Question about Maestro internal battery

Jlawson40

Tim, Since this issue has been addressed on new Maestros, will the older Maestros be able to receive the fix by returning to FRS? If so, will it be done under warranty or will there be a nominal charge? Thank you, John, W8AGS

Tim - W4TME

Not at this time.

John W9KXQ

Tim,
I ordered my Maestro over a year ago from Flex, and NEVER received this Notice you refer to, nor was they any such warning included with the actual unit.  Apparently there were a lot of us that we left out of this notification.  Thanks for following up on it.  

73

John
W9KXQ

Tim - W4TME

We are currently discussing and evaluating options, so I do not have a definitive answer.  If you experience a completely discharged Maestro that will not boot or recharge, please open a HelpDesk support ticket and we will address the issue as an expedited warranty repair regardless of the warranty status of the unit.

Tim - W4TME

Thank you for your feedback.

Jlawson40

Actually, I have not experienced a problem with the battery. My Maestro is working fine. I use it very regularly. Thanks Tim for your quick response.. John, W8AGS

Thomas Dias

Hi Tim, i Also never received notice about this things,  please let me know best pratice to keep Maestro Work fine for long time..

DonS

I will add my 2 cents as well. I received the unit right they were release and never received any notification regarding the internal battery. You mentioned the new units have been fixed. Just what was done to the new units? One eould hope Flex will stand by their product and take care of this issue for all of us.

Tim - W4TME

Thomas, 

If the Maestro is not used regularly it should be charged every 6- 8 weeks to prevent the internal power device from completely discharging.

To charge your Maestro:
1. Connect the DC power cable into the DC power input on the rear of the unit.  
2. Plug the power adapter into a wall socket.   Please note: your Maestro may boot when you do this.  Continue to allow the device to charge.
3. Let charge for a minimum of 10 minutes before powering up or using.  Charge for 30 minutes if the Maestro has not been operated regularly. 

Tim - W4TME

Don, the new Maestro uses a different display than the original unit and it has a different interface for charging.

DonS

Tim, I guess I have been lucky in that the radio does not get used much during the summer, however, I keep the dc power on the Maestro when not in use.

Tim - W4TME

That keeps the internal battery charged.

Burch - K4QXX

Does keeping one of the 2.5v batteries in the Maestro also charge the battery or does the Maestro need to be plugged in for the internal battery to charge.  I always keep a 2.5v battery plugged into the Maestro.  I have several of them that I rotate but I rarely plug in the Maestro to AC power.

Tim - W4TME

It will, but it is best to use the charger.  Batteries discharge.

I set a calendar reminder for once a month to charge the Maestro I use for support.  It is the same reminder I used to change the A/C filters and give my Sheltie his heartworm meds.

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

FRS needs to step up to the plate and fix this serious design flaw for ALL current Maestro owners. Whatever the design change is on the new units, needs to be offered to all current Maestro owners. This issue, on top of the battery pack charging debacle, is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE for a product of this type and price range! How FRS handles this will be the determining factor for many of us as to whether we purchase future FRS hardware such as the Power Genius. A $1100 wooden nickel is one thing; a big $8000 wooden nickel is another!

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

You can say all you want about Flex vs. Icom, Kenwood, or Yaesu, when it comes to listening to customers, or coming out with firmware updates for their radios. But the fact is, unlike FRS, they HAVE addressed (to the customers'satisfaction, and at no cost) MAJOR flaws such as this. For example:

Kenwood TS-590 ALC overshoot
Icom IC-7410/9100 ALC overshoot
Yaesu FT-2000/9000 PEP updates

So software updates is one thing, but addressing and FIXING MAJOR DESIGN FLAWS is another. FRS needs to act before it is too late, and irreversible damage is done to their reputation.

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

None of the Maestro owners I know, myself included, ever received such communications... and based on what I see from some of the regulars here on the community site, I'm sure had one of them received such communication, they more than likely would have felt the need to post here and let us all know!

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

Does the "new" Maestro still use a Dell or similar tablet, or is it a dedicated display module of some sort?

Tim - W4TME

Yes, it uses a tablet display capable of running Windows like the original Maestro.

Tim - W4TME

After a little sleuthing, it appears that we did include a tech note about charging the internal battery in the later shipments of the Maestro but it was not comprehensive.  And, it appears that a global customer communication regarding internal battery maintenance consisting of periodic charging if the Maestro is not being used was not sent. We sincerely regret this oversight and are working now to correct it.

I want to reiterate that anyone who experiences a problem booting the Maestro after a period of non-usage, please open a HelpDesk support ticket. We will triage the issue and if it is determined that the internal battery requires charging, we will process the return of the unit to Austin for service as an Expedited RMA and it will be handled as a warranty repair regardless of the warranty status of the Maestro. 

Rick Holloway

Tim, You received my Maestro Tuesday, for the dead battery wont charge problem. I have one of the first produced was never notified there was an issue leaving it on the shelf unplugged. I received an email from your service department that because of high the volume it maybe 4 weeks before they could get to it. That is not Expedited in my world.

Tim - W4TME

Rick,

Based on your ticket transaction history, your Maestro was processed yesterday.  If a shipment is received late in the day, it does not get processed until the next day.

Your ticket priority is set to high and is marked for expedited service; I just checked it.

I also spoke to the service tech responsible for your Maestro and it is currently on the bench being charged.  You will receive an update when we have completed all of the required diagnostic tests. I believe this does constitute expedited service.

The information on the RMA is boilerplate language we use to align expectations in the case we run into service backlogs.  We normally exceed this expectation.

Rick Holloway

Thanks, I was just told in the email it could be up to 4 weeks, Sounds like you are on top things. Great Service!

HCampbell WB4IVF

ICOM waited years before acknowledging and fixing the IC-7410’s well known overshoot problem.  And after their acknowledgement I waited months more before my turn for the mod came.  And I still had to pay shipping/insurance to send the radio to them (not cheap from VA to WA).   ICOM is a good company and I give them credit for eventually stepping up but they’re not perfect either.

Howard

k3Tim

It would seem the best advice is to keep the Maestro plugged into 12 V-DC at all times, no matter the vintage. The Li-bats have a limited charge/discharge number of cycles. To minimize the cycles keeping a trickle charge of 12V-DC is all that is required. Leaving a Li-bat on the low side for long period of time is a no-no I believe.

Even my Bentley and Rolls-Royce need 12 V-DC trickle chargers.

Regards All,
k3Tim/6

Rick Holloway

Just got my Maestro back from Flex due to the battery dead won't start problem. It now comes on and works fine. Night before last we lost power due to a storm. Maestro was plugged in as I was told to do. It was off when I lost AC power. When the power came back a few minutes later the Maestro Booted up and came on by itself? Don't remember that happening before. To test it I turned it off with the power switch and unplugged the AC from the charger and then plugged the AC back in. Same thing happened. Unit booted up without touching power button. Tried it with and without internal battery and it made no difference. Any body else try this? Seems like it should not be doing this?  Rick In MD K3RIC

KY6LA_Howard

That is the way it's currently designed to work... Boots up automatically when you apply power--  Personally do not like that but heck..nothing to be done

Dewey WØYWW

The Maestro only works that way if your Flex unit is already powered-up and has completed it's boot cycle.  If the Flex unit has not completed it's boot-up cycle, then the Maestro waits and gives you boot-up menu choices.

73, WØYWW

Tim - W4TME

Not currently, it is the way it is designed to work and there are no plans to modify this boot behavior.

Rick Holloway

Ok, thanks.