NLBA 1 battery Analyzer tool - Northwestrepair threatened + Dirty Secret ?

[Fraser]

I have just seen a YouTube video from Northwestrepair where he destroys his NLBA1 unit with a hammer !

He states that the NLBA 1 creator has been threatening him and also makes some interesting comments regarding the origins of the NLBA1 battery unlock codes ! I have no idea if what is said is true, but it may be worth watching if you are thinking of buying an NLBA1 for new and future battery resets.

https://youtu.be/7eFcQ15jk7s?si=f1e-9pdvX4sZcLvk

I have wanted an NLBA1 since it was released but the cost of ownership for resetting batteries as a hobby was prohibitive.

Fraser

[Fraser]

Screen capture from Northwestrepair, posted before the above referenced video.

I was sad to see Sorin mentioned in the post and discussed in the comments of the video. I still think Sorin is is nice guy but he is protective of his fellow countryman’s product.

Some good points are made regarding who actually owns the firmware that is in battery BMS modules. I was more interested to hear the rumour (unconfirmed!) about how the NLBA 1 creator obtained the passwords and decryption keys for his unlocking facility. Whilst others have managed to “crack” battery BMS IC’s to reset them, we have to wonder whether the NLBA 1 creator knows how to crack future BMS firmware or relies on others to supply the required help. This could be important if an NLBA 1 owner were considering a 10 year licence. What guarantee is there of continued unlock code availability ? These are the challenges of working in the grey area that is hardware/firmware hacking.

I was also interested to read in the YouTube video comments that the NLBA 1 is now on version 2 of the hardware and those with version 1 have to upgrade their hardware to use the latest firmware, whatever that means ? From my understanding, the NLBA 1 software works with the Texas Instruments EV2300 and EV2400 but you do not have the charger/discharger facility in that configuration. Battery unlocking was permitted with the EV2300 and EV2400 if you buy the licence from the NLBA 1 creator. I wonder if the version 2 release of the NLBA 1 changes that situation ?

It will be interesting to see what discussions come out of this debacle 

Fraser