Well, I'm working on all of that. My shop will soon receive an update where RMAs and contact stuff is handled through a ticket system - which helps a lot, as my helpers can then also reply to questions and issues, so this should speed things up.
I've also improved the RMA system so I can check immediately what units I got here and what the status is. You'll also receive a mail when your unit arrives here.
Well, that's just some background information on what I'm working on right now... let's go to the news you've been waiting for:
The 1GHz Pandora Test run!
Global Components grabbed the DM3730 today, which means the test run will happen tomorrow.
In this first run, 80 PCBs will be populated using four different strategies (20 units each).
First, these PCBs will be tested for functionality. It might be that 15 out of 20 will not boot up with one strategy, that's why they're trying different ways to populate them.
Hopefully one of those strategies will lead to proper way of production (with a low failure rate), so we can continue with the remaining ones shortly after.
Some of these PCBs will also be x-rayed to make sure the production is as perfect as possible.
The DM3730 behaves a bit different than the OMAP. It's a bit lighter and bends a bit more easy.
That's why it's basically a completely new setup - not an easy task, but I'm sure GC can handle it fine.
Now you can imagine why the test run is that expensive: It might be that 50 out of those 80 PCBs won't work, so these are basically 50x180 EUR we can throw away... well, let's hope it won't come to that.
I can't speak for Craig (as I don't know the exact amount of 1GHz upgrades he got), but with the upgrades I got in my shop so far (without even ASKING my remaining old customers if they want to upgrade), I can fund 20 more units for classic preorders already. And as the upgraders are also classic preorders, they also are being removed from the queue.
So my upgrades alone help advancing the queue by 40 places
Pandora at the GamesCom
I mentioned it in a thread already, but I thought I could post it here as well.
The Pandora will have it's own area in the retro hall of the GamesCom in Cologne this year!
We'll have 14 units ready to be played lying around as well as some other stuff I sell (like Retrodes, Everdrives, etc.)
I'll have giveaways (probably T-Shirts, pens, etc.) and will be there the whole time in case you want to have some chat with me.
If someone here wants to volunteer to help me out running the booth (answering questions, take care nothing gets stolen, etc.), let me know. You can stay the full time for free.
You are very welcome to pay us a visit here. The GamesCom has about 200,000 visitors each year, so this will make the Pandora a bit more popular.
More information about the GamesCom can be found at the official website.
So much for my quick newspost - feel free to ask here if you have further questions.
