DougFarmer

As it turns out, the batteries inside the OEM Dark Fire battery component (BP-001) are Li-ion 14500 albeit discontinued models. (see pix) I'm going to attempt surgery to swap out the depleted originals using current model 14500s. What have I got to lose? 😉

Note: I don't like to modify OEM parts so I ordered a cheap, opaque-black replacement cover to make my prototype. I tried to upload some photos but received a "server error" that I couldn't upload more than 146Kb, even though my photos are smaller than that. So here's the procedure I used to convert my Dark Fire to use a different battery. First, the LPE8 charger tray needs to be trimmed in order to fit in the available space. Then wire the tray to the 3.5mm jack with the normaled switch. Wire the other side of the switch to the CPU using a "ZH 1.5/3P" connector. (aliexpress) Because the ZH 1.5/3P connector could be plugged in backwards, the CPU is labeled showing how the red & black wires should be oriented. For the 3.5mm connector, I drilled a hole in the lower right corner of the replacement cover as there was an empty space there in the control cavity. After drilling holes and screwing in the brass inserts, holes were drilled in the replacement cover for the thumbscrews. The thumbscrews hold the cover securely, but if the need arises to swap batteries in the middle of a long gig, (like when there isn't enough time to use the charger plug) the thumbscrews allow quick & easy removal/reattachment. I ordered 2 sets of the LPE8 battery/charger combo... one to modify the tray for use in the cavity, as well as to fashion a "pluggable" charger. The other LPE8 is used as designed to charge the second battery. I'm happy with how the project has turned out. The only other thing I might end up doing is to order a sheet of smoked, translucent plastic to fashion a replacement cover that more closely mimics the OEM. In the replacement cover, the holes where the original wood screws held the OEM cover in place are still there and visible. Also, there is a Gibson "G" on the CPU that glows when the power is on... I wouldn't mind being able to see that again. 😉

Yes. I tried emails to the company address... I tried several times to use the website's "Chat" function. (to no avail) I even tried Chris Adams' (founder) email address which I had from when I ordered replacement parts back in 2013 or so. Nothing... just ghosted. Gibson, tuning gear company settle dispute I found this article that talked about Gibson settling the dispute with Tronical in which they supposedly paid Tronical 4.6 million. "The agreement also calls for other claims between the parties to be set aside, for lawsuits to be dismissed with prejudice and for Gibson to be able to dispose of its remaining Tronical tuners as it sees fit." "Other claims" That could involve a number of things... did the settlement compel Tronical to cease & desist making tuners? OR... with all the headaches the Gibson/Tronical relationship generated, I wonder if Chris simply decided to "take the money and run". Curious.

Does anyone know if Tronical has gone out of business? The lights are on at their website, but no one is home. The "We reply immediately" chat function is a ghost. Their "Shop" page neither posts prices nor allows "Add to Cart"... and emails to Chris Adams go unanswered. The most recent online posts are about 5 years old and generally only announced their court battles with Gibson. Are any Tronical employees/friends on here? I can't help but wonder what happened. Tronical has to have quite a few units out there. Curious... they just ghosted us. 😕

I've learned a bit more. The OEM battery has a circuit board (see pix) inside the top who's function I've not yet determined... several of the component's tops are potted so I can't see any part numbers. The PCB's function could be a balancer for the LiPo batteries, which is not uncommon. I can see what appears to be two cylindrical objects below the PCB that I assume are 3.7v batteries in series. If indeed the PCB is a balancer, the opposite ends should also be connected to the PCB. However, since the OEM Charger/Splitter outputs 12 volts, this circuit board may also serve some purpose in modifying/regulating/reducing that voltage to something more useful for recharging the 7.4v battery. (like 8.2v?) Now I see why Tronical's solution for the Dark Fire was the 2 wire "GEN II Battery Workaround Kit". I've decided to forgo trying to replicate the OEM battery's charge-while-playing functionality, and instead will be installing the Focus battery with a cut-down charger base as holder and a switched 3.5mm plug mounted in the cover to charge the battery offline. Since I have two batteries, I'm also thinking about replacing the wood screws holding the control cavity cover with small M3 thumbscrews into brass knife-threaded hardwood inserts so if need be, I can quickly remove the cover and swap out the batteries. Hopefully everything will work out well... I'll come back to report on my progress. (just in case anyone is interested;)

I know this is an older thread, but for those of us who have AND USE their DF, going forward with a workaround is critical because ALL batteries eventually fail. Tronical has either gone out of business or no longer responds to any type of contact. Replacing the 7.4v battery is easy and there are quite a few out there for very little money. I found one on focuscamera.com for five bucks w/free shipping that even includes a charger... I ordered 2. I'm researching modifying one half of one of the 2-piece chargers to fit in the back cavity. Once I'm positive everything will work, I'm going to disassemble my old Tronical battery and find out how/why the light-brown, third wire works. The aim being to have the replacement battery work & charge in the guitar just like the old one. I'll come back and report my experience... wish me luck. 👍