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| Anyone seen RandyT? |
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| brandon:
so when is the new wiz49 coming and what are the "new frills" he hinted about? "PLEASE NOTE! A NEW VERSION OF THIS PRODUCT IS NEARING COMPLETION. THIS VERSION IS STILL FULLY FUNCTIONAL, BUT LACKS SEVERAL FRILLS OF THE NEXT VERSION. THIS VERSION IS CONTNUING TO BE OFFERED ONLY AS A CONVENIENCE TO THOSE WHO HAVE TIME CONSTRAINTS THAT WILL NOT ALLOW THE DELAYS ASSOCIATED WITH WAITING FOR THE NEXT VERSION." oh and btw, Im about to order the parts to build my panel so I wish I at least had a clue... Dont tell us what it is Randy.. just tell us what its NOT :) |
| RandyT:
Ok, I'll use this thread to give everyone a little insight as to some of the goings on at GGG and to give an idea as to why it's NOT the new GP-Wiz49 (sorry) Sometimes external events dictate how I am allowed to prioritize development. The thing that has really been hammering on me lately is the fact that the main processor we use is no longer available in the nice, large, easy-to-handle through-hole package. We had a huge inventory of the larger parts, but they are going very quickly, and whatever we have left are allocated for any boards we already have in stock. But as we were almost out of the KeyWiz ST / Eco and GP-Wiz boards, it was turning into a crisis. Fortunately, the exact same processor is still available, just in the much smaller 48-pin SSOP surface mount package. So everything will still be exactly the same as far as the product line-up and functionality, but in order to keep from having an interruption in availability, I had to retool the programmer, completely re-design the boards and learn to solder these tiny devices. Fortunately, only one heroic KeyWIz had to give it's life for me to figure out the trick in doing it. As it turns out, once I got the hang of it, they are actually no more difficult to use than the bigger chips. The gods have smiled on me for a change :) So just after getting out of the proverbial "woods", my machinist called to inform me that he had a clear schedule (which isn't good with Christmas looming) and was chomping at the bit for a project we had discussed in the past. So, I dropped everything, solved the last of my remaining concerns with the design, and cleared it for a prototype. That has been done and truthfully, it surpassed my expectations. One small adjustment to the design later, it was cleared for production. It's one of those classic, but rare items that has already been attempted but, IMHO, really needed to be "groovyized". I'm guessing that some will regard it as nothing short of spectacular and absolutely need to have one, while others will be ambivalent about it at best. It's just one of those kinds of things. But that's all I'm saying for now. :) RandyT |
| ahofle:
--- Quote from: RandyT on November 07, 2007, 03:09:14 pm ---But that's all I'm saying for now. :) RandyT --- End quote --- Thanks alot LOL. I'll guess either a push/pull spinner or some kind of actual leaf switch replacement like the ones Ponyboy was selling? ;D |
| zaphod:
Mmmm, push-pull spinner... in a TurboTwist profile... |
| RandyT:
--- Quote from: pinballjim on November 07, 2007, 03:36:29 pm ---Was real happy with the KeyWhiz's, though I was disappointed when you changed the PCB layout on the cheap version. You've sold literal box loads of those things because of my recommendations. 'less expensive' and 'works better' are hard to argue with! --- End quote --- And every recommendation is much appreciated ;) The small Eco version will most likely be re-visited very soon. For novice solderers, however, the larger board is much easier to use. Now that I am comfortable with the new, smaller chip, I should be able to make a unit no wider than an IDE connector. Something for the list. RandyT |
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