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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

VFS Inclino, Imperio, Origo News ??

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Michael Lindsay said:
... we gambled and the payout (in time terms) is just not quite as big as we might have hoped!

Michael L
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Well I didn't think I was gambling. I checked it out at NAB (April 2008). It was very nice and I was told it would be sent to me in 6 weeks - 8 weeks tops. Since then, several notices that it was shipping sometime in the very near future, and large gaps of silence in between - and it's been over 8 MONTHS.
 
Life itself is a gamble... Especially with developing something that works and works well that isn't a piece of throwaway technology... It's a long journey and that Curt was brave enough to leap in with a spirit that is akin to the original entrepreneurial spirit (as is illustrated so well by Red) without, obviously, a huge bundle of capital to do it, is only to be commended -- and encouraged -- and supported. He cares deeply about what he does and is obviously an idealist in that regard and we will all benefit by that courageous spirit.

I put my money down early (and I'm a guy of barely making it means) so I do understand those chomping at the bit, but putting yet more pressure on Curt than he's obviously already putting on himself, doesn't serve any of us well, never mind Curt.

He's going the extra mile. And he's going to come through. A watched pot never boils.

As for communicating, he is and does. And of course that isn't easy for him either, because every time he has to do it, it's not the five minutes people talk about, it's the psychic energy involved. He knows he's behind. He knows he underestimated the difficulties. He's apologized for all that. Let's cheer him on and give him some breathing room.
 
rodbradley said:
Life itself is a gamble...
QUOTE]

I'm not talking about life. I'm talking about business.

Next time someone is not quite happy with my work, do I tell them, "Oh well, life itself is a gamble."

There are two points to make here. One, what Curt is attempting to do is pretty amazing and he is working at it bravely, and I can tell from a thousand miles away that he is quite sincere. Two, I've spent a lot of money subrenting Follow Focus Units for the past six months. First I was told end of May or first week in June. Then it was August, then September. Then October. Then December. Then January. And lately the notices have been along the lines of "The first units will be shipping out in 3-5 days," but it never does.

I'm frustrated. But if it came tomorrow, (and worked ;-) all would be forgiven. But in the back of my mind I'm thinking "another six months?" Just be straight as to when you think it's coming out. If you don't know, then say that. It's only fair.
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Indeed, that may be tomorrow's big announcement. But I hope not.

Stephen
 
I think they're working hard to get this as perfect as possible. Has it ever occurred to you guys that maybe they put the price so low that they can't afford to have it returned if it's not working? That's why they're making sure it's perfect.

And to our advantage we can all sleep well knowing we will get perfect gear for the petty cash we've paid for it.


...and also, please spare me the BS that you guys could have bought a C-Motion by now. If you actually could, you would have. Be happy with the fact that the guys are breaking their backs to make something possible for you to obtain.
 
CVB said:
Big update tomorrow after lunch. Kwan, if you are upset with our service or whats happening with the delivery time then we would be glad to refund your money if you placed an order.
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Curt .. We already talked 'bout it... special regards to your hard work... All we request for
F I N A L DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE (LOL)
bevis2.jpg


And yes one more request ... Can you please make your "BIG UPDATE TOMORROW" statement not to be altered.

Tracking # for 500 unit post in here.. That can be only Big update for tomorrow (LOL)

Keep Up The Good Work - You're Making A Difference
 
rodbradley said:
...A watched pot never boils...it's the psychic energy involved...
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hmmmm...pass the tea leaves...who saw the Tarot cards!

Sorry couldn't resist the piss take, it made me laugh (in a good way) when i read your post..don't take it the wrong way. Especially after reading some of the moaning that goes on here (Kwan as usual) when all i am looking for when i come to this thread is something from John and the VF lads.
 
weirdcrew said:
I think they're working hard to get this as perfect as possible. Has it ever occurred to you guys that maybe they put the price so low that they can't afford to have it returned if it's not working? That's why they're making sure it's perfect.

And to our advantage we can all sleep well knowing we will get perfect gear for the petty cash we've paid for it.


...and also, please spare me the BS that you guys could have bought a C-Motion by now. If you actually could, you would have. Be happy with the fact that the guys are breaking their backs to make something possible for you to obtain.
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I completely agree!!

Also to stay positive is completely worthwhile! We know Curt is working 20hour days and us complaining make no positive difference...

regards

Michael L
 
Hey all, heres an update... extended version. We had built up a dozen or so units last week and were set to send them out when we found an issue with the imperos getting a sporadic signal out to the motors. Originally I thought the problem was due to the encoder knob... we fixed that and thought we had the problem solved so we put all the units back together. When we started doing a check on the units after assembly the problem was still there. It turned out that it was not the knob but a software issue (at least thats what I thought).

After spending three days trying to track down a software bug I started looking more closely at the zigbee modules and found that they were drawing more power than the published spec. said they should draw. I got a hold of the tech folk at digi international (who supply the zigbee modules) and was told that the published spec was a little optimistic. They have a 45mA rating in their spec but actual peak current draw is more like 250mA. Great. So then I yelled at the tech guy and the rep at digi and called our board house to have all the 3.3v regulators changed out from 100mA to 300mA.

I tried the new design out and it seems to work... that is until you move the knob fast. The amount of data that we send out easily goes over a 115K connection but I wrote a loop back program on Impero and found that 2/3 of the packets get dropped when the knob is moved any faster than 90 deg/sec. I started to look into the zigbee modules again and found that the damn thing again were not up to their published specs. They rated them at 115K and the most I could get through them was 76K before packets got dropped. Again I called the digi guys and said wtf. They told me that the 115k is a "non continuous rating" . Looking through the documentation I saw absolutley no mention of that. At that point I had enough of the BS and returned $10,000 worth of digi zigbee modules and started looking at other options.

After a few hours I found a company here in California that makes a bluetooth module that had the specs we were looking for (less than 50mA current draw, AT LEAST 115K data connection, and 100 meter transmitting range). I got samples on Monday and started completey rewriting the communications protocols on Impero. By Wed. I had enough data to commit to a module design that could replace the failed zigbee modules. We did a two day turn pcb run and just got the new modules in (see attached pic). I am in the process of finalizing the revised code and will continue to work through the weekend - not even watching the superbowl :(

I know some of you guys are going to ask why we didnt see this earlier.. all I can say is that we did the majority of the wireless development with a wired connection and integrated the wireless portion at the very end of the development cycle. I had development boards that I did initial qualification of the modules with but I never really pressed the boundaries of the bandwith on them. I had used these in other projects before but never in such a data intensive manner. These issues that came up are probably not what many of you would consider "Major" problems but I know that the minute you are doing a $500K shot and our focus motor glitches at a critical moment we would never hear the end of it.

Please hang in with us, we are just trying to make these as good as they can be. We don't want to send out dozens of units just to have to bring them right back to fix them. Its much easier to make them right the first time. I'll continue to work on these straight through until we ship. I will let you all know as soon as we have these new modules fully functional and already have 3 people lined up this weekend to help out with a video to show the functionality for you all to see.
 
It seems really not easy. Good that you yelled at them, Curt. We will support...get it right.
 
I hate manufacturers who lie about product specs. Deal with it all the time, it's downright criminal and happens in every market these days.

If I understand your update right, you will be switching from a Zigbee wireless solution over to a Bluetooth one. What impact will the Bluetooth implementation have on latency? And can Bluetooth really give the 100ft range possible with Zigbee?

I'm still behind you guys 100% and want you to get this right and deliver a solid product.
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
I hate manufacturers who lie about product specs. Deal with it all the time, it's downright criminal and happens in every market these days.

If I understand your update right, you will be switching from a Zigbee wireless solution over to a Bluetooth one. What impact will the Bluetooth implementation have on latency? And can Bluetooth really give the 100ft range possible with Zigbee?

I'm still behind you guys 100% and want you to get this right and deliver a solid product.
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Yes, we are 100% bluetooth now. The latency is around 8-9ms at the moment... much better than the 15-20 we were getting on the zigbee. The bluetooth 1.5 modules we are have as samples are capable of about 100 feet. They only draw 25mA and I have confirmed that. The new modules we will receive on Feb. 18th are class 2... they have a published range of 100 meters (394 feet)... of course it will probably be around 300-350 feet of reliable operation. I'll post a video tomorrow and get some real numbers.

Mark Pedersen said:
I second that! A zoom control like a Microforce would be awesome.
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We have the schematics and new form factor finished. Just need to figure out if we want to tool the grips or machine them... based off our inclino experiences I'm leaning towards machining or diecasting here in the states.
 
got yo' back..
 
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