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The current status of Ram Controls:
FrizzleFried:
I was going to PM this but after Dans last response I figure I'll post it here...
Since we're all about coming clean here...
Here are some issues that should be addressed with YOUR website Dan:
1.
From the ABOUT US link:
--- Quote ---Founded in 2004, RAM Controls produces quality reproduction controls for classic arcade games. Our staff is made up of several experts in the arcade manufacturing industry, with extensive experience in electronics & mechanical R&D, manufacturing, repair and part sourcing. Our key designers and production personnel have over 80 years of combined experience in the arcade business. RAM Controls strives for the utmost quality, and our reproduction controls and parts are made to strict quality standards, often much higher than those installed in the original games.
The very first production item from RAM Controls was a reproduction Major Havoc controller, originally designed by James Marous in 2000. He came up with a solid design but, unfortunately, only manufactured a one-off for his own use. A few years later, Mark Davidson of Basement Arcade produced a couple of runs of the same exact design and quickly sold out. Having a personal need for one of these controls and nobody having them available, RAM Controls was conceived overnight. Starting with James original design and making a few modifications, RAM Controls has produced a quality product which has some notable improvements.
Our next reproduction item was the Atari button cones, released June 2006. Our design is an exact replica of the original anodized aluminum parts which Atari used in their early machines. This includes all three versions: short aluminum, short black, tall black. All three of our versions are made from machined aluminum stock, tapped to exact spec, polished and anodized. Both the short and tall black cones are hard black anodized. Hard black anodizing offers an additional level of coating which is not likely to "rub off" as normal anodizing is prone to. In other words, these are quality parts with a tough, sleek finish. Compared to NOS anodized counterparts, ours are actually better looking. Interestingly, another vendor started supplying the tall black cones at the exact same time we did. This caused the infamous "cone wars" between them and at least one vendor we supplied with our parts. The "cone wars" was a short lived situation which resulted in low prices for the end user.
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I've bolded the problematic area...
The first paragraph is a bunch of crap. RAM's staff consists of... YOU. It was crap when Dave was running the show...unless he's 90+ years old.
And then right on the main page...
--- Quote ---Founded in 2005, RAM Controls produces quality reproduction controls for classic arcade games. Our staff is made up of several experts in the arcade manufacturing industry, with extensive experience in electronics & mechanical R&D, manufacturing, repair and part sourcing. Our key designers and production personnel have over 80 years of combined experience in the arcade business. RAM Controls strives for the utmost quality, and our reproduction controls and parts are made to strict quality standards, often much higher than those installed in the original games.
--- End quote ---
How can people take you seriously when you throw out the BS right on the main page? At least you took down the photo of the "RAM FACILITIES" that used to run on the page...
Then there is the news item:
--- Quote ---3/15/11 - Please welcome Dan Johnston to the staff here at Ram Controls. Dan has taken the helm of the mail-order and wholesale departments of the company. His primary responsibility is to make sure the mail order and wholesale customers are well taken care of.
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So Dan... have you taken over the mail order/whole sale departments or do you now run the show? May want to update this?
--- Quote ---07/02/10 - Missile Command control panels and Lunar Lander control panels with artwork screened directly onto metal are in-process. Due for completion in November.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---08/15/10 - Lunar Lander mission select panel and mission select panel wood base are in-process and due for November delivery.
--- End quote ---
These news item is nice... were those control panels completed in November? How about the LL panels? Hmmm... wait. This is your site now Dan (Was it 3/15 or 5/15 that you took over Dan, you've mentioned BOTH dates)... why not go for ACCURACY over FLUFFY BS?
One would think that someone who recently took over a tainted company like RAM would ensure the website was as accurate as possible before trying to boost business... no?
EDIT: Dan... i feel bad for you. I really do. You could be...and probably are... the nicest guy around. But the bottom line is that RAM is tainted... and there isn't going to be any comeback for RAM until everyone gets paid back. Where does that put you? I am not sure... but I sure as hell wouldn't want to be in your shoes. You may want to consider suing your buddy rather than taking on this stinker of a situation... that is, of course, you're in to being beat the hell by the very people you're trying to market to. Dave has tarnished the RAM name and like others have said, I doubt it will EVER be something you can pin to yourself with pride. RAM has become synonymous with SCAM.
I'd reconsider the DAN CONTROLS name personally...
Mikezilla:
--- Quote from: dan_ram on June 16, 2011, 02:50:21 pm ---Mikezilla,
No, most of the money he took in for pre-orders was to pay for the completion of future products. He also took on too many projects at once and ran into a number of issues in their production. As I understand it most of the money taken in for those SW cabinets was to have some company make a batch of XY monitors brand new. He was hoping to keep the cash flow going to get this HUGE batch of projects completed. At the same time he lost his engineering job and it all fell apart. He started using Ram Controls money to survive. He has a wife and five kids and sometimes being on the brink of homelessness when you have a big family will make people do things they should not do. I personally do not approve of the methods he used and I think it showed a serious lack of business ethics, but I cannot in any way know how I would react if in the same position.
Dan
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Thank you for clarifying that. I asked because I had a guy I know rob a bank he worked at because one of his kids was kidnapped and he needed the money for the ransom. Yeah... Living next to mexico kind of sucks some times but hey, what are you gonna do? :P
dan_ram:
FrizzleFried
Your right about the website, it really sucks. I have been spending my time trying to take care of the major issues and really have not had the time to fix every thing that is wrong on the website. Since you helped me identify those issues Ill work to clean them up.
Spunkmeyer:
If it's wrong, take the web site offline or remove the wrong pages temporarily.
And redesign it, so people know they are not dealing with Dave Adams anymore.
--- Quote from: dan_ram on June 16, 2011, 02:57:23 pm ---Your right about the website, it really sucks. I have been spending my time trying to take care of the major issues and really have not had the time to fix every thing that is wrong on the website. Since you helped me identify those issues Ill work to clean them up.
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dan_ram:
--- Quote ---So your saying Dave has no connection to Ram or its inventory??
be careful because unless hes got a private stash I know this not to be true.
and he still continues to rip people off this is RECENTLY weeks not months ago.
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I cannot be absolutely sure that I have every scrap of inventory, in fact I know I don't. There is another guy who was selling off some of David's other crap and ended up with a few items of Ram Controls stock and was selling them on Ebay. I don't think he is doing it any more but I have not looked in like a week or so.
If there are other people selling Ram Controls stock, I want to know about it!!!!
Dan