PCB production continues (2011-01-04)

[WizardStan]

Makes my happy to hear that Pandora is finally in the home stretch of mass production. B)

Again!

 

[Dead1nside]

Quick update:


The next 2000 nubs will be finished January 6th, ALL remaining nubs (incl. the ones for the iCP) will be finished January 17th.

That's really great news. Thanks for your constant updates. I dare say that it looks like we're getting somewhere, that makes me really happy.


There has also been plenty of exciting developments on the software front. I think one of the only larger things I can think of, from the top of my head, is hardware acceleration for videos, that would be a really nice thing to see.


Glad you're feeling better, and the same goes for Craig.

 

[Stradian]

 

[Anihil8ion2199]

Thats the best news I've heard all year!

 

[benji_stein]

The first 350 Pandora PCBs have arrived on December 29th and most of them are already assembled and now being tested and flashed.


We want to do thorough testing with these first units with new nubs, so it takes a bit longer.

Wonderful news, thanks. Now that you've done some building, can you report how the cases have changed? How are the shoulder buttons (unpainted, as requested)? Does the hinge stick, then loosen, or was that unpainted, too? What about the bezel gap? You might not know the answers, not being in the UK, but hopefully someone there can speak on the subject.

Meanwhile, CC in Texas was also busy and managed to finish another 400 boards even though there were holidays. I don't know whether they are shipped already or not yet, but seeing progress there is nice.


400 more LCD cables are on the way to me, waiting to get speakers soldered. With those, the next 1000 units can be built

This is just the cables? When will the next chunk of boards be ready?


More importantly, now that it's been more than three weeks since the fiasco of CC, a lot of people (well, at least I know I am) are waiting on a more official commentary about what happened:


1) You said they were going to provide an updated schedule - have they?


2) You said you were trying to get a proper response from the CEO about why he lied through his teeth misled us with blatant fabrications a few inaccuracies. Were you able to get one?


3) There was some back-and-forth and/or concern about an "Evil Dragon" posting erroneous information ().


Resolution? Was it truly erroneous? I want to be updated!

Nubs production is also going on. We don't have any exact numbers but hopefully the next 2000 will be ready before CC runs out of them.

I thought they kept telling us that they could produce thousands a day. What's the hold up now? Admittedly, they are a lot faster than CC, so I agree it's a low-probability scenario.

A lot of people have asked about the daily videos:


Well, they take A LOT of time. For some videos, I needed about 4 hours per day - and doing this besides my normal work is eating up my time.


I also said from the very beginning that those videos will be continued until the deliveries start again - which should be within the next days.


Ther WILL be more videos, no worries, but no daily videos anymore. I'll rather use the time I've left to continue to work on the OS. There are still a lot of tweaks and fixes to be done, and now that more users will get Pandoras, a more polished OS is more important in my opinion.

I understand that they take a lot of time, and I definitely appreciate all the effort you've put in to them so far. They've all been longer than I had originally been expecting. However, we haven't had one since the

https://www.youtube.com/embed/TR3URTEW_Xg?feature=oembed (admittedly, there were a few holidays in there, but you'd really only said no weekends (j/k).

I hate to play hardball, but "doing them until the deliveries start up again" is not the same as doing them until "they should start in the next days". We've all seen how a couple days can slip, especially if your testing turns up something (*knock on wood*). I'd really like to see a commitment to some regular release schedule, for a longer period of time (until the 4000th ships?), though certainly at a less frequent rate. 3 a week (M/W/F)? Weekend-ly videos (Sa/Su)? Shorter-length? Your call. But I think it's woefully sad to all of the people that are in the last quarter of the queue, to just stop for who-knows how long.


Because to be perfectly honest, I'm still not going to hold my breath until we pass the 3000 mark or so. After the huge delay between the 900th (ish) and the next set, I'm only going to believe production is up in proper swing once there's a bigger track record.

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

Wonderful news, thanks. Now that you've done some building, can you report how the cases have changed? How are the shoulder buttons (unpainted, as requested)? Does the hinge stick, then loosen, or was that unpainted, too? What about the bezel gap? You might not know the answers, not being in the UK, but hopefully someone there can speak on the subject.


This is just the cables? When will the next chunk of boards be ready?


More importantly, now that it's been more than three weeks since the fiasco of CC, a lot of people (well, at least I know I am) are waiting on a more official commentary about what happened:


1) You said they were going to provide an updated schedule - have they?


2) You said you were trying to get a proper response from the CEO about why he lied through his teeth misled us with blatant fabrications a few inaccuracies. Were you able to get one?


3) There was some back-and-forth and/or concern about an "Evil Dragon" posting erroneous information ().


Resolution? Was it truly erroneous? I want to be updated!


I thought they kept telling us that they could produce thousands a day. What's the hold up now? Admittedly, they are a lot faster than CC, so I agree it's a low-probability scenario.


I understand that they take a lot of time, and I definitely appreciate all the effort you've put in to them so far. They've all been longer than I had originally been expecting. However, we haven't had one since the

https://www.youtube.com/embed/TR3URTEW_Xg?feature=oembed

The shoulder buttons are no longer painted.The build quality is supposed to be much better now.Quote craigix.
Craigix: "New Pandora consoles = bliss. Everything working perfect. We're finally flying! I'm feeling very good about this."I do hope this is mass production from now on though.At least pandoras are being made again.

 

[SirDregan]

The shoulder buttons are no longer painted.The build quality is supposed to be much better now.Quote craigix.


Craigix: "New Pandora consoles = bliss. Everything working perfect. We're finally flying! I'm feeling very good about this."I do hope this is mass production from now on though.At least pandoras are being made again.

Khaaaaan!


...thanks for the info

 

[Caine]

Well, don't mess with the Flu - a friend of mine (I'm 39) died at the weekend from it....


Glad to hear things are moving forwards. I really think I'll finally have my Pandora in February-March, it really could be Two Months™ until it actually happens.


Thanks for the posts again, ED. I think you're right - there are enough videos already, I think we all get the idea and anyone seeing them will see how much can be done with the unit...


Oh, and First Post, First time Ever!

I'm very sorry to hear that. My condolences. I suspect quite a bit of people have been struggling with the Flu during the holiday periods. I hope everyone will soon find themselves in good health if they haven't already.


Before I forget, congratulations on your first post and welcome to the community. Beware though, this step will cost you 1/3 of your life in time


ED, I respect your decision to cease the daily videos at this time. I have enjoyed all of them and wish to thank you for the effort and time you have put in them. They have certainly made enduring the wait a lot easier.


Now, let's get shipping!

 

[sbt]

Am I guessing correctly that when the Pandoras start shipping again we will get a dispatch email the day before?

 

[Blue Protoman]

Yes, I think so.

 

[benji_stein]

The shoulder buttons are no longer painted.The build quality is supposed to be much better now.Quote craigix.


Craigix: "New Pandora consoles = bliss. Everything working perfect. We're finally flying! I'm feeling very good about this."I do hope this is mass production from now on though.At least pandoras are being made again.

Much as Craigix's twits are entertaining, I have difficulty believing a 140-character response to a complicated question. For all I know, he's just expressing a feeling of bliss at *having* new Pandora consoles. He also told us the past ones were wonderful, which they were (probably; haven't touched one, yet), despite their several issues. And I'm not going to touch the last sentence, just remind you with five words "I'm prepared to say July."


Could we get a more in-depth (and less likely/prone to misinterpretation) answer, please?

 

[bzar]

^ Yes, this is the classic pandora lesson: Don't assume stuff.

 

[Link]

What I can say about the case I received in May: The bezel gap was big and worried me a bit if dust or dirt would have gotten into the space, with the case I received in October, it was much less of a gap. It is still there but much smaller. My case was also lopsided when closed, one end was higher than the other, it was not flush. Now with the newer case, it is much improved, not sure if it is perfectly level when closed, but the improvement easily visible.


Regarding buttons, I'm really not sure what's happened regarding paint. One of my buttons that I use a lot in MAME has shininess that the other 3 buttons don't. My A button isn't 100% either (I haven't bothered to try to fix this by opening up the unit like I did the first unit). I would say the A button is now 90% compared to maybe 60% accuracy/return/no-stick.


Shoulder buttons are tighter, snugger and more responsive to the natural hold of the Pandora compared to the first round of shoulder buttons.


Overall appearance of the case improved as well, the blemishes around the Pandora logo etc are a thing of the past.


The one thing I do notice about the case is my battery compartment cover. It isn't flush and basically the one side needs to be slid between the battery and the case aligned properly so that the battery is seated into place. There are two clasps that hold the battery in, one of them clicks into place just fine, the other almost does, but there is no click and by appearance it is not fastened. It seems as though the battery decals might have some part in this but I am yet to try shaving anything off the decal to see if this will resolve the issue. It is by no means a show stopper or a huge issue, just something that I want to bring up while discussing the newer case.


Hopefully my screws/plugs for my LCD are waiting for me as I've been on holiday for the last 3 weeks.


Peace & Pandora,


Link

 

[FaTBoB]

I got an email yesterday afternoon and first thing this morning my Pandora arrived.

 

[Eridger]

I got an email yesterday afternoon and first thing this morning my Pandora arrived.

As the first person to receive these improved Pandoras, PLEASE post pictures! Maybe an review video?


Please...?!

 

[matzesu]

Concratulation to all new Pandora owners, i have to wait a bit..

 

[ahahah]

As the first person to receive these improved Pandoras

improved?


no, they are not improved.


they are normal. they are what they should be from the beginning

 

[Coldbird]

Cant wait to get mine... but its still some time till then...... Batch 2 Order


Still. Awesome news we have here.

 

[Loonie]

Glad to hear. My Pandora need became officially increased last night when I slipped on some of Montreal's retarded ice, then later pulled the ol' GP32 out of my bag for the metro ride, only to find the LCD in countless tiny fragments. Build build build!

 

[benji_stein]

The first 350 Pandora PCBs have arrived on December 29th and most of them are already assembled and now being tested and flashed.


We want to do thorough testing with these first units with new nubs, so it takes a bit longer.


Meanwhile, CC in Texas was also busy and managed to finish another 400 boards even though there were holidays. I don't know whether they are shipped already or not yet, but seeing progress there is nice.

Forgot to ask. Now that CC has shipped it's next chunk of boards - what's the status of the TV out cables? Have they been green-lighted, yet?