Arizer Solo

OF said:

Interesting. I'm pretty confident charge current is set in hardware, not software. The actual charge currents seem pretty random (that is the don't seem related to age). I've poked around some and sure didn't notice any evidence of this 'constant tweaking' that "there is no question at all" about. In fact, quite the opposite? Parts interchange well. Performance is quite similar. I see no concrete differences.

Can you please give me a couple of examples of this obvious evidence of constant tweaking I seem to have missed completely?

TIA

OF

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Experimenting with my different glass setups for the SOLO.
Fortunately I saved these trials for Friday. Thank you @OF so much for the free education regarding the function of the SOLO.
This setup is with my oldest piece.
Kind of large however surprise how well it works.
Now for my smaller bubblers level 4 is perfect for this larger setup level 5 does the trick!

OF said:

Can you please give me a couple of examples of this obvious evidence of constant tweaking I seem to have missed completely?

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Well, okay. Let me rephrase myself since i typed that right before i went to bed last night and might have been a little too enthusiastic.

The variations themselves are not obvious at all, but certain things definitely stick out to me from my background in poking around and reverse engineering embedded stuff like this... also I can't claim to know anything for certain about the Solo or how Arizer does things! But please consider my reasonings for thinking what I think. And for reference when I am comparing things, I am comparing them between a M102, a M107 and a M1E1.

1. Startup times. The M102 turns on if you've held the two buttons long enough for "idle" to blink once. The M107 will not start up unless you wait for "idle" to blink four times. The M1E1 will not start up unless you wait for it to blink twice. I would be willing to assume this is controlled in software. It's possible one of mine just acts different than it should.

2. Availability of the "true PA" function. I am not as good at reverse engineering hardware as software, but I couldn't find any evidence that the "true PA" mode isn't just controlled by the Solo's software. It can tell if no battery is connected and it will still work as a desktop unit, but it is also designed (at least the older ones) to use some battery power even with the PA present should the battery be present as well.

3. Heating curves. Remember when I was talking about moving a ceramic heater into a new Solo? I did that before I gave my M1E1 out to a friend. I don't have equipment to figure out if the temperature readings were accurate to what they should have been with the M1E1's stock bowl, but my biggest reason for doing that was to find out if the M1E1 with a ceramic bowl would attempt to heat it like it always does, or if the heating curve would adapt to properly heat the ceramic bowl. It got up to temperature pretty quickly like the newer ones do (at least compared to the very old models) but I think it was still running too cool as the units themselves are calibrated to different temperatures. However it did not completely adapt the heating cycle of the M102, which is much more of an exponential rise in temperature than the newer Solos do. Which brings me to my next point...

4. Temperature calibration! Of course i can't prove this with the equipment I have on hand but if different Solos are calibrated to different temperatures that counts for software changes

5. Battery drain. It's entirely possible this is due to the battery protection PCB and not the software, but I don't know enough about protection PCB design to say one way or another. My M102 and M107 will let you drain the battery and it will struggle to give you the very last of the power it can possibly squeeze out of the battery. Everything newer Solo i have owned (so M1B and higher up in letters) won't let you drain the battery that low. It will just refuse to heat and give you the "dead" light instead of heating anyway, but my point is the older Solos will allow the battery pack's voltage to go lower before shutting off.

And last on my awful terrible list for now...

6. PCB changes! Again i'm not the best at hardware hacking in the world but I have removed and inspected the M102, M107 and M1E1's PCB's side by side. Components have been moved and replaced, certain ones are done away with entirely. It's not surprising as Arizer isn't the type to buy 10000000 of every given part they need and make the same PCB forever, but if every solo PCB revision could be loaded with the same firmware and work properly, i would definitely be both surprised and impressed. However I still think if one were to have a firmware image that could be flashed onto the Solo, it would have to be specific to that PCB revision.

It's all speculation, of course. And that's not all, but I feel like those are the best points worth mentioning for now. I don't have the software figured out yet, but please feel free to PM me if you'd like to discuss breaking the Solo's firmware further

PS @OF I remember you troubleshooting someone's solo and asking if the "recall last setting" feature worked properly. It only actually works about half the time on my M102 or M107, curious if you have any ideas? I have a feeling the old dying battery packs in them tend to make the solo do wonky things.

my m108 model can heat while charging without the extra power cord!. one downside tho, the stems are loose, even with the rings attached :/.. might order some more

My stems are loose now too....the o-rings help, but I need to constantly "tweak" the lid to get it just-so.

the only one that wasnt loose was the bender. it slipped out my pocket into the concrete !:/ my fault haha.

outletboy said:

the only one that wasnt loose was the bender. it slipped out my pocket into the concrete !:/ my fault haha.

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You dropped a bender?

Nice ! I always wanted to try the Delta 9 vapes for dry herb but i never had a chance to buy one. How would you say the dry herb vape from delta9 differs in quality as compared to the Arizer Solo? I heard they produce lots and lots of hits per load.

Oh, and actually i meant the elbow piece. the glass piece.. im not sure whats the name.. but not the Delta 9 Bender,, i wish i had one of those to drop haha. my mistake, i just always called it the bender because it kinda binds. lol

outletboy said:

Nice ! I always wanted to try the Delta 9 vapes for dry herb but i never had a chance to buy one. How would you say the dry herb vape from delta9 differs in quality as compared to the Arizer Solo? I heard they produce lots and lots of hits per load.

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If your not on a budget the BENDER is my favorite vaporizer period. However the SOLO gets the job done without large consumption.

SOLO = 1 gram 2 days
BENDER = 1 gram 1 day

Taste the BENDER Wins.
Practical the SOLO Wins.

Of the various portables I owned and gave away the SOLO taste/effect ratio was not bad! If you have a endless supply of Cola Flowers get a BENDER.
If you buy your cannabis stay with the SOLO. (practical)

I am waiting for my Solo now. I got an email today that it has shipped from Massdrop. I can't wait to join the fun!

DieHard said:

I am waiting for my Solo now. I got an email today that it has shipped from Massdrop. I can't wait to join the fun!

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I love the SOLO!

I'm confident so will you!
Very reasonable purchase!

for $125.00 shipped i couldn't resist!

exit said:

Well, okay. Let me rephrase myself since i typed that right before i went to bed last night and might have been a little too enthusiastic.

And for reference when I am comparing things, I am comparing them between a M102, a M107 and a M1E1.

PS @OF I remember you troubleshooting someone's solo and asking if the "recall last setting" feature worked properly. It only actually works about half the time on my M102 or M107, curious if you have any ideas? I have a feeling the old dying battery packs in them tend to make the solo do wonky things.

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First off, thanks for the clarification. I misunderstood you big time. I agree there have been some clear changes over the years. I was (incorrectly) responding to the idea that the ones past the 107 involved more than the modest (IMO) airflow and charging changes. I was talking at the time about variations in charging current if you recall, that no doubt spilled over.

Funny you should mention that 'can't remember the saved value' thing. I too noticed it a few times, sometimes I think I clear it by accident but others left me with the feeling it was weak batteries (perhaps even dipping into cutoff for a bit?). But I just swapped batteries in one and checked and it still knew??? Either I was faster than I thought, or that info is not stored in battery backed up RAM as I first thought. Perhaps it's using a processor with some modest EEROM? Next time I'm inside one I intend to poke a bit more.

Thanks again.

ataxian said:

If your not on a budget the BENDER is my favorite vaporizer period. However the SOLO gets the job done without large consumption.

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Very well put. My problem with Bender (aside from being scared of breaking the glass......) is it takes a huge load (by my standards) to get it into proper production, and at the expense of a lot of battery. And then, when it's finally hitting it's stride it overwhelms me big time. A bit like Cera EO in that respect.

A great vape for some, no doubt, not my 'cup of tea'.

OF

Got my solo today! Will post back with results. Ive only gotten high once, from smoking, so this will be interesting, especially as my first time vaporizing! I'm gonna load it with less than 0.01 and take one hit on 3 to see where that gets me

OF said:

Very well put. My problem with Bender (aside from being scared of breaking the glass......) is it takes a huge load (by my standards) to get it into proper production, and at the expense of a lot of battery. And then, when it's finally hitting it's stride it overwhelms me big time. A bit like Cera EO in that respect.

A great vape for some, no doubt, not my 'cup of tea'.

OF

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The BENDER takes a lot to work well.
0.35 grams in my case. (one load)
Battery wise I use 4 sets of 18350's.
The CORE makes more sense.

The SOLO is more sensible.
I use it the most for day time.
Glass is my favorite path.
I break glass every week!
Time to order another 5 pack of JHOOKs. I keep breaking them as I normally do.

Back to the subject of the BENDER not your cup of TEA. I get it Trust Me!
I know longer want to recommend it unless the person is not worried about consumption!

The SOLO is so basic and simple.
I couldn't see the logic in not owning one?
I almost bought a CERA however I have a new hobby that requires my effort. I have more than necessary.

So, uh.. vaped aroud .02 and im stoned out of my mind. Feels like im in a dream and stuff is all warped around me. Ive spaced out several timeswriting this and my keeyboard seems so weird right now. I realize this will sound funny to sober people but im really up there guys. Time is warping guys like i go in and out of time sorta and stuff i probably should go

Johnny, It's nice to ease into the saddle slowly when using the Solo in the beginning. Starting at lower temps and working your way up. Sometimes too much of a good thing in the beginning isn't always pleasant.

Some herb has a way of creeping up on you. You've taken too much before you realized.
Good luck and have fun with your new friend.

I would be anxious to know the herb you are experiencing this evening?

What's FCers enjoying tonight in their Solos?
I have some of Snoops Dream tonight.

thejonny2014 said:

So, uh.. vaped aroud .02 and im stoned out of my mind. Feels like im in a dream and stuff is all warped around me. Ive spaced out several timeswriting this and my keeyboard seems so weird right now. I realize this will sound funny to sober people but im really up there guys. Time is warping guys like i go in and out of time sorta and stuff i probably should go

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Found your avatar picture



I'm on my way buddy! GDP and bubble hash stems!

High as a shit?

Man. Only 0.02-0.03 and high as fuck. Thats pretty crazy

Thanks for the pic dude thats funny

1 hour 50 minutes since it really hit me, and still pretty up there. Damn.

Okay so it went from full charge to 3 in like 3ish 12 min seshes? Its brand new so i charged it till itwas full. Maybe its not calibrated, I'll leave it on for the night.

Today was Sour Kush, after taking 20 mg of tincture. I think I noted in a previous post somewhere that mixing a little edible with vape is, at least for me, the sublime way to go. It just measures out the high so perfectly. I get it both sides (body smoothness+ mental euphoria), nicely timed for whatever course of events is set to flow, and greatly extended - for a minimum of effort and substance.
The day was awesome. (Actually, each day is originally awesome; it's simply up to me to lighten up and let the extraneous stuff fall off so I can see it for what it really is.) I started out with a half hour of sitting meditation. My focus is "Who am I?" sometimes dropped to a single point question of "Who?". The sitting helps to anchor my focus for the rest of the day. From there I watch each movement of my body and mind as closely as I can (I thought of Joy Division's 'Closer' the other day - though I think the song has a different theme, the touchpoint of getting closer to some edge inside oneself intrigued me). To move, for example, from the door to the table is something that I'm finding that I easily miss consciously. But each tiny movement propelling me from ordinary point A to ordinary point B is in fact a most complex and fundamental set of internal and external interactions. The glucose/energy (ATP) cycle, the enzymatic cycles, the osmotic balancing of ions in the neural pathways, intricate cellular electromagnetic pulsations and changes - a billion events to sustain a simple twist of the foot or bending of knee is the enormous body of truth that I ignore when I gloss over it all mentally through my habitual train of thought and say that I've done nothing and am bored, that everything is just average or silly or routine.
Some time elapses. As the appropriate amount of THC kicks in, 'watching' flips inside-out. My first indication of an altered state is the calm observation of the primacy of all sounds. That is, a far away, background or lower decible sound is equalized with sounds that I would generally detect as the "important" ones (and thus be noticed, while others are ignored in ordinary consciousness). This is accompanied by a brief period of paranoia that immediately subsides as I note and dismiss it. Now I know I'm There, the main feature of which is that understanding and seeing become effortless. This is what I mean by "watching flipping inside-out"; instead of forcing attention to crude and minute steps in motion as if I were outside my body and it were mechanistic, the flow of consciousness naturally radiates outwards, with sounds and sights streaming from within and without me. The "Who?" becomes irrelevant (though I still press the question for exploration's sake).
'Who?' is a strange question anyway. Where did that Who come from? Did I have anything to do with it? does it have anything to do with what I think it is? The thoughts lighten, skip along, fall into a vaster cosmology. What's left but to enjoy? In this incredibly strange and yet utterly familiar, as in stamped in the marrow of my bones, journey of life/not life? This is where it gets super-cool. I tried to explain this somewhere else before, but it's like everything is offering itself up for me. It's just - wondrous. I know this has got to sound really kind of supercilious on my part and maybe boring, but I just have to keep writing about it because it's so GOOD. It takes away all the low self-esteem crap, the guilt trip crap, the second-guessing crap, the boredom, the distractedness, the irritation. I just get to be myself, naked and free. In a world that is a diamond revealed from a flower, floating on beauty, enacted through the tiniest detail of the droplet of water, the green spine of the leaf and white tendril of cloud in blue sky. Surely we are all One with the natural world.
Yes, it was a Good Day (it's the only day) and all it required was some attention - and a bit of Kush.....

Here is a piece of photo-art that I created to try to illustrate a bit of the glow that can arise from gray:

thejonny2014 said:

Okay so it went from full charge to 3 in like 3ish 12 min seshes? Its brand new so i charged it till itwas full. Maybe its not calibrated, I'll leave it on for the night.

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That's not common, but entirely possible I think. If you hit it a lot (drawing cold air in that needs to be heated) power demand goes up......like your heating bill does if you leave the windows open.

With experience I think you learn to extract the available THC (and other stuff) in 'thicker' hits more or less automatically. This means less cold air as the total volume of air through the stem drops.

I suggest you fully charge it (until the charge light stops flashing) then run back to back sessions on step 7 with no stem. Like burn offs would be. I expect a fully charged battery in good condition to run 8 such cycles, two on 7 and one each per LED. This removes the human as a factor, for a 'clean test' on the battery.

Glad you're enjoying your Solo, it's a great vape for sure.

OF

ataxian said:

If your not on a budget the BENDER is my favorite vaporizer period. However the SOLO gets the job done without large consumption.

SOLO = 1 gram 2 days
BENDER = 1 gram 1 day

Taste the BENDER Wins.
Practical the SOLO Wins.

Of the various portables I owned and gave away the SOLO taste/effect ratio was not bad! If you have a endless supply of Cola Flowers get a BENDER.
If you buy your cannabis stay with the SOLO. (practical)

Click to expand...

Interesting, that is a nice way of putting things. I love my solo, i can hold off on a bender for a little while. I will have to pick it up one day tho. Thanks

Getting about 10 seshes with no stem connected on my solo! Part of that may be because theyre back to back and it still has leftover heat which helps ease the job, but still great! Stoked on this unit. How can you guys even vape half a gram a day on this thing?? 0.03 got me suuuuuuper silly last night, even with some slight hallucinations of colors and stuff. Time and space just felt so warped :3

By the way, new model number maybe? m1f1

you'll build a high tolerance , before you know it you'll be going through a gram a day.

thejonny2014 said:

How can you guys even vape half a gram a day on this thing??

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Practice. Lots and lots of practice.

Same way you get to Carnegie Hall, in fact.........

OF