Let there be boards (2010 - 12 - 02)

[rabidpoobear]

It gets dark here at like 5:30 PM right now, nobody likes staying at work until it's dark. If I were the CEO I'd leave early too.


ED I don't know any lawyers personally except for one back home (about 4 hrs away) but I know some law offices nearby (near Dallas), if it comes to litigation I can get in touch with them and see what they say. and I can maybe ask around for some recommendations.

 

[noobermin]

And a nice ending from ED.


If they don't deliver, they should no longer be OPT's board company anymore. Just saying.


I'm a noob here, but I think most of you will agree with me.

 

[THB]

I dont understand how people can still blame the board company. They dont have nubs to finish their job. The nub company has failed again and again to deliver these to the board company and when they have actually made a delivery they have been faulty. Now the nub company doesnt have circuit boards to build more nubs... more delays, more two months on the way and yet everybody blames the board company who dont actually have all the parts they require to finish the job.

 

[OpenUser]

Good day everyone.


Just arrived at the "new" official bulletin board.


So there was no CEO on Friday. (*sound of creaking knuckles*) :angry:


But WE are there, ED. We are with you (at least the very most of us).


You are not alone.


Your journey through all this is our journey.


And believe me, even though you went through hell several times with the OP-project, this is NOTHING compared to other adversities out there.


You are young, healthy and you have a keen mind - you can achieve anything you desire! B)


BTW: Thanks a lot for your great "one video per day" series!


A peaceful advent season to you and the whole community!


- OpenUser

 

[EvilDragon]

I dont understand how people can still blame the board company. They dont have nubs to finish their job.

Yes and no. They agreed multiple times that they will produce and test all boards so that the nubs simply need to be put on the boards when they arrive. Testing the boards is what needs most of the time. Soldering nubs on the boards is fast, 1000 boards can easily get nubs in a week.


If they said they will wait for the finished nubs before they continue, then that would be okay and understandable. But telling that all 3000 boards are finished and just waiting for the nubs should only be done if they really did it.


Well, we have no idea if the boards are finished yet, we'll hopefully find that out on Wednesday on Treys next visit.


On Monday they will get 2000 of the new nubs. If the boards are finished, 1000 boards should be ready mid December.

 

[may88]

Yes and no. They agreed multiple times that they will produce and test all boards so that the nubs simply need to be put on the boards when they arrive. Testing the boards is what needs most of the time. Soldering nubs on the boards is fast, 1000 boards can easily get nubs in a week.


If they said they will wait for the finished nubs before they continue, then that would be okay and understandable. But telling that all 3000 boards are finished and just waiting for the nubs should only be done if they really did it.


Well, we have no idea if the boards are finished yet, we'll hopefully find that out on Wednesday on Treys next visit.


On Monday they will get 2000 of the new nubs. If the boards are finished, 1000 boards should be ready mid December.

Ever the optimist.


The CEO is buggering us about but if it is just to buy a little time so that can quickly finish some stuff the GREAT!


If however he gives Trey the run-around on Wednesday too then they need even MORE time to do reduce the gap between bull-shit and reality. Then we worry, as we just don't know how bigger liar he is.

 

[Patrick R Ludvigsen]

After the boards are complete and arriven, about how many Pandoras can be completed a day?

 

[Link]

^


I think 200+ has been mentioned in UK Village Hall.

 

[Cas]

Ever the optimist.


The CEO is buggering us about but if it is just to buy a little time so that can quickly finish some stuff the GREAT!


If however he gives Trey the run-around on Wednesday too then they need even MORE time to do reduce the gap between bull-shit and reality. Then we worry, as we just don't know how bigger liar he is.

Hi


The fact that the CEO keeps changing visit dates or is not around when wanted etc is a sure sign he is hiding something.


I have money invested in this thing so I am staying with it to the end

 

[may88]

^


I think 200+ has been mentioned in UK Village Hall.

Ed was playing this number down the other day. I think it was to soften us to the idea of moving some of the assembly to Taiwan. I've been thinking about this. I did the maths and here are my workings.


<pause for board company- solder,test nubs and ship - two weeks. Delivery to UK....w/c 28th>


Batch 1 - Part 2:


There are only 1000 boards (or so) that can be made at this time. (2000 nubs - the other nubs are awaiting PCBs (this is really bad news BTW))


1000/200 = 5 days = 1 working week. (( I think this is optimistic for the first week's assembly and is more a speed-up-to value.) Even if this took two weeks then fine as here will not be another deliver of additional boards before then anyway.


The good news is there are another 1000 Pandoras being shipped to worthy 1st Dayers. (I assume a 90%/10% split between orders and RMAs)


<pause for nubs (no schedule for the PBC/ Christmas /board company* (having to start-up again!)


estimate: PCBs two week (min), Make nubs 1 week, ship nubs 1 week, Board company make boards 1 week, ship 1 week.>


Batch 1 - Part 3:


The next 1000. The UK has the cases for (not the LCD cable at the moment but this should not be a problem)


End of Jan at the earliest the way the weeks seem to fly past.


Say, another 1.5 weeks to assemble/ship.


<no pause>


Batch 1 - Part 4:


These should follow on from the board company a week after the previous 1000 so that means they're be sitting about waiting 3 or 4 days


For me the remaining 1000 would only take 1.5 weeks to assemble and ship from the UK.


So Why move assembly (for batch 1) for the sake of 2 weeks.


It's a good idea to get the Taiwanese involved and in the long run this will help, but at the expense (in my view) of getting Batch 1 out the door. I can't see that there is going to be the back-log to justify this. And at the risk of sounding selfish most Batch 1ers have been waiting for two years so I think this trumps any angst Batch 2ers would feel about their Pandora arriving a few weeks later (if at all if the memory has not been sourced).


The may read as being negative but I think time will show this as being over optimistic.


I say Batch 1 ends February Friday 11th 2011 16:45 (GMT).


*- I love to hate them but they've not actually done a lot wrong yet.

 

[hosant]

I got confused reading this thread. There's no (confirmed) unforeseen delays apart from the one stated by the time of the OP, right?

 

[EvilDragon]

I got confused reading this thread. There's no (confirmed) unforeseen delays apart from the one stated by the time of the OP, right?

2000 nubs are there, the rest should all be finished shortly after christmas.


Parts are all there to build all the remaining boards.


Cases are all there to build the remaining units.


Nothing is missing, now it's basically up to the board production company to finish the boards. Everything else is fine.

 

[D4damage]

2000 nubs are there, the rest should all be finished shortly after christmas.


Parts are all there to build all the remaining boards.


Cases are all there to build the remaining units.


Nothing is missing, now it's basically up to the board production company to finish the boards. Everything else is fine.

So were hoping they'll begin this week and then ship them to you and Craig ? What's the plan with the video out cables ?


Another concern is the batteries, they must have been sitting for quite a while now. Would this not reduce their lives ?

 

[tsh]

So we're expecting the board company to start putting nubs on the 1000 boards this afternoon (EU time), and confirmation of where they are up to (with fully finished and just SMT populated) by very earl Thursday AM (EU time). At that point we should be able to guess when those first ~1000 boards will reach Craig?

 

[EvilDragon]

So were hoping they'll begin this week and then ship them to you and Craig ? What's the plan with the video out cables ?

TV Out cables are ready to be produced.


They should take about 4 - 6 weeks. We will give the GO once the next boards will really be shipped from Texas (so hopefully, end of this week).

Another concern is the batteries, they must have been sitting for quite a while now. Would this not reduce their lives ?

They've been properly stored, as long as you don't discharge and recharge them constantly, they should be fine.

So we're expecting the board company to start putting nubs on the 1000 boards this afternoon (EU time), and confirmation of where they are up to (with fully finished and just SMT populated) by very earl Thursday AM (EU time). At that point we should be able to guess when those first ~1000 boards will reach Craig?

Not today. If UPS delivers the package, it will probably be afternoon in Texas, so they won't start before tomorrow.


And yes, Trey will go there again on Wednesday afternoon and will hopefully find out that they really have done the work they claimed they have.

 

[Caine]

They've been properly stored, as long as you don't discharge and recharge them constantly, they should be fine.

I expect the batteries to have lost a couple of percent of their capacity over the last two years. Storing them properly decreases the rate of degradation by quite a bit, but does not halt it.

 

[EvilDragon]

I expect the batteries to have lost a couple of percent of their capacity over the last two years. Storing them properly decreases the rate of degradation by quite a bit, but does not halt it.

We don't have them for two years.


We got them... AFAIR about a year ago.


So yes, they might've lost a bit, but not too much.


I check some batteries once in a while before shipping them, and so far they all still did the about 13 hours.

 

[Tor]

We don't have them for two years.


We got them... AFAIR about a year ago.


So yes, they might've lost a bit, but not too much.

Well, considering that li-ion/li-poly batteries have a supposed shelf life of 3 years..


if they weren't stored in a freezer, or at least cool, they will have detoriated somewhat.


BTW: Why wait with giving the go-ahead for the video cables? I mean, at least for those of us who ordered the cables already they should be set in production right away so that there's zero risk of them not being ready to ship with our Pandoras.

 

[D4damage]

Thanks for the answers to our questions ED.


It would be nice to get the tv cable with my Pandora rather than having to wait longer for it.

 

[Caine]

It would be nice to get the tv cable with my Pandora rather than having to wait longer for it.

While I agree with you, I'll happily wait for my tv cable if that gets me my Pandora quicker.