Round 4. Fight! (2010-10-12)


From what I understand, each nub needs a microcontroller chip to actually work. The firmware of that chip is closed and owned by the nub company. I imagine that reading the nub position from the changes in resistance thru the rubber is not a trivial task.
Actually, based on the experimentation of the one person who took one apart, it is pretty trivial to read the resistances: power on one line, read resistance off the others. The problem that requires a microcontroller is for calibration and the fact that it actually has four resistances: two per axis. Up and down both have their own resistors, as does left and right. To this end, in theory it can also kind of work as a button: it's rubber so squishes, and if the resistance on all four channels goes up you can tell the user has applied extra pressure to it. It does not do this in the firmware yet, but maybe eventually someone will rewrite the firmware to be open and have this (and other) features. Maybe. Don't hold your breath on that though.
 
AFAIK, Michael is planning that, yes.


I'm shocked nobody pinged on this already...


Confirmed: Michael and OPC are in the planning stages for the next Pandora...


OK, so I'm twisting that to my own interpretation.


Still, it -would- be nice to be able to buy a spare socketed nub to put in the back of a drawer for the 'just in case' a nub fails. Then, since it is designed to be a wear-out end-user replaceable part, it isn't subject to warranty anymore and OPL can simply sell the replacement nubs.


Fun stuff.
 
I'm shocked nobody pinged on this already...


Confirmed: Michael and OPC are in the planning stages for the next Pandora...


OK, so I'm twisting that to my own interpretation.


Still, it -would- be nice to be able to buy a spare socketed nub to put in the back of a drawer for the 'just in case' a nub fails. Then, since it is designed to be a wear-out end-user replaceable part, it isn't subject to warranty anymore and OPL can simply sell the replacement nubs.


Fun stuff.

If you chock on this, how will you behave with this ?

We are now in a position to offer a solid product which due to the PCB and case design can be upgraded to newer tech at relatively little cost as for the most part we can keep already developed components and parts.
 
Not exactly, no, but you came damn close to saying it.


and


http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?/topic/56330-second-batchers/page__view__findpost__p__912826


Admittedly, at the time you didn't think the nubs would take nearly this long. (I don't begrudge *that* wait, just that it couldn't be at the same time as one of the others.) But then nothing in this project has taken how long (or, rather short) as you thought it would.


On the topic of that second post, though, how are the *parts* for batch 2 doing? Will they still arrive at the board manufacturer in time to start building more nubless boards on the 18th, assuming they're finished with the remaining 3000 by then?

Benji, I hear you on your first part. I agree. we were definitely led to believe that Batch 1 would be done by end of October. Not that anyone believed that would be the case. But not to be negative, it's really hard for me to even hear about "Batch 2" when Batch 1 is so far from being complete. With only 900 units in actual consumer's hands, I have trouble believing Batch 1 will be in our hands by Christmas. In fact, I'll eat my hat if I have mine by Christmas.


I know thre's not much to be done about the delays but maybe giving a little more conservative ETAs to us might serve to not get our hopes up too much. Also, are the vendors being penalized for not performing? Typically, there are Service Level Agreements set up with vendors pertaining to penalties if they don't perform.
 
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With only 900 units in actual consumer's hands, I have trouble believing Batch 1 will be in our hands by Christmas. In fact, I'll eat my hat if I have mine by Christmas.


me too, i'll gladly eat my hat if i got mine before Christmas. having said that, i am really looking forward to happily eat my hat... :lol:


QUESTION:


ED said that if all goes well, they are able to ASSEMBLE 200 units per day, right? well, how many units can opt SHIP per week? 500? 200? 1000?


hoping that my question will get answered. ;)


^_^
 
me too, i'll gladly eat my hat if i got mine before Christmas. having said that, i am really looking forward to happily eat my hat... :lol:


QUESTION:


ED said that if all goes well, they are able to ASSEMBLE 200 units per day, right? well, how many units can opt SHIP per week? 500? 200? 1000?


hoping that my question will get answered. ;)


^_^

Shipping is faster then assembling. The boxes and the adresses are prepared, so put those in a box and ship.


The slowest thing currently is the board production, I really hope they managed to finish most of the boards by now... but I'm sceptical as usual.
 
Shipping is faster then assembling. The boxes and the adresses are prepared, so put those in a box and ship.


The slowest thing currently is the board production, I really hope they managed to finish most of the boards by now... but I'm sceptical as usual.


thanks for your answer ED... i'm looking forward for the day that you will make me eat my hat. best of luck! ;)
 
You really think the nubs are such a high ticket item that it would noticeably lower the cost of the Pandora? It's a few dollars at most. When the last batch had some boards with completely dead nubs, they were sold as no-nub units for the same cost.


Perhaps OPT can go back to offering queue jumps, or even flat out purchases, of nubless units, but I can't see it being for any sort of reduced cost: the couple of dollars you'd save is made up as an early purchaser tax or something :p


I don't think even that would be a good idea though: if they sell enough nubless versions, there will be a rift. Some portion of those that jumped the queue to get a nubless unit will later be complaining that they can't play certain games that require nubs, and that they shouldn't have to pay to have them replaced even if that was part of the deal they originally signed. I know enough people to know that no matter how cohesive the group seems to be, there's always one dick that'll make a big scene, sometimes multiple dicks making one big bukake mess of everything.


Just wait it out, it's worth it.
I've actually emailed in and asked for a nubless unit, should one appear, hoping that I might get mine a bit sooner. I think I missed the one-nubbers last time, or I'd've probably asked for one then.


I did ask for some nubs to be sent to me, when they're sorted - which, if need be, I'll pay for as well.


Will there actually be any, though, that's my question?
 
craig has some 1nubs right now he said. i got a pm last week from him. i told him i wanted one and never got a pm back. i think he should be happy and let people who want a 1nub get them now sence hes charging the same amount regardless. come on craig hook us up with a 1nub
 
craig has some 1nubs right now he said. i got a pm last week from him. i told him i wanted one and never got a pm back. i think he should be happy and let people who want a 1nub get them now sence hes charging the same amount regardless. come on craig hook us up with a 1nub

i also mailed him last week tru the messenger here. no reply too...
 
Any news on if the nub testing is done? I figured we'd have heard something now, and no news always seems like bad news around here. *fingers crossed for good news*
 
I really thought that all was going well until the nubs-premature-dead ... We've gotten a bit of hope with the "for now" good result/resistance of the new nubs. I cross my finger, and have done some exercices to cross my toes. I become impatient and start to jump every where in random direction, so pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaseeeeeeee (I don't know who ...), makes the nubs going well ... And let our Pandora arrive for christmas, or before ? :p


For the team: "Courage".
 
craig has some 1nubs right now he said. i got a pm last week from him. i told him i wanted one and never got a pm back. i think he should be happy and let people who want a 1nub get them now sence hes charging the same amount regardless. come on craig hook us up with a 1nub
Yeah. I said that I was happy without nubs, that I'd put them in myself afterwards (when they were all fixed), just for the sake of having the 'whole machine.'


Now you've said there are a few more one-nubbers, I'm beginning to move back to the edge of my seat. Maybe if they remember that I asked for one last week, I might have mine in a week or two.
 
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