Pioneer4You IPV4 : Unboxing, detailed look and thoughts, and first problems found

[smacksy]

I have delved into the dungeons of the unknown! Or rather, I've taken the cover off.

I heard that the screen brightness issue wasn't so much that it wasn't bright, as that it was covered by a stupid mirror. And it is.


Normal brightness - I have a bright desk lamp shining near it. (This is not nearly as bad as it is in sunlight)




Same situation, with the mirror cover removed - wow, a screen!




The offending mirror cover side by side with the mod; you can see my hand reflected in it.




Of course the big problem here is that the mod looks like crap without that cover on it - and it's all kinds of exposed to the elements, and juice, and raccoons, and so on.

But I believe it is possible to remove that mirror finish from the cover, perhaps with sandpaper? Not attempted anything like that myself before, am going to investigate.


Gratuitous inside-mod shots to follow in next post..

Yeah I'd say from looking at the pic it needs a protective cover of some sort,
maybe cut one from a thick, clear screen protector...but bit does need something..




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[Robert B]

I have delved into the dungeons of the unknown! Or rather, I've taken the cover off.

Same situation, with the mirror cover removed - wow, a screen!

The offending mirror cover side by side with the mod; you can see my hand reflected in it. Of course the big problem here is that the mod looks like crap without that cover on it - and it's all kinds of exposed to the elements, and juice, and raccoons, and so on.

But I believe it is possible to remove that mirror finish from the cover, perhaps with sandpaper? Not attempted anything like that myself before, am going to investigate.
Gratuitous inside-mod shots to follow in next post..

Great to know. What were they thinking with this stupid one way mirror? Try calling or emailing Jwraps. They may jump all over this to make a replacement screen cover. Jwraps can get a product to market very quickly. They could do some cool colors with a clear section for the screen

 

[TheBloke]

Great to know. What were they thinking with this stupid one way mirror? Try calling or emailing Jwraps. They may jump all over this to make a replacement screen cover.

Yeah I know, it's absolutely baffling. Up until now I'd assumed they'd got the screen brightness too low. Turns out it's perfectly fine (basically the same as the Yihi SX Mini M, which makes sense given it's a cheaper version of the same chip), but they've blighted it with this ridiculous cover.

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. I feel that about quite a few IPV4 and Yihi features; it really feels like they're not really thinking what they're doing (like the gravity sensor in the SX Mini that can't be turned off.)

But this is Pioneer4You not Yihi, and it's by far the worst example. Absolutely stupid. Going out of their way, and presumably spending more, to make it so much worse! Did no-one, throughout the whole design process, say "hey, it's kind of hard to read the screen isn't it?"

Anyway! That's a great idea re J Wraps. I will send them a message.

I've now found a video showing the same removal I just did, and it shows the protector with the mirror finish removed with Scotch Bright. It's then a foggy finish rather than clear, but still vastly better than mirrored. Apparently it should be possible to make it completely clear using a buff wheel.

Another option, as you were saying, would be to get a new protector made using the old from a template. Hopefully someone like J Wraps will do that professionally, but in the meantime I'm wondering if there's any local craftsmen I could find who would do that for me. I'm sure a suitable perspex (is that the right material?) sheet is cheap enough, and for someone with the right equipment it's probably simple to cut it to the right shape and then cut three circles in it.

 

[Robert B]

sing a buff wheel.

Another option, as you were saying, would be to get a new protector made using the old from a template. Hopefully someone like J Wraps will do that professionally, but in the meantime I'm wondering if there's any local craftsmen I could find who would do that for me. I'm sure a suitable perspex (is that the right material?) sheet is cheap enough, and for someone with the right equipment it's probably simple to cut it to the right shape and then cut three circles in it.

Seriously, talk to jwraps on the phone before you do anything. You may be surprised how quickly they could make you one of those, maybe in a few days if they can get a sample template. I would think they would jump on this seeing most everyone would love to get rid of that worthless mirror. They could potentially sell thousands of them.

 

[Maverik_X]

I have an idea get a hold of jwraps (or local tint shop) have them cut you some vinyl in whatever finish you choose, then take the mirror screen and use a headlight renewer kit on it after you lightly sand it with like 2,000 or 4,000 grit sandpaper and wet sand the mirror finish off. then use the headlight restore on it taking out imperfections and then making it clear. install vinyl cutout over glass with button and window cut outs bam its pretty and with a bright display (protected from elements too)

 

[TheBloke]

I have an idea get a hold of jwraps (or local tint shop) have them cut you some vinyl in whatever finish you choose, then take the mirror screen and use a headlight renewer kit on it after you lightly sand it with like 2,000 or 4,00 grit sandpaper and wet sand the mirror finish off. then use the headlight restore on it taking out imperfections and then making it clear. install vinyl cutout over glass with button and window cut outs bam its pretty and with a bright display (protectod from elements too)

I'm going to have to take your word for all that

Is Scotch Bright equivalent to those high grit sandpapers, eg the 2k or 4k?

 

[Maverik_X]

I'm going to have to take your word for all that

Is Scotch Bright equivalent to those high grit sandpapers, eg the 2k or 4k?

not sure m8 but I used to work at a tint shop and can tell ya that they always had me use 2k then 4k (wetsanding) then headlighter polisher on headlamps and they always came out awesome. They also had oodles of vinyl on hand for wrapping various auto accessories. and a vinyl cutter

 

[HDMontana]

I wonder if you could tape off a square where the screen is, and use rubbing or buffing compound that you would use on a car. Just a thought. I'm still waiting for my IPV4.

HD

 

[Maverik_X]

I wonder if you could tape off a square where the screen is, and use rubbing or buffing compound that you would use on a car. Just a thought. I'm still waiting for my IPV4.

HD

I saw somebody in a thread or youtube do that he didn't tape it off very well however

 

[BUDKISS]

yep... did a tread on exactly that. Photos too.

 

[Maverik_X]

http://vapingunderground.com/threads/quick-and-easy-fix-to-ipv4-display-screen.77838/#post-444907

I think if you were able to tape it off a bit better it would look great what exactly did you do?
I think the photo you have doesn't do it justice, It's a huge improvement as you said. there's gotta be a way to make it look cleaner,

 

[Tom_Pulliam]

Didn't watch my review, then? I show all this in a lot of detail if you need any further help, but here's the quick summary:

• Tap fire five times to get into the menu
• When it shows "SYSTEM ON", press fire one more time and it will show "MODE POWER".
  • Now press + or - and that will change to "MODE JOULES".
• Now press fire again to scroll through the TC settings - Celcius or Fahrenheit, followed by Temp setting. Change those to taste.
• Then tap fire until it says "EXIT" and then press + to exit the menu.

Basically it's fire five times to open the menu, then fire once to scroll through menu options, then +/- to change those menu options. Exit the menu by going to the menu option "EXIT". And you can turn the device off completely with the "SYSTEM" menu option (the first one.)

Great job on the video, glad I didn't hesitate and bought a sx mini m class instead. Looks like that one has a lot of potential once the bugs are fixed though

 

[TheBloke]

Great job on the video, glad I didn't hesitate and bought a sx mini m class instead. Looks like that one has a lot of potential once the bugs are fixed though

Thanks, Tom! Yes the SX Mini M is going to be superior in just about every respect, but at three times the price of course.

I say every respect - one advantage of the IPV4 is that it's dual battery. Yes I know the SX Mini M has that extension tube, but my understanding is that it makes it look ridiculous

Anyway I know the SX Mini M is a wonderful device and I really wish I owned one - maybe next month! Glad you're enjoying yours!

 

[Dan DePippo]

Well I haven't got my ipv4 yet so this may be a stupid thought. But can you just flip the mirrored screen cover over so the mirror is on the inside?

 

[TheBloke]

Well I haven't got my ipv4 yet so this may be a stupid thought. But can you just flip the mirrored screen cover over so the mirror is on the inside?

Not stupid at all - I was hoping the same thing. What's stupid is the fact that the mirror finish is on both sides! No idea why they did that - maybe it was cheaper to purchase sheets that were mirrored both sides.

What it does mean though is that we get two chances of removing the finish: remove the protector; use sand paper to try and remove the finish from side 1; if that works then great; if not and it gets messed up/damaged somehow, then flip it over and try again on side 2.

 

[TeamCheapMod]

I saw someone on here post a link to ecigeretteempire so I decided to order from there because it said it was in stock. It says it shipped Monday but I have no tracking number and my card hasn't been charged as well. Just seems a little strange.

 

[dre]

My origin vape ipv4 shipped the same day and I got it a day later I have lots of dna40 mods and I think yihi did it better. Seems like it's able to pump out more power but quickly pull it back to keep dry hits at bay.

 

[TheBloke]

My origin vape ipv4 shipped the same day and I got it a day later I have lots of dna40 mods and I think yihi did it better. Seems like it's able to pump out more power but quickly pull it back to keep dry hits at bay.

Great stuff! Glad you're enjoying it.

Yeah I definitely believe the TC is superior to the DNA 40. It certainly is compared to my ChiDNA 40 clone, and others with genuines are reporting it too.

I would think it's basically identical to the SX Mini M, with the one minor difference that it doesn't show live temperature readings which is a shame, but only a minor issue.

 

[rudogg760]

has anybody gotten one with the gray battery cover? i ordered the gray one because it seems like the cover is different here are a couple of pics

 

[TheBloke]

Guys, has anyone noticed a strange bug whereby your memory settings get overwritten with the value from other memories?

Or more precisely, say you're currently showing M1 and that's 20W, where M2, M3 etc are other values.

But sometime later you find that M2 and M3 are also 20W

I've noticed it several times, even within the first few hours - towards the end of my video I wondered why I had two memories at 60W when I clearly hadn't set them.

Just now I had the most severe case, when I found all five Power memories read 20W - the value from M1!

I still haven't pinned down the exact cause, but it seems very likely to be something to do with pressing the up button and/or the fire button. At the time I was fitting on a new coil, which meant I was regularly:

• waking up the display with +
• tapping fire briefly to update the resistance display
• holding fire to pulse it for a bit

Some combination of these is causing it to take a value from an earlier memory and write it to a later memory - without me ever pressing - for adjust (I think! not deliberately anyway.)

Anyone else seen anything like this?

 

[smacksy]

Guys, has anyone noticed a strange bug whereby your memory settings get overwritten with the value from other memories?

Or more precisely, say you're currently showing M1 and that's 20W, where M2, M3 etc are other values.

But sometime later you find that M2 and M3 are also 20W

I've noticed it several times, even within the first few hours - towards the end of my video I wondered why I had two memories at 60W when I clearly hadn't set them.

Just now I had the most severe case, when I found all five Power memories read 20W - the value from M1!

I still haven't pinned down the exact cause, but it seems very likely to be something to do with pressing the up button and/or the fire button. At the time I was fitting on a new coil, which meant I was regularly:

• waking up the display with +
• tapping fire briefly to update the resistance display
• holding fire to pulse it for a bit

Some combination of these is causing it to take a value from an earlier memory and write it to a later memory - without me ever pressing - for adjust (I think! not deliberately anyway.)

Anyone else seen anything like this?

Nope! Memory settings stay the same..
I also noticed it keeps my joules/watts setting when I install fresh batts..
Its a marvelous mod, and my hat's off to Pioneer4U

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[dre]

The only problems this ipv is giving me is my other mods are jealous. I believe they are plotting against it! Probably going to put some trust fires in it to melt it

 

[smacksy]

The only problems this ipv is giving me is my other mods are jealous. I believe they are plotting against it! Probably going to put some trust fires in it to melt it

Now why would you want to do that? Lol
A better solution would be to use your jealous mods for target practice, taking out all the batteries first of course!

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[dre]

Now why would you want to do that? Lol
A better solution would be to use your jealous mods for target practice, taking out all the batteries first of course!

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I mean my mods will put the batteries in it so it gets destroyed

 

[smacksy]

Put'em on a fence and blow'um to bits with a 12g loaded with 00 buckshot at close range... Hell, that sounds like a lot of fun!! stand back! Lol

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[Mroutlaw]

I only had my cell phone camera to hand, so sorry for inability to macro too well. As you can imagine I'm not willing to dismantle any further than this, but there's a fairly good overview of the basic components.

Not necessarily any more information than we already saw from Reddit, but there's a few different angles and different close ups.

Overall shot





510 area; top of batteries; DC charging board (make still unknown, no brand name visible.)














Front of mod - Yihi board ID; screen protector in place; being removed; removed











Top and bottom of battery bay

Thanks for these pictures. I was thinking of getting one just to compare to my dna40 devices, especially Hana v4d, and my sx mini, but after seeing these, I'm not impressed with the inside. Between the issues I'm reading about glitches and the mirrored screen, and seeing how shoddy (at least that's my opinion) the inside looks, I'll pass. I know it's $100 cheaper than sx mini, but after seeing this handling one at the store and watching reviews, I think you at least get $100 in better craftsmanship with the sx mini. My only complaint with the sx is the paint peeled off and yihi is sending me a new device because if it

 

[TheBloke]

Thanks for these pictures. I was thinking of getting one just to compare to my dna40 devices, especially Hana v4d, and my sx mini, but after seeing these, I'm not impressed with the inside. Between the issues I'm reading about glitches and the mirrored screen, and seeing how shoddy (at least that's my opinion) the inside looks, I'll pass. I know it's $100 cheaper than sx mini, but after seeing this handling one at the store and watching reviews, I think you at least get $100 in better craftsmanship with the sx mini. My only complaint with the sx is the paint peeled off and yihi is sending me a new device because if it

You're very welcome, Outlaw! It's a shame that they made you decide not to get it, but I understand.

I would love to have an SX Mini but can't really justify it at the moment - or rather, I'd prefer to get three or four cheap mods and some cheap attys than one really expensive mod, as good as it might be. If the IPV4 didn't exist, I might decide differently, but I feel like I have all the TC goodness of the Yihi chip already in the IPV4. Yes it has some bugs and disadvantages - not displaying live temp being the primary - but in terms of actual TC vape quality, I think it's right up that, at nearly 1/3 the price.

But when I've got a bit more cash to throw around I definitely will get the SX Mini M as well.

PS. Was watching your Nickel/Kanthal twisting video again last night, thanks again for that

 

[Mroutlaw]

You're very welcome, Outlaw! It's a shame that they made you decide not to get it, but I understand.

I would love to have an SX Mini but can't really justify it at the moment - or rather, I'd prefer to get three or four cheap mods and some cheap attys than one really expensive mod, as good as it might be. If the IPV4 didn't exist, I might decide differently, but I feel like I have all the TC goodness of the Yihi chip already in the IPV4. Yes it has some bugs and disadvantages - not displaying live temp being the primary - but in terms of actual TC vape quality, I think it's right up that, at nearly 1/3 the price.

But when I've got a bit more cash to throw around I definitely will get the SX Mini M as well.

PS. Was watching your Nickel/Kanthal twisting video again last night, thanks again for that

Your welcome.

Yeah, I understand. I'm just on the other side. Already own an sx, Hanamodz and vs rdna40 so I was only looking at device for another backup and just to try it. I could get past the inside, but with all the other things, I'd rather buy a bunch of rda and rta. I have a problem with that, for some reason I have to try every rda. My biggest thing from what I've seen is the mirrored and the no charger thing. I know you can diy the screen, but then you have warranty issues

 

[Dragger]

Thanks for these pictures. I was thinking of getting one just to compare to my dna40 devices, especially Hana v4d, and my sx mini, but after seeing these, I'm not impressed with the inside. Between the issues I'm reading about glitches and the mirrored screen, and seeing how shoddy (at least that's my opinion) the inside looks, I'll pass. I know it's $100 cheaper than sx mini, but after seeing this handling one at the store and watching reviews, I think you at least get $100 in better craftsmanship with the sx mini. My only complaint with the sx is the paint peeled off and yihi is sending me a new device because if it

I finally fell for the hype and got a IPV4 from 101 Vape in four days. It's absolutely fine but honestly the SX Mini is superior in every way. My biggest complaints are the ghost screen and the size of the IPV. I wanted to try a dual 18650 so now my curiosity is satisifed. The battery life looks like it will be fine and I have the ability to go a lot stronger but when the mod feels awkward every time I vape it I think I'll stay with the singles.

Build quality is pretty good, but not on the level of the SX. Had the SX not been introduced, the IPV4 would be remarkable. But in a nutshell, I'm happy I bought the SX for $199 and sort of wish I had done without the IPV4 at $74 - just a question of value to me.