Yup, that was it. Fun idea, but it needed some work.
Yeah, that sure sounds like G all right. Too bad about Iris, it's been a long time. IIRC 100 of us are waiting on replacements? Sort of like waiting on Hercules. Not the sort of thing a guy wants to be repeating. Perhaps at least part of that wait is over, time to see about getting my Hercules working.
Another option in a marketplace that sadly just got a lot smaller. One of those 'don't miss the water until the well runs dry' things. Not long ago, Hercules wasn't so important. Good to know is on track.
Hey, don't I recall the Hercules blowing up Persei tops?
Thanks.
OF
Were v2 irises part of buying the original Iris? If so I wish even harder I hadn't missed that one.
I think the Herc has been working fine for at least 2 generations now. I have had the latest -74 for about 9 months and it's been super solid. I had to replace one little plastic piece because I lost it, not due to damage; UP tech sent me a free one along with a small order. I went and tracked down an older version, the -71, as it was higher powered, (It's slightly harder/more critical to assemble correctly and less forgiving of mistakes/misuse, and required button modulation to prevent cooking the oil as it was super powerful) The -74 at this point isn't hard to use and many of the things that required precision in assembly on the -71 have been replaced by spring-loaded pins, making maintenance a little simpler. Usage is easier, too; I usually just hold the button continuously then let off about 2/3 through my draw. but there are a few small pieces, and the flip side to being a user-serviceable cart is the eventual assembly/disassembly & cleaning inherent in this type of device, and the potential for user error in assembly or usage. The good news is, with proper use you don't have to clean it very often at all. It's a load and use device for me, I started out cleaning it every few weeks but I seem to go about a month between major maintenance. Major is all of 30 min to an hour depending on how I'm feeling
You are correct about the original V1 persei tops not being too Herc friendly. The original Persei V1 tops were designed before the Hercules- A correctly assembled Hercules would work fine, but one that was mis-assembled could have a short, and if you pushed the button with a shorted circuit it would fry the top. You can check the resistance after assembling with any DVOM or up tech sells a circuit tester, and The V2 and current V3 tops have a short circuit detect and will flash if it detects a short and not let you apply power.
If I were to venture a guess, and again this was before my time so my timeline could be a little off, I think the Iris top was really designed to run the SR-71 because reducing the power is very useful due to the low resistance heating rod and subsequent high power output. Since I have no Iris I use my -71 exclusively with the Core variable voltage power supply, to dial down the power. With the SR-74 the resistance of the heating rod was increased, causing the power output to be lowered, and along with it, the usefulness of reducing voltage with the Iris top.
If I were to venture a second guess, I would hope that the V2 iris, someday when it comes out, will be accompanied by a lower resistance SR-74 heating rod, otherwise the only market for the Iris will be owners of a Herc model no longer being made...
I was really interested in the Thermovape cartridges and am very sad to see them go. I was actually so interested in the LL chamber in particular that I nearly picked up a Cera in the classifieds just before I decided to save for a Cloud Evo to replace my desktop I wasn't happy with (Volcano) instead of another portable to add to a collection of portables that I'm pretty happy with. If only their stuff was user serviceable I would be a lot more interested in the used Thermovape stuff that's been listed since they announced their closure. Kind of a bummer.