_5897.jpg?dl=0
 
Disclosure: I've just edit this post to reflect my last conclusions

I'm having a random issue that sometimes the battery remaining time / percentage doesn't shows up in the monitor (in those times only the voltage shows up or, in are occasions, an N/A.
And other times, the remaining time / percentage doesn't change (like it's blocked/freezed in a certain value) although the battery obviously continues to be discharged by the camera.

I have noticed it only after upgrading to v7.2.0 so I was thinking it was a firmware bug related to this last version. But after some tests and roll backs and forward several times between these three firmware versions, I confirmed that it also happens sometimes with the two previous ones (v7.1.0.1 and v7.0.4), although it's much more frequent and obvious with the latest release v7.2.0.

So I'm leaning right now for a firmware problem because of the higher frequency that it happens with this last version.

Anyone have experienced something like this before?
And, just in case it can be related with some bad contact in the contacts of the battery data, any suggestions on what to use to clean the contacts in the batteries and V-mount expander?
I'm also asking this, although all the contacts look like new and shiny!

I'm using the Weapon MG 6K and all my batteries are PAG Link's.

Thanks!

All the best,

Funny you brought this up today because I was just looking today on Red’s site to see if this is listed as a known issue and it is not. I’ve been having this same issue with both my IDX DUO C 98 batteries that came with my Raven kit and worked flawlessly until Firmware 7.2.0. It’s frustrating because the whole reason I was excited about 7.2.0 was that it resolved the blinking red power indicator while using my “dumb” SHAPE battery that does not provide power info to the camera. But now my two smart IDX batteries do not properly display time remaining so I am not sure why this hasn’t come up yet as a known issue to RED. I just happened to see RED released 7.2.2 today but it doesn’t describe anything about resolving this issue. Maybe I’ll try installing the new firmware anyway to see if I get lucky and it resolves. If so I’ll keep you posted!
 
I've been getting this suddenly with both my three RED bricks and two Switronics 98 with the RED chip in them, all of which formerly displayed either time or percentage and now randomly display voltage or time/percentage. Nothing I've done has made a difference with any consistency – remounting the battery a few times in a row, wiping the contacts etc. Reminds me of the NES days when everyone had their own ritual of blowing into either the deck or the cartridge or both and in what order to get a cart to stop freaking out.

I'm on an Epic Dragon running firmware 6.3.106
 
Im having this same issue. Trying to change from voltage to percentage or time remaining, but its stuck.
 
I had a Paglink issue that fried the pin of the base extender. The battery firmware was off.
I had to reboot the battery (can't remember the procedure as it I was on the phone with the Paglink tech).

The info sent to the camera was 0 Amps and sometimes 3.6 Amps








 
In my case that was not the problem. The I/O V-Lock Expander is fine (I sent it to RED to repair/check). After a short time, it become showing the problem again, but now its much less frequent.
And in my case it looks like the problem it's not with the batteries itself, because I have 6 (all Pag Links that always worked fine since the beginning) and there is no correlation between the batteries I use or the amount of them I link together.

But as I said, now it's less frequent, although it still happens, from time to time.
 
I have seen this also, two identical cameras and batteries, one shows % remaining, the other only voltage. I have asked about this, no response.
 
I have seen this also, two identical cameras and batteries, one shows % remaining, the other only voltage. I have asked about this, no response.

Try to change the V-Lock Expander between the two cameras and check if the no-time one remains the same so you know if the problem is in the camera or in the expander module.
 
I have had the same issue with my dragon-x since purchase in Feb/March. Have never seen time remaining decrease. Always stays stuck on the time remaining as it stood when booted.
 
Try to change the V-Lock Expander between the two cameras and check if the no-time one remains the same so you know if the problem is in the camera or in the expander module.

Camera. I think it is the firmware.
 
I have had the same issue with my dragon-x since purchase in Feb/March. Have never seen time remaining decrease. Always stays stuck on the time remaining as it stood when booted.

Yes, that is the other symptom, sometimes it just show voltage, other times the time remaining gets stuck at the time remaining when booted. This last one it's also easy to notice because the time remaining doesn't shows any fluctuations, as it should if in normal operation.
 
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