Again tested my 'in use' transmitter, first started on 6 Feb 2014, during sensor change. In all situations the sensor contacts read 0.18 volts. Measured before and after ending session, in and out of the magnetized case it originally came in and after 2 second short of the contacts, over a period of 20 minutes of measurements. Meanwhile, the not yet unpacked spare transmitter reads 0.00 and 0.001 (suspect that the 0.001 is slight inaccuracy of my DVM).
So yes, appears that a special procedure is required to put these to sleep and/or the switch can only go into sleep mode 1 time at factory.
JJM, Joern and I discovered that the measurement you get from a DVM depends on the impedence of the DVM since the signal you're measuring is just some sort of microamp type circuit leakage, probably from the micro reading the resistance or something across the sensor element.
Can i send you a transmitter to replace battery? I'd be happy to pay for labor and materials. Thanks!
I don't charge anything for the replacement. I do them when I can for people. Although I get about 50% success I'm working on improving the process. I'm working on some new CnC fixtures for doing it so there is already a lineup of 5 transmitters to do.
Wow - just seeing your post Joem - and will be saving this for future reference. I am one of those ... pay out of your pocket folks ... well so far ... I haven't had to. An islet cell transplant recipient here in Canada when she saw my dismay at the %6-7K layout each year (based on life span of the Dexcom - I had to go with worst case scenario - and it was ... I have to do more pole dancing to afford this).
I live in Canada, where the CGMS is not often covered by our work place insurance. It seems in the USA - where private insurance thrives more due to the medical system you have - some luck in more with having some of all of the CGMS paid for.
So for some of you who say, why bother doing what Joem (and Wayne for translating) has kindly written out to us that pay out of pocket .. well ... consider yourself lucky that you have insurance.
Meanwhile, loving my first 3 weeks with this wonderful device. Am pinpointing where to tweak my insulin ... so I can have a hypo free sleep (I need all the sleep I can get these days with hot flashes from menopause ).
Animas Canada sells the kit for $1700. The box of sensors is $340 shipped. I reset my sensors and have had an average of 11 days per sensor. Expect to pay $3000 for sensors. The transmitter is guaranteed for 6 months but in reality most last for a full year. Depending on which province you're in you can also claim the costs as a medical expense on your income tax.
To date I've done 6 transmitters with 4 successes. I've spoken with about a dozen others and besides Joern have not spoken with anyone else who has done a successful battery transplant :(
I think when the slimmer transmitters come to Canada we will have a much easier time swapping batteries.
Hi Hackish - thanks for your reply (I live in QC).
Yeah, luckily I know the cost of the kit since I had to submit a predetermination to my work place to see if we had coverage for it (I had in our last contract back in 2007 when I'd first started pumping - but that was with MM Paradigm - which sadly - was completed fail - and I stopped using their CGMS after 3 month trial). Because of the work I do in diabetic advocacy - and writing about glitch of Animas pump internal s/w - I think Animas rep was being nice letting me have a whole box of sensors at no charge since he knows I'll be #dblogging about the experience.
Again, thanks for the fast response! Much appreciated as a newbie user :)
Small world. I'm in Gatineau Qc. We don't have any coverage. I was trying to argue that sensors are a part needed to run the Animas Vibe. Not sure yet if that will go anywhere.
I'm surprised you found an error in the pump software. I've been involved in some programming for items in a similar industry where failure is not an option. The amount of testing and quality assurance is insane. I'm not saying there are no bugs but they're really really rare.
Bonjour Hackish (my french is horrible - tho' the the companies I work for in the USA - in the diabetes field - think I am).) I'll have to brush up on my french for the Diabetes unConference in Las Vegas ... ou oui vous voulez couchez avec moi ce soir ... ;) .
The error in the pump software is the internal clock - that the pumps (2020 / Ping / Vibe) - stop functioning at certain dates. Other pumps don't have this .. so I was abit frustrated with paying out of pocket for a pump at the time - that the 2020 died Dec 2015 (the Ping is 2022). I've since gotten over that ... and think of my pump purchase like a car .. and hope it last at least 10 years (my 2020 with warranty replacements is still functioning after purchase in April 2008). I posted a few blogs about it here at Tudiabetes - the rest are at Diabetes1.org
I contacted QC here in Montreal to see what is happening with coverage for at least pumps for T1D's that are not young .. they are working on it. They had wanted me to be part of the team for pushing it - but since I called them up in November. All has gone quiet. I did used to run a diabetic group thru' them ... but even that fell thru' after I jumped ship due to members not interested in learning about new technology from time to time. Mostly T2D's - finding me an amusing T1D with a pump was about all the meetings were about - and coffee/tea/biscuits. Places like this are a much better source for learning, which I'm sure you'll agree.
BTW, I am going to try a different route to see if I get CGMS approval thru' workplace (they denied the Vibe) - I think my dork endo doesn't realise that quality of life with a CGMS is greatly improved. As I try to figure out my basal rates to reduce the lows I'm having ... the CGMS is an invaluable tool.
Next life, I come back as either a researcher/endo/programmer in medical technology ... wait ... diabetes and other serious diseases will be CURED ... ehgads ... I'll become a farmer at that point to feed the masses ... Solent Green anyone?
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Could you not film the process so there was a video guide?
I want to attempt this but the instructions aren't so clear
I figure there is about a 5% chance of success. For this reason I’ve been developing an automated process will CnC machines that is precise enough to get a reasonable rate. Joern has been very helpful in sending photos. I’ve got a number too during my replacement project so if you do want anything let me know. I’ve got about 8 transmitters waiting to be done at the moment. When I get time I do them and send them out free in exchange for more dead ones.
Hi Hackish,
I have at least one dead xmitter. would you be willing to exchange it for one of the ones you've replaced the battery? I'd appreciate any help with this.
Thanks,
Rodger
Hackish - How to determine if the XMTR is still good, just needing new battery, or electronically failed?
Who has had XMTR fail for anything other than battery or abuse?
A year ago, Dexcom had me swap XMTR d/t system problems although the battery was still OK. I need to dig into old Dexcom Studio records to remember if the swap out solved the problems. Again, 10 days ago, their troubleshooting resembled shotgunning and the swap out of a 12 mo old XMTR did not resolve my complaints (??? gaps and jumps in measurements). I have difficulty accepting that I can have a smooth trend graph and then see a jagged graph with excursions of 10 to 30 points then returning to a smooth graph!!
If I can confirm that these XMTRs are electronically fit I can send to you, 1 with dead battery now and 1 with battery still OK. I do not require a rebuilt replacement. Where to mail to??
My replacement batteries lasts 4 months. I've inserted 2 new ones ... on air again! :)
While i've changed the batteries, i've noticed that the rear battery was still okay. Only the front one was flat. So next time i will only replace the front one ;)
This is only somewhat related. I have 2 receivers. My old one was not all that good, and it frequently displayed the ??? message. Now it's gotten worse, and I mostly but not always get the out of range message, I would like to put it in service since I am getting a lot of trouble calibrating. Often, but not always my finger sticks are 30-50 points different from the Dex.
So is this user serviceable or should I just threw it away.
Assume that you have done the Hard Reset using paperclip. That solved a month's worth of calls to Dexcom regarding lots of ???
As you know, 'Out Of Range' 1st suspect would be Transmitter, 2nd suspect would be receiver and Dexcom had often questioned if my environment has interference.
Calibrations should be within 20 points or 20%, whichever is higher. I most always avoid calibrating if my trend is not a flat-line, otherwise the diffs are larger. The software update late last year MIGHT have helped mine a bit.
I posted info here (Oct1,2014) on opening the receiver along with photo of the guts. IMO, the only serviceable item is the battery.
You can also use the original battery type for the replacement of the front battery.
Now my receiver shows me the battery state: OK
Take a look at Update 2.
I have 2 transmitters that I replaced which Dexcom insisted were bad and I honestly don’t believe that problems were the transmitter. At the time they still had good battery but since have drained. If anyone wants/needs these to experiment with changing batteries, let me know.
mueller-j (at) sbcglobal (dot) net
Hi all, been wanting to comment on this thread for the last few weeks, but was unable to create an account for the site due to the site upgrade.
I have been working on opening and documenting the precess to replace the batteries of the G4 Transmitter. Joern thank you for your post - has been very helpful.
My question is how did you get the new original batteries (RENATA 391) into the Transmitter!? As you need to keep the original top and bottom of the battery in the transmitter, this limits the hight to less than the size of a replacement battery - so how do you fit it in?
I have ended-up mounting the new batteries on top of the Transmitter, you can see my post here: Hacking the Dexcom G4 Transmitter - Battery replacement - hypodiabetic.co.uk