ocube - the latest steorn scam

hi - there isnt a ARS " pseudo scuence " sub - so diesection of steorns latest hoax has to go here .

the claim is simple :

an alledged portable USB charger that lasts " forever "

claim :

oCube
The oCube is a single slot USB charger outputting 2.1 amps. It can charge one Tablet device, or 2-3 smartphone charges per day

source

they also have an " ophone " but i dont have time to go into that just now

the cost - " only " EURO 1200 - thats aprox USD 1350

i shall let that sink in

assuming a perfect durability - hint do you really expect an electronic device such as this to have an average lifespan above 10 years [ in daily domestic use ????????????????

the energy requirements of 3 spart phone charges / day are miniscule - bu my rough calc on a scrap of paper -

the 50 euro anker power block i have [ assuming it doesnt fail due to age ] will deliver 8 smartphone charges / recharge - and at my current domestic electric tarriff - it COULD be run for 400 years on 1150 euros of electric .

and the numbers for a 150 euro state of the art solar charger are even worse

now assuming the alledged " OCUBE " works - there are expedition and other uses for such a device

but IF it did work - the first question - can it be scaled - if not why not

of course - this being steorn - theres no evidence presented for the claim [ go figure ]

i shall leave this here -

I like how they didn't check the product name for o-cube first to see if it was already in use, say for instance as a female condom dispenser
www.ocube.info...

The O-Cube has a unique selling point - its affordable price makes it ideal for widespread use and distribution. It can be handed out as a giveaway during promotion and training activities, allowing women to practice proper insertion of female condoms in the privacy of their homes and share their acquired knowledge to their friends through peer-to-peer networks.

It does look interesting though, although I have my doubts to its legitimacy. They have had orders so I guess we will find out over the next few months if it works as they say

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
source

How's this for a contradiction, from your source?

The PowerCube does not need to be plugged in EVER, does not run off batteries...

Contains A Never-Die Battery That Is Constantly Being Recharged By A Magnet Motor

Does not run off batteries but it contains a Never-Die battery. One wonders then if it doesn't run off batteries what the battery it contains is for? A weight to keep it from floating away?

Any decent battery would get you through the demos they staged, and you have a good point about the price versus just paying for electricity...it doesn't cost a lot to charge a cell phone. Interesting find, thanks for posting it, even if it is just for the scam alert amusement.

a reply to: ignorant_ape

It would be interesting if their previous 15 demonstrations and almost-market introductions had produced anything beyond total nothingness.
Seriously, who keeps funding them?

So it uses a chemical reaction or something? I don't get how it works...?

originally posted by: Arbitrageur

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
source

How's this for a contradiction, from your source?

The PowerCube does not need to be plugged in EVER, does not run off batteries...

Contains A Never-Die Battery That Is Constantly Being Recharged By A Magnet Motor

Does not run off batteries but it contains a Never-Die battery. One wonders then if it doesn't run off batteries what the battery it contains is for? A weight to keep it from floating away?

Any decent battery would get you through the demos they staged, and you have a good point about the price versus just paying for electricity...it doesn't cost a lot to charge a cell phone. Interesting find, thanks for posting it, even if it is just for the scam alert amusement.

It seems to be a type of electret. The raw output of this cell is not enough power for standard USB 2.0 output. It therefore uses a conventional lithium cell for storage, which is constantly trickle charged by the electret cell. Not the most practical device, but if it is successful, then that is a good start.

@9:14 he starts explaining a bit about the cell.


Reminds me a little of Marcus Reid cells. Some of these cells have been under load for over 10 years with no significant drop in output power.

a reply to: Freezer
Thanks for the info. I watched both videos. Note in the second one the drain is only about one milliwatt.

The drain on the orbo cube charging cell phones is considerably higher and even with the battery for temporary storage, I think more than a milliwatt would be needed to charge the lithium battery, so as the guy says at the end of the first video, the question is, how long will it last? Probably not long enough to get 500 euros worth of electricity out of it, as ignorant ape suggested, but it's a brand new product and I heard no mention about how long it would last. They probably don't know, and certainly haven't tested it for 14 years like the battery in the second video.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

They never say how it should work. For about a decade or more now they claim a system of passive magnets that yields energy when rotated. Needless to say that there have never been a public, scrutinized demonstration whatsoever.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
So it uses a chemical reaction or something? I don't get how it works...?

It seams to work like one of those shake to use flashlights.
www.bettymills.com... _content=Jansan&gclid=Cj0KEQiAv5-zBRCAzfWGu-2jo70BEiQAj_F8oCOr6CwsCRTY94OuLczLew_Y9J1CBW7cCW6aVLH2TKoaAjOe8P8HAQ

originally posted by: ANNED
It seams to work like one of those shake to use flashlights.

They never said anything about having to shake the ocube.

They will never actually sell one of these devices, as that would open them up to all sorts of legal action (though their claims for the device are pretty fuzzy). Steorn have never actually sold a product in their existence - their "business model" is to milk investors and then put on some kind of Dog and Pony show, of which this is the latest iteration.

Steorn don't even have a website anymore, just a facebook page, and they have no ecommerce set up at all. You have to email them, and then they say the units haven't arrived from China yet (despite lots of pictures of hundreds of units laid out in their offices). Even if this were some kind of everlasting magic battery, they don't even have a patent - so clearly the Chinese (and everyone else) could just make and sell their own....

I've just run into an article stating that Steorn is €21 million in the red: www.businesspost.ie...

With the money coming from "roughly 400 shareholders — mostly farmers, small business owners and other small investors around the country"

Now that is some large scale (scam) op. I am seriously impressed.

There are a number of buyers of their latest gadget who will be posting their experience online in the coming days, once the devices arrive, like this one here orboblog.wordpress.com...

Exciting days ahead!

a reply to: moebius

i predict purile excuses ahead

originally posted by: Arbitrageur

The PowerCube does not need to be plugged in EVER, does not run off batteries...

Does not run off batteries but it contains a Never-Die battery. One wonders then if it doesn't run off batteries what the battery it contains is for? A weight to keep it from floating away?

Um. Well, if it's like the original Orbo effect, then there will be a battery that's constantly charged by the Orbo effect. Like most of these devices, the power output is pulsed and irregular.

The difference with Orbo is that they actually had a pretty neat explanation that didn't involve the usual "radiant energy" or "zero point" effect.

It actually got some attention in the gubmint, some folk were dispatched to look at their demo. Also, we got one of their early demo kits.

Any decent battery would get you through the demos they staged, and you have a good point about the price versus just paying for electricity...it doesn't cost a lot to charge a cell phone. Interesting find, thanks for posting it, even if it is just for the scam alert amusement.

It would be interesting if they ever got it to work. I don't believe they ever could. But at least their patter was first rate.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
So it uses a chemical reaction or something? I don't get how it works...?

It has to do with time dependent magnetic field saturation effects.

They did some fairly good analysis on the torque and fields as their motor went through its cycle, and came to the conclusion that the thing actually produced a net positive energy yield.

There was math, and data. It actually seemed to hold up.

The end analysis was something like that you do with a homopolar motor, it doesn't really produce a net gain but it's tough to spot the error. Sort of a very clever shaggy dog story, in physics.

they say it's to do with the engineering of the electret, so that it's in multiple thin layers.
Electrects, as I understand it, are made of a substance that is warm/hot and shaped/charged whilst warm, and then cooled down, and they've somehow captured a lot more of this charge than previously, or something...

Having followed Steorn for a long time, from a few weeks after their Economist add, and having been to Dublin, and met Shaun himself, I'm still following this. It's still interesting, even if it turns out to be yet another false lead.

the product looks good (imo), and yes, for the price, it's expensive, compared to just charging with normal electricity from a plug socket, but that's not the USP. Charging devices where there is no access to electricity - in a cave? in the Sahara at night? in a jungle? etc.

for me it wouldn't be about the cost benefit ratio, but just one more step towards self sufficiency away from The Man.

$1,350.00 is way to much for USB charger of any kind even if it uses tiny unicorns running around in a wheel on the inside.

They're probably just stealing someone else free energy technology. One that actually works!

originally posted by: Junkheap
$1,350.00 is way to much for USB charger of any kind even if it uses tiny unicorns running around in a wheel on the inside.

If it actually worked, even if poorly, it would be priceless, in terms of physics.

Tom Bedlam...Nobel prize in physics. Sounds good to me

Unless it was someone else's invention.