Ce Testing

[Dunny]

Ok, here it is from the horse's (or Dragon's) mouth:

Testing does take two days, CE can be done with the CNC prototype, only for FCC the final unit is needed (by american law).

Just one question - When will the prototype be sent off for CE testing? Any date on that yet?

Cheers,

D.

 

[Alpha2]

obviously no one has an official answer but you can assume once they've got a keymat and a more complete case that they're happy with that it'll be sent off for testing immediatly. But that all depends on when they get the new parts in for testing or the keymat, which ever happens last.

 

[Phawx]

I thought the prototype was being sent as-is?

 

[hedwards]

I thought the prototype was being sent as-is?

Possibly, for the EU's testing. They're having it tested in both regions and the standards differ somewhat.

The one set of tests they're outright skipping is the UL and that's voluntary. Mainly having to do with quality and doesn't have to be done if the purchaser trusts the manufacturer. It's basically just the insurance Underwriter's Laboratories, IIRC.

 

[truekaiser]

ce testing takes time. they have to test to see if the pandora's battery won't explode ala the recent laptops. or discharge suddenly shocking the player. they also have to test to see if the pandora's wireless and blue-tooth don't cause harmful interference to other critical devices if placed near them. along with other safety tests.

 

[Awakening]

It's my understanding that they have or are soon about to send it in for CE testing, don't know if that requires final keymat though. FCC testing must be done with the final product.

 

[Vorporeal]

They're going to send a prototype (not totally sure how prototype, but the current ones might be perfectly fine) for CE testing. The testing should take about 2 days (according to ED). I'm sure they'll tell us when they send it out and when they get word back that it passed. (It's unlikely to fail, as I'm sure all of the individual components have passed CE testing already.)

 

[EvilDragon]

CE testing will take 2 - 3 days when I get the board... don't know exactly when this will be, but as long as the case is in production, we've got plenty of time

The battery can't explode, since it's Li-Polymer

 

[gruso]

So once the last prototype changes are done, production can go ahead without waiting for CE testing?

 

[marshal]

Thanks for the information. I hope CE testing will go smoothly
Once it's done it will be one more thing you won't have to worry about.

I have to say I don't get your point about Li-Polymer battery that can't explode. Of course it shouldn't explode under normal condition but according to wikipedia if you overcharge it it is likely to result in explosion or fire...
I think that's pretty much the case with all type of battery were you have a large amount of energy in a small space.

Obviously there are protection circuit for this and it is very unlikely that something goes wrong with the pandora. I am not woried at all, just a bit surprised to hear you say it can't explode because it's Li-Polymer.

 

[lulzfish]

You can always cause a battery to fail awesomely by putting too much current through it at the wrong voltage.

ED probably means, "At the voltage and current supplied by the Pandora's charger, it is impossible for a LiPo battery to go into thermal runaway"

The batteries aren't invincible, they're just user-proof.

 

[Dunny]

ce testing takes time.

2-3 Days, according to ED:

CE testing will take 2 - 3 days when I get the board... don`t know exactly when this will be, but as long as the case is in production, we`ve got plenty of time

The battery can`t explode, since it`s Li-Polymer

Possibly, for the EU's testing. They`re having it tested in both regions and the standards differ somewhat.

The CE test is for europe, as I understand it - the FCC testing in the states will take longer and requires the finished unit, which will delay the release somewhat in the states.

Thanks ED, that clears that up - Chip, you can lock this now if you feel like it.

D.

 

[ledow]

The battery can't explode, since it's Li-Polymer

There speaks a man who has never left young children unsupervised, watched Mythbusters, or done things just to see what will happen.

And surely it's that type of thinking that produced the batches of dodgy batteries that DO explode? All Li-Po being classed as "safe for consumers" tells me is that someone hasn't YET blown them up or manufactured them incorrectly. The fact is that they contain an awful lot of power chemically, which can be converted to release electrically, in a small volume. That means that they can be incredibly dangerous if the design isn't quite right (NiMH, Li-Ion, etc. are "safe", but only with the right enclosures/circuitry in place).

Plus, a two-second wiki search came up with:

CODE
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=143185


which says that AT&T had to replace 17,000 of the things because they'd been blowing up and that anyone shipping them has to take special precautions because they are classed as "hazardous materials".

 

[conso]

1. it was announced that the minor modifications to the case won't cause a delay. Unfinal case will be send to CE-testing as-is and changed CNC-parts will be ordered in parallel. After a final review, molds will be ordered.
2. Craig runs around the garden with his non-final but finished pandora.
3. ED says he's still waiting for mk3-board, so no CE-testing yet, but that doesn't matter since there is enough time for it while cases are produced.

Sorry, but all that doesn't fit together for me.

Are you waiting for CE-testing before case-molds get ordered or not?
Are the changed parts of the case causing a delay or not?
Is Craig running around the garden with a finished pandora while 2 days of ups-delivery away ED is waiting for a finished pandora to send it to CE-testing to get production running?

 

[Awakening]

CODE
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=143185

Some might find these snippets interesting to read:

QUOTE
Local officials there used Light Reading's reporting on the earlier cabinet fires to learn how Avestor's lithium metal polymer batteries had been a factor in previous AT&T equipment cabinet incidents. (See Exclusive Photos: Fire to the Node.)

In the Wauwatosa fire, the main cabinet door was "displaced and landed about five to six feet southwest of the cabinet," according to Assistant Chief Jeffrey S. Hevey, Wauwatosa's fire marshal, who spoke with Light Reading on Monday.

Hevey reckons the cabinet door, which probably weighs 50 to 60 pounds, was blown off during the cabinet's explosion because the "bolts and rivets were sheared off cleanly," which suggests "a sudden, powerful displacement."


QUOTE
Now, all the controversy surrounding AT&T's cabinets has come full circle. The batteries, once deemed to be safe and sound by independent experts, have failed at least four times now, and the carrier has committed to continuing its removal and replacement of the 17,000 Avestor batteries spread out across its network.

 

[WizardStan]

1. it was announced that the minor modifications to the case won't cause a delay. Unfinal case will be send to CE-testing as-is and changed CNC-parts will be ordered in parallel. After a final review, molds will be ordered.
2. Craig runs around the garden with his non-final but finished pandora.
3. ED says he's still waiting for mk3-board, so no CE-testing yet, but that doesn't matter since there is enough time for it while cases are produced.

Sorry, but all that doesn't fit together for me.

Are you waiting for CE-testing before case-molds get ordered or not?
Are the changed parts of the case causing a delay or not?
Is Craig running around the garden with a finished pandora while 2 days of ups-delivery away ED is waiting for a finished pandora to send it to CE-testing to get production running?

CE testing takes 2-3 days.
Making the mold takes 20-30 days.
The mold can't be made until the one tweak is completed, let's estimate that at 5 days.
Ergo, doing the math, CE testing can begin 22 days from now and still be finished before mass production can begin.

 

[conso]

1. it was announced that the minor modifications to the case won't cause a delay. Unfinal case will be send to CE-testing as-is and changed CNC-parts will be ordered in parallel. After a final review, molds will be ordered.
2. Craig runs around the garden with his non-final but finished pandora.
3. ED says he's still waiting for mk3-board, so no CE-testing yet, but that doesn't matter since there is enough time for it while cases are produced.

Sorry, but all that doesn't fit together for me.

Are you waiting for CE-testing before case-molds get ordered or not?
Are the changed parts of the case causing a delay or not?
Is Craig running around the garden with a finished pandora while 2 days of ups-delivery away ED is waiting for a finished pandora to send it to CE-testing to get production running?

CE testing takes 2-3 days.
Making the mold takes 20-30 days.
The mold can't be made until the one tweak is completed, let's estimate that at 5 days.
Ergo, doing the math, CE testing can begin 22 days from now and still be finished before mass production can begin.

Sure, but iirc, it was said that mold production would be started after CE-tests to ensure everything is fine and I didn't see a direct correction to that announcement.

 

[WizardStan]

Do you remember where you saw that? Last I recall, Chip said they were confident enough in the design that they weren't going to wait for testing before going mass production, but that was months ago and I can't find the original quote. I even made a point of asking "what if it fails testing?" and the response was, basically, "it won't".

 

[Klaus]

Is it really that vital to know the exact date CE-Testing will start? It takes a couple of days, and even if it's causing a delay, it will be minimal. One week more or less doesn't really matter, or does it?

 

[Monk]

One week more or less doesn't really matter, or does it?

How do you think a delivery date slips from "November 2008" to a completely unknown date come April 2009?

So far IIRC we've pretty much been told that each little thing will cause little or no delay, yet here we are saying that the next things will cause "little or no delay".