Greetings folks - a forum member forwarded a sample of the Kickstarter accessory and I've had a chance to do a full eval to determine what's likely causing the failure to charge issue reported by many users - and to respond to a few questions and comments that have been posted since my last visit.
I noted that he plastic docking tab included with the KS device is made from a soft, low-density material. When this part is inserted and removed from a female Lightning port, small shards of the material are being sheared off by the sharp edges of the Delrin pocket which is situated just inboard of the stainless steel bearing that forms the entry to the port. On extraction, the backside of the bearing can also shave off material. These small plastic shards build up fairly quickly and readily cling to each other, and the copper fingers that mate with the copper pads on the male Lightning connector. I was able to noticeably foul a new connector after about 30 insertions / extractions.
That said, these shards are very easily removed with either compressed air (even sharply blowing into the port) or gently probing with a soft-bristled nylon brush. I also flexed and torqued the tab to its extreme numerous times while docked and no damage was done to the female connector or its internal contacts (as expected). The poster that had his iPad's Lightning port "replaced" at an Apple Retail store, likely just had it cleaned. One way to be reasonably sure is how long the iPad was on the bench as replacing the Lightning port in any recent iPad requires 2-3 hours minimum by the most experienced technician. I'm also a bit skeptical that the actual part for the Pro's are even in the stores yet.
So, it's not a huge deal at all - the manufacturer would be well served by simply recasting that small part in an alternate material and send to purchasers. Or advise users to blow out the port every few insertions. All this relates to the sample I received, it's certainly possible that early versions had other issues relating to the material or possibly the presence of mold release oils or some other insulating substance. I would not hesitate to use the sample I received.
On to some questions / comments:
Will PencilClipz work with silicone and other cases?
Absolutely, and by design - there are images on the
product page in use with a fairly chunky case.
The male tab on PencilClipz does not to be fully inserted into the port for it to establish a solid grip.
To those who feel that the Lightning port is fragile and that it isn't designed to withstand any loading.
Sorry, but that's simply not the case. The female portion is extremely well constructed from a solid slug of Delrin that's wrapped with dual bands of Stainless and mounts to the device housing in 4 places. This is why the Apple iPhone dock doesn't require a gusset to prop up the phone, and why the Apple TV remote lanyard mounts to the port. It's tough, trust me - Apple wouldn't take on the liability if it weren't up to the stresses that the two aforementioned products impose on it.
Best regards - John G
