Congratulations ERV!

[swear000]

Well, I just wanted to start a thread to thank ERV (and Novastar) for all their hard work. I know the folks at TCSS work hard too (so I am not forgetting about you or the others). After seeing this video clip (which has an awesome soundtrack), I started to feel the pain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woqknbHkHe4&eurl=http://www.plecterlabs.com/catalog/index.php?language=en

Man, that is a lot of work. I would consider doing a poll to see if people would be interested in unassembled kits that they could solder themselves to reduce that part of your work load. Anyway, thanks again for all the hard work. :p

[Donnovan Sunrider]

I agree, the work of these generous souls is amazing. True, they're making a business out of it. But, I get the impression that there are easier ways to make money than dealing with the stuff they do.
The levels of service put forth by these guys is just incredible. Tim, Erv, Novastar, Ultra and all the other people making it easier for the rest of us to make lightsabres are so very appreciated.


If you're referring to CF kits, there are few of us who would be able to assemble one. They have a ton of surface mount pieces that require special care of often special equipment to solder the parts down.

[Jedi-Loreen]

Donnovan's right, doing that kind of surface mount soldering is beyond the skill of most of the casual saber builders on this site.

Sure, it can be learned, but it takes the right equipment (temperature controled soldering iron, very small tips, the right diameter of solder, magnifying lens, if you don't have a microscope), and a lot of practice.

You definitely wouldn't want to practice on a Crystal Focus board! You could very quickly and easily damage the board or a component without even realizing it.

A DIY Crystal Focus board, while a nice idea for some, is not practical for almost anyone in this hobby.

If you haven't seen a CF board up close, you might not know what you'd be in for.

I hope Madcow doesn't mind me posting this pic from an auction of his.


http://i4.ebayimg.com/07/i/001/19/5c/e231_3.JPG

You have to get the right amount of solder on those IC leads or they won't work right. Too little, and it's not good contact with the board, too much and you can make a solder bridge to the next pin and create a short and damage the IC if it's powered up that way.

You can damage the board just trying to fix your mistakes because you end up applying too much heat to the board and you'll damage or lift up the pad.

Do you want to do 230 solder joints to each of your CF boards? I doubt it.

Just appreciate how much work Erv puts into these.

[sithlordfaust]

[SIZE=3]Just appreciate how much work Erv puts into these.

i would if i could get my hands on one

[swear000]

hehe..no luck either huh? I wonder if they are sold out already.

[Novastar]

EDIT: WAI, WAI, WAI, WAIT A MINUTE!!!

20 + 18 + 10 = 92
20 + 18 + 10 = 92
20 + 18 + 10 = 92
20 + 18 + 10 = 92
20 + 18 + 10 = 92
20 + 18 + 10 = 92
20 + 18 + 10 = 92

The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie!

O_O


// EDIT: WRONG ---> Swear, they will continue to be out in small "mini-batches", so... keep your eye on the target! //

Also, Swear... I'm going to reinforce/echo what J-Lo is saying regarding the fact that it would be nearly impossible for someone to just take a kit and get it right for NUMEROUS reasons.

But other reasons would be:

* Only a tiny handful of people would want this, so... it'd be undue logistics for--pretty much no good reason.

* Almost every part needs to be in place PRIOR to the board's programming/"flashing".

* Hand packing a SINGULAR resistor here, part X there, part Y, Z, A, B, C, etc. -- would be insane for Erv... possibly almost as much work as just DOING IT ALL like he is now, heheheh! :)

But yup... this was recently brought up on FX-Sabers, so... I wanted to help people understand that it's not as "reasonable" a request as it sounds.

[swear000]

ok cool. That means that bribing a 15 year old kid with chocolate chip cookies to help assemble the boards is out of the question. Well, I guess I will have to take the perspective that it is more of an art form and we are after the artists creations. :D

[MaverickJsmith]

That is a great video. Period. It really puts into perspective how much work goes into each and every board.

I've wired my saber twice now. Yes twice, because my first time was the first time I'd soldered anything in years. It still took me 4 hours the second time. Soldering things without a board to solder to usually means you're doing a job for 3 hands with just 2.

I can appreciate the effort and work that goes into erv's work. And I must say bravo. Bravo indeed. Because if it takes me hours to solder up a saber, I can't imagine what it's like to solder a board with 230+ connections on it, let alone a hundred of them.

I can't afford a Crystal focus, but that having been said, it doesn't stop me from wanting one. If there's one thing I can appreciate, it's someone going the extra mile, and I think erv's nearly to Mars.

So bravo erv, I commend you for staying the long road these years. I keep seeing more and more fantastic things from your board, and one day I hope to own one.

So keep it up, and be a hero of the day.

Maverick

[erv]

thanks a bunch to everyone, goes straight to my heart ! like I've just written, it's worth the hard work, working for and with a community of users, whatever happens. Frustration, broken boards... no fear, against wind and tides, always.

I'm just human, and far from perfection. Some of my boards get broken, like the V3 serie was a nightmare since I didn't have the equipment for the new motion sensor. Over 230 solder joints, I will sometimes forget one and don't notice when checking the board cause the electric contact is there anyway, and then the board "arrives broken". But I always repair at minimum cost, that's my policy, unless I discover the user decided to experiment with powering the CF board directly on 110V AC, see if the CF could generate blue Force Lightings, and only then, I'll take my whip to take care of his lower back
(nova, judge, "sticks the force is good", right ?)

my very best to the community, I would have NEVER thought that a little piece of french toast would have raised something like that... it was only back in feb 2006 :eek:

Erv'

[swear000]

Erv,
Can you post a message when CF is sold out so we know when to stop checking?

[sekrogue1985]

congrats erv on a great sale. Even though i didn't get one I'm thankful to see people that want your product. Hope you successfulness continues to be this prosperous.

[erv]

I should have done that before and also on the front page, I'm sorry, the week end has been complicated for me too ;)
No more left. First I have to clear up every orders and make sure every one will get a toast, then I'll see what I have left on my bench.
I have some spare pcbs and I've ordered yesterday some more parts to make additionnal ones before christmas, I'll announce that with the newsletter.
Erv'

[eastern57]

Man. From my perspective, that just looks like a whole lot of frustration... :D

And even though I admire & appreciate the work you put into satisfying all us costomers - I certainly do not envy it. ;)

Even with years of training, schooling and practice, I don't think I do the things that you do so well... which, naturally, is why I can sing a little better. ;) :D

[erv]

lol,
well, for the video you're probably refering to, I was "acting" a bit, I wanted to make a little fiction about "DIY handmade electronics and how to survive it" :mrgreen: True, I'm sometimes tired when doing that, I mean it's really an exercice, but I'm not bored or frustrated at all, I'm not whipping myself, hopefully.
Now for the customer side, there is frustration, still... the "problem" with quotes, is that the board is getting more and more popular, hence more demand, not just the initial saber fanatics or the saber makers from the GUILD. Another side of the problem is that I DO produce. It's not for instance like Rom Fx (nothing is adressed to that person I personnaly don't know) who is making maybe 1 or 2 runs of 50 boards per years. The thing remains RARE... and people wait to get one, be on the list etc. Me, I don't have a list for the reasons I've explained and I give appointment to the crowd. So people think it's really possible to get one, several times a year. The main problem is that the newcomers don't really know how fast they sell out. I had many emails during the WE and until this morning of people saying that they were out on saturday evening, went to see a movie, or went to a restaurant and bloom like lilly on monday with an "any more left, I'm sorry, I wasn't there on saturday"...
Well, I can't do anything about it... I have customers who actually know how it goes and will always come back to me 3 days after the madness. I don't think it's going to change, like any rare product (I'm not saying "good product" nor "holy grail for saber hilt", just "rare"), even if I get 200 manufactured, they will vanish and still leave a bit of frustration.

On another note before we close the topic cause I wouldn't like Tim to be mad at me talking about this : I'll probably limit the next sale to 1 unit per customer. Cause I have the classic old bandit preparing their carts with 3 CF in it and I know ;) who were the first to order, always the same guys. Not blaming anyone, I know it's not for resale and I know the persons, but I'd like to give a little chance to other people. I can't empeach anyone from buying and it's not the goal, but still, I'm doing my best for a democratic sale without the need to handle a pre order list of 200 names & emails.

And now for something completely different, I'll try to make a video in which is sing much better. Would be the occasion to play the guitar a little bit too. I honnestly don't sing well, but I used to sing & play music in public in the past anyway :mrgreen:

[Novastar]

It's MY fault on the singing... I asked Erv to sing in ENGLISH, and I don't imagine I'd sing too well in French unless I was already memorized on it (although I do a great version of "Ave Maria" in Latin).

As to the "one per customer"... I think it's a VERY good idea, and I have indeed been saying this is a good move for several months, heheheh :)

As to those who miss out on buying it... welcome to life: where we can't always get what we want. While I'm at it, I'd like 15 totally customized hilts and 15 CF boards pimped out with 2000 lumen LEDs + clash on flash in every one of them. HA. Fat chance. :cool: But yeah, maybe Erv and I can someday work on SOME way to do a "large build" yet not allow too much control to get out of Erv's hands... nor drive the costs up... nor worry of gigantic defective runs of the product.

As to Erv singing... I'd really like to hear it!!! I know he has told me that he used to play guitar a lot, and... I think it's ALWAYS good to see the "non-SW" side of people. Which is why I guess I post "eclectic" video of things I do on my account.

Anyhow... I think Erv has done a FANTASTIC job and works VERY VERY VERY VERY HARD and aussi avec trop de passion... and THAT is something you cannot put a pricetag on.

Merci encore, et toujours...

[Donnovan Sunrider]

Don't stress out on this Erv. As one of the brand new people to get a CF, I'm thrilled to get my one board. Would I like several more? You bet. Do I want a v5 when they're out? Definitely. But I'm not going to consider you to be a reason why I don't get one. Anyone who blames you for them being inattentive is a fool.
I missed most of the first run on Saturday, and that was completely my fault and had nothing to do with you. I watched your posts and knew to keep an eye out a couple of hours later, and managed to be the first one of the second batch.

Given that these are a very complicated hand made product, I'm amazed at the production levels you manage to put out. Thank you.

And I look forward to hearing your singing skills in the future. I don't care of I can understand what you're saying. :)

[swear000]

It is really hard to predict the popularity of saber building. Supply and demand always tend to be trends rather than set in stone. Normally, I would think that a PCB assembly service would charge $25 per board so if that cost was added to the board then the boards could be assembled more quickly and in greater volume while still maintaining the amount that you make on each board. However, you wouldn't want to get 500 boards made and not have them all be sold either. Now if increased board sales could be used to drive prices of the board down, that would be interesting. Overall, I see a very delicate balance and the challenges you face with the task at hand. I will meditate on this.....

[Tiepilot91]

Wow, Erv. I guess people never realy look at and appreciate the hard work you put into this.

I honestly think you should get a patent for this idea, if you havent done so already.


Even though I dont own a Crystal Focus board, just wanted to say thanks for you hard work for all the people that might not say anything.

[MoonDragn]

I was the one who started the discussing on FX-Sabers on CF Kits. But as Nova and Erv has pointed out, the reason really isn't that it is hard to assemble as it is. The real reason is the chip needs to be programmed and it can only be programmed after its been mostly assembled. If Erv gave out the code to the programming to everyone, then he risks losing his hard work designs to strangers.

So I'm happy to just beat other people to that checkout button and order my CFs.

I think the one per person limit is good, as I hate to see CF Scalpers making a profit at Erv's expense.

[erv]

the pointed question about volumes and sales is important. I've mentioned that before, but yes, getting 500 boards manufactured isn't a good idea, cause unless you really have 500 customers (or let's say 500 being sold overall), getting some on the shelf empeach you to design a new version, otherwise people won't buy the older one. This even if I stay with my "free upgrade" policy. Or you have to discount and cut the price of the previous version and it does not make justice to the product and to your work. I prefer having them instantly vanished and used in a reasonnable time than get spider webs on them.
I think than 200 to 300 is fine for a run. If I come with a V5 design one day, I'll try to have a stable hardware architecture from the beginning so that I can continue to upgrade boards. With minor hardware patching, a 2.x can be patched to a 4.1 ! (with the huge extra cost of 1 to 3 resistor, and a capacitor... something < 1USD aside shipping).

[Alcfalath]

the pointed question about volumes and sales is important. I've mentioned that before, but yes, getting 500 boards manufactured isn't a good idea, cause unless you really have 500 customers (or let's say 500 being sold overall), getting some on the shelf empeach you to design a new version, otherwise people won't buy the older one. This even if I stay with my "free upgrade" policy. Or you have to discount and cut the price of the previous version and it does not make justice to the product and to your work. I prefer having them instantly vanished and used in a reasonnable time than get spider webs on them.
I think than 200 to 300 is fine for a run. If I come with a V5 design one day, I'll try to have a stable hardware architecture from the beginning so that I can continue to upgrade boards. With minor hardware patching, a 2.x can be patched to a 4.1 ! (with the huge extra cost of 1 to 3 resistor, and a capacitor... something < 1USD aside shipping).

You can upgrade boards? :D so a 3.1 could easily be changed to a 4.1? :) I think I may have some more business for you my good friend :)

[Angelus Lupus]

Wait, what? I've finally got my 2.63 running and been playing with it (a lot) and you tease me by saying it can be reborn as a 4.1?
Erv my friend, you are The Awesome.

[Donnovan Sunrider]

No kidding.

I love knowing that my new 4.1 may someday be a 5. Bravo sir.

[erv]

I'm not proposing this as an "open service" to avoid getting hundreds of boards poping on my desk, mainly because of time issues but also cause I don't want to "encourage" people to salvage (once more ?) their saber to get it upgrade. However, I've never considered those new firmware as a pain, it's what I like to do, programming, improving etc. My hardware is an architecture like I've explained in another thread, so new firmware can be adapted on older boards. This with just one resistor on a 2.X if you don't want to use the low power LED. Motion sensors between v2 and v3/4 are not the same ? I don't care, the sensitivity is adjusted on the SD, not burried in the firmware or in the hardware !
I'll generally upgrade the firmware if a broken board is sent back to my lab, this is how I've patch many 2.5 and 2.61 to 2.63, which is really close to V3 and V4.

I'm aware CF isn't cheap, and I've never considered people should "just buy", I'm very concerned about their wallet and I know they are not building a saber every morning. How frustrating it would be to buy a 145 USD piece of PCB and hop ! voila the new version the next day ?

[Donnovan Sunrider]

Thanks Erv.
I would consider it reasonable to even have a fee for upgrading from a recent version to the latest in addition to the shipping.
Someone going from a 2.x to a 5 would be free (plus shipping), but from a 4.x to a 5 would cost because it's much less of a step and not as necessary.
Plus, you're probably likely to see more recent boards for that than an old one.


On a side note, will you send a newsletter out when other parts are available? I'm hoping for one of your bargraphs to add to my CF. :)

[erv]

I'll just add that upgrade will be possible until 4.x,
version 5 will probably see some drastic changes, starting with a bigger, badboyer, and anyway smaller core chip, so upgrade won't be possible.
Erv'

[swear000]

Well maybe the buttered toast thing will become a baguette. Who can resist yummy french pastry!