par glnc222 » Mer 5 Déc 2018 04:04
The Neato XV series has an original and revised version now several years old, with some minor additions in the final Pro versions. The different models 11, 14, 21 etc. are different accessory bundles, and European vs American charger versions, not different electronics. The original XV has Rev113 Cruz system board (on the board label),while the revised version has Rev64 Binky system board with a different, newer processor. The software is different for the two boards, with different cpu's. The oldest, Rev113 Cruz boards cannot be updated past v3.1 software (maybe 3.2, not sure), where the later software is for the newer system board only. There is little of importance in the further software revisions, as V3.1 added the major advance "corner clever" better cleaning in corners. Another difference is the old system had a side charging jack, omitted in the later revised version (one way to tell what is in a particular Neato). Very important is another revision in the charging base. The revised models use a slightly lower voltage charger, while the older charger is rated 2.4amps. The important difference is that the Neato detects the charger by a different method, and the older chargers cannot charge the newer models. The newer chargers are backwards compatible with the older Neato's. The older Neato's had a hot resistor across the charging contacts in the back used to signal the charger, and this resistor is eliminated in the newer system board, along with the old side charging jack. This corrected a few problems with heat melting plastic in the back when there was a poor connection to the base.
Another important change was the LCD panel ribbon cable connection to the system board. The old model had a cable clamp on the system board for a bare cable end, while the newer model has a full header pin plug for greater durability; the LCD circuits where also changed, so it is not just a connector change. It is not possible to upgrade the system board without also upgrading the LCD panel. Replacement LCD's must have the connector, bare flat end or header plug, matching the system board model.
Model XV-21 merely added the Pet Brush or Combo Brush originally used by the Vorwerk model VR100 sold only in Europe and mainly in Germany, never in the U.S.
The Pro version added only a mechanical change using metal gears in the drive wheel assembly, supposedly more durable, or maybe just cheaper, unknown.
The entire XV series is fairly obsolete, superseded by the major revisions for the Botvac series, with one revision of the brush mounting for the "D" series (70, 85 etc.) and a more recent addition of WiFi equipped Botvacs D3, D5, and the most recent D7 model with persistent mapping and virtual boundaries, "no-go" lines in a map.
There was one mechanical revision in the oldest XV models where the attachment for the drive wheel suspension springs was moved from a weak plastic tab in the bottom of the case, to a substantial fitting with a metal screw in the top of the case (so the springs must be released from the drive wheels before opening the case).
par 