Hardware Manual

What's in the kit

The amplifier

ClearBrain uses the Callibri amplifier.

• 1
  Micro-USB port, on the top edge. One port, two jobs: the magnetic electrode cable plugs in here, and so does the charger. This is the only connection the amplifier uses.
• 2
  Power button. The blue area between the two lights. One press on, one press off.
• 3
  Two status lights, side by side below the button. Power, battery and charging all come from these two. See §3.
• 4
  Label, on the back. Serial number, the charging rating and the FCC ID. The strap sits over it in an assembled kit — slide the strap down to read it. Your serial also comes on the scan card in the box.
• 5
  Two snap terminals. These are used for snap electrodes, not intended for use with ClearBrain. Do not plug or connect anything to these snap terminals, as it will prevent ClearBrain from working correctly.

What the lights mean

Two LEDs, one green and one red, in three situations.

In use

While charging

The magnetic electrode cable

The part that takes the daily handling, and the part most likely to need replacing.

The magnetic electrode cable is the signal path. One end is a micro-USB plug that goes into the charging port on the amplifier's top edge. The other end carries the sensor — the dry gold spring-loaded comb that sits against your scalp inside the cap — and the ear clip that serves as reference.

Handling

• Unplug by the micro-USB plug, never by pulling the cable. Pulling the cable can cause damage to the cable or amplifier.
• Keep gel and moisture out of the micro-USB port. Gel or moisture causes damage to the port, which the warranty does not cover.
• Store it attached or store it flat. Loose in a bag with keys is how a lead gets nicked.
• Some of the sensor's pins will stick over time. After enough sessions a few stop springing back. That is normal wear, and the sensor keeps working — a pin that sits flush still makes contact with your scalp. Keeping liquid out of them, as §8 describes, delays it.

  

Charging

Full charge gives at least six hours of continuous use, more than a single training session needs.

• Unplug the electrode cable first, if attached. The charger uses the same port, so you cannot charge and train at the same time.
• Charge it before the first session. It does not ship full.
• Use a 5 V USB charger rated 1–2 A — a standard phone charger. The device label says 5V 2A max, and that is the ceiling, not a target.
• Unplug it when both lights come on. Leaving it on the charger indefinitely is not good for the cell.

Specifications

Manufacturer figures for the electrophysiological configuration shipped in ClearBrain kits.

Channels

1 (one active site, ear-clip reference)

Sample rate as ClearBrain reads it

1000 Hz

Input voltage range

0 to 0.2 V

Input-referred noise, inputs shorted

≤ 12 µV peak-to-peak

Wireless link

Bluetooth Low Energy 4.0 or later, 2.4 GHz

Continuous run time

≥ 6 hours

Charging input

5 V DC, 1–2 A, micro-USB

Motion sensing

Three-axis gyroscope and accelerometer

Sensor

Dry gold-plated, spring-loaded

Computer requirements

Windows 10 or 11, Bluetooth 4.0 or later

If your computer has no built-in Bluetooth, or the signal drops when the amplifier is behind your head, a USB Bluetooth 4.0+ adapter can be used to support connection to the amplifier.

Getting a clean signal

Movement, muscle tension, and even eye-blinks will show up in the electroencephalogram (EEG). Therefore, be sure to practice sitting still and being calm and focused when using ClearBrain. Below are additional tips to ensure a clean, Clear signal.

Contact

• Part the hair under the sensor. Hair between gold and scalp is the most common cause of a weak signal.
• Apply NuPrep to your scalp and ear lobe, never to the sensor. A small amount of skin-prep gel will help the sensor's contact with your skin. Gel applied to the sensor works down between the pins, where it is very hard to clean out, and it is the main cause of sensor problems.
• Seat the ear clip on the fleshy lobe, not on cartilage, and not over an earring.
• Give it thirty seconds to settle before you start training.

Cleaning

Cleaning the sensor and ear clip is necessary to continue their normal functions.

• Wipe the gel off while it is still wet, right after the session. Skin-prep gel is mildly abrasive by design. Scrubbing it off dry can degrade the sensor.
• Use 70% isopropyl alcohol on a swab or wipe, then dry immediately with a lint-free tissue.
• Never immerse the sensor, and never run water over it. Liquid wicks up inside the spring barrel and does not come back out. Damp swab only.
• Finish on bare gold. Baby wipes and cleaning wipes leave a conditioning film that impedes a clean signal.
• Keep alcohol off the ear clip's hinge. Alcohol on stressed plastic causes cracking, and the hinge is where the stress is.
• Never use an ultrasonic cleaner, bleach, hydrogen peroxide, iodine, acetone, an abrasive pad, or an autoclave.
• The cap goes in the wash — soap and warm water, air dry, amplifier and cable removed first.

Safety

If you are sensitive to light, or have a history of seizures

A small number of people have seizures triggered by flashing lights or visual patterns, sometimes with no prior history. ClearBrain's visual feedback dims and clears your computer screen as you meet or miss the training criteria.

The dimming is slow and gradual — a gentle fade, never a strobe, flash or flicker. It is designed to consistently and gradually dim and clear over multiple seconds. What it does do is change the brightness of what you are looking at, continuously, for the length of a session.

Talk to your physician before training if you, or anyone in your family, has epilepsy, has had a seizure, or has been told they are sensitive to light. Train only if they approve it.

If using the visual Overlay feedback, train in a well-lit room and sit back from the screen rather than close to it. Whichever feedback you use, keep early sessions short and don't train when you are already tired.

Headaches, tired eyes, and how you feel afterward

ClearBrain software is neurofeedback — sustained attention and body control practice, with a screen in front of you. Some people finish a session with a mild headache, tired eyes, or a wired or unusually flat feeling for an hour or two. This is common with attention training and usually settles as you get used to it.

• Start with shorter sessions and build up, rather than starting long.
• Leave a break between sessions rather than running them back to back.
• Keep the room lit and the screen at a comfortable brightness.
• If a headache or a low mood follows every session, or builds session to session, stop training and contact a medical professional before continuing — and let us know.

Sound levels

If you use the audio feedback, set the volume before you start and keep it comfortable. White and pink noise carry more energy where the ear is most sensitive, so a level that feels right for brown noise can be uncomfortably loud for them.

What this equipment is, and is not

ClearBrain is a general wellness product for relaxation and attention training. It is not a medical device. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition, and it has not been cleared or approved by the FDA for any medical purpose.

It does not replace care from a licensed professional. If you are being treated for a medical or mental health condition, talk to your provider before adding training, and do not change any treatment on the basis of what you see in the app.

Warranty

BLS Performance, LLC warrants the hardware to you directly. One company, one phone call.

We warrant the amplifier against defects in materials and workmanship for 12 months, and the magnetic electrode cable for 60 days, both running from the date your kit is delivered to you. If a covered part fails in that window, we repair or replace it at no charge to you.

Not covered

• Damage from dropping, crushing, or liquid.
• Corroded or clogged contacts from gel or moisture reaching a port or connector.
• A cable or micro-USB plug damaged by pulling, kinking, or forcing the connector.
• Normal wear on the sensor's plating after abrasive cleaning.
• Any unit that has been opened, modified or repaired by anyone other than us.
• The cap, which is a consumable.

How to make a claim

Email support@clearbraintraining.com with your order number, the amplifier's serial number, and a description of what the hardware does and does not do. Do not send anything back before we reply — we will tell you whether it is a return and give you an address.

Regulatory and compliance

Radio and electromagnetic compliance for the amplifier. These statements describe the hardware, not the software.

Device

Callibri, electrophysiological (MF) variant

FCC ID

2A6RM-CALLIBRI

EU conformity

CE, Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU

Medical device status

None. Not FDA cleared, approved, registered or listed.

The FCC ID above belongs to the EEG variant of the amplifier. The muscle-stimulation variant carries a different FCC ID and is not sold in ClearBrain kits.

Support

Email support@clearbraintraining.com. Tell us what you were doing, what you expected, and what happened instead. If it is a signal problem, the artifact counts from the session help more than anything else you could send.

For software questions — licenses, activation, protocols, the training display — the in-app help and the support pages at clearbraintraining.com will usually be faster than email.