Hi backers and friends 

Portable power station compatibility improvements

Last update we posted about the troubles troubles we've had regarding the MPPT tracking algorithms found in some portable power stations - leading to low charging power. 

We are very stoked to say that it seems like we've been able to solve it these challenges. Now our converter works with all of the 4 power stations we have on hand. Making a wind turbine appear as a virtual solar panel has been way more challenging that we initially conceived. 

This is one of the key technologies needed to make portable wind turbines accessible to many (also non-technical) users.

For now, we will have a positive list of compatible portable power stations. We will most likely make a user-confirmed positive list as well - the risk of ruining your power station is low, but it's hard for us to verify that the power delivery is optimal. Our strategy here is not completely finalized, and it will depend on user feedback. Unfortunately it's not viable for us to buy all conceivable portable power stations. 

We've posted a video here, on how it works. So check it out on how to connect the electronics. 

As for as untested power stations we estimate that 80% of other stations will work as well. We'll continue to purchase new stations and continue testing and increase the known compatibility. We'll try and keep you posted on the development. 

Here's a picture inputting 440W into the Ecoflow Delta 2 Pro. .... We still have spare capacity in the ground converter if/when a boost button for the wind turbine exist, giving you a little more UMMMFFF ;) 

Status: Delivering turbines  

We have to this dated deliver 6 turbines ~8% of kickstarter deliveries.
January has been filled with other competing tasks and we faced production issues. 

If you are a backer, and you have a normal battery-system (lead-acid, Li-ion) or one of the following power stations Jackery P1000 Pro, Ecoflow Delta 2 or  bluetti powerOak EB150/240, then we would definitely like to hear from you!

Also, if you have a power-station that's not on our list and want to help verify the compatibility - let us know. Thanks! 

Challenges

We are currently battling some productions optimizations issues and quality control. 

We've been hit by a few minor set-back that we have revised our processes on:

1. Stepper board encoder failure. 2 turbines in our most recent batch have a suffered defect stepper encoders after +48 hours into tests. We suspect our soldering process to be the problem, and we'll have our PCB manufacturer solder these components as well.
2. We saw ground-anchor failure at our test-site. Causes by a really wet January. It's been the wettest January in recorded history in Denmark. 
   We've upgraded our setup with some custom anchoring, and some stacked anchoring for testing that as well. Fixing broken turbines is more than doubling the work time for a single turbine. Lessons learned. 
3. Glue joint sanding quality control issues. We've had trouble with two batches of blades, that needed re-sanding of the glue process. We are making a jig for sanding and proper instructions for working ensure quality. Again; reworking blades and setting up QA takes time. 
4. 3D print filament quality. We've had a batch of bad filament that was out of specification causing parts that was 50% weaker than anticipated. We identified this a bit late and had to rework a few turbines. 
5. Most recently we had a tower/pitch oscillations on one test turbine that eventually lead to the loss of one guy line. Normally this should have been stopped by our tubing monitoring system. We'll investigate further on it. Should be solvable with a firmware upgrade. 

We'll continue improving and some of these problems need verification on the solutions.  

Biting over too much? 

Admittedly - We might have bitten over a bit too much. BUT we still feel like it's something we can manage.

Thank you so much for keeping patience and support for us - we'll continue working on a top-notch product that will be the absolute best currently available for what's It's made for: portability and power production in average wind speeds! Not gale-winds like most others. 

Solving all the technical issues has been tough! We're - as you know - fighting one issue at a time. It's long hours and a long grind to very complicated product.

Our software is much more complicated than the mechanical system and on top of that we have 3 custom PCB designs that must all communicate and operate in all conditions with different set-ups. 

Making something that will perform well, easy to use and still reasonably durable has taken a lot longer than we anticipated.

We're very good a sprinting fast, and doing pivots in our day-to-day operations. Something that we can do because we have the skillet to make everything ourselves. The main issues are all the unknown unknowns and time. Time is always a concern, and we're prioritizing the most urgent matters to get Wind Catchers out. 

Fundraising, why now, and does it cause delays for you? 

We recently had a backer concerned about loosing focus on delivering wind catchers. We are fundraising now because we need the funding. Furthermore, we're +1Y delayed, and even though we're taking out minimal salaries we've stretched our budgets a lot. Unfortunately we can't work and deliver your turbines without food on the table and houses to stay in. 

If we only focused on getting Wind Catchers to you, we would be at very great risk of running completely out of funding by the end of delivering, and forced to close the company before we have even build it up. 

It's not what anyone wants: We want to continue the support for your units, and bring more updates etc. This is why we're using some effort - you could almost say spare-time - to work on fundraising, so we can scale our production, and also bring our technology to even larger turbines in the future. 

We know that from the outside it might look like we're not focused on the mission, but we are pushing as hard as we can, without risking dropping everything just before the finish line. It is in a way to ensure that each and every one will get their unit, and to ensure that we can be here to help you with support in the future as well! 

Update to guides, etc. 

We've started doing some initial guides on how to set wind catcher up, connect everything, and we'll also start doing some service manuals on how to look out for the turbine. Take a look on our website on the how-to-section. 

https://kitex.tech/pages/how-to-guides

It's still very much a  a work in progress. But we'd love to hear if it's understandable enough, or if you have some good ideas on how to improve on it.  

More competition for portable wind - yay

We're seeing more interest in the portable Wind. It's great to see we're not the only ones pursuing this, it means on some level that the idea must be good ;) 

Jackery has released some computer graphics on a turbine that they might be working on. It looks absolutely stunning, but we still think we will have the upper hand in terms of power output :D

It will be exiting with the performance and the price. Check it out here. 

That's all for now. Thank you for reading along

Comment here or on kickstarter. 

PS. have a few turbines ready for shipment. Reach your if want your turbine now and have time test your system soon. 

Kind & Windy Regards

The KiteX Team