** RAM Controls Reproduction Star Wars Flight Yoke Controller **

[HaRuMaN]

.

[Havok]

It would be funny if someone came out of the woodwork and stopped Dave with a Cease & Desist for copyright violation.

Or are these yokes authorized reproductions?

What would really be funny is if you were the old lady...

[Donkey_Kong]

lol   

[ark_ader]

It would be funny if someone came out of the woodwork and stopped Dave with a Cease & Desist for copyright violation.

Or are these yokes authorized reproductions?

What would really be funny is if you were the old lady...

 

[FrizzleFried]

I'd rather someone else have produced these on the down low and then started actually SELLING them... but ya know... I'm an optimist.

[RayB]

Ark, you cannot copyright a physical mechanical device. That falls under patents, all expired. The only part copyrighted is the artwork overlay, and those came from the guy who made new prints using the actual original screens. I suppose its a grey area whether or not copyright transfers with an original work or not, but whatever...

[ChadTower]

IIRC owning the original materials gives you the right to reproduce it... but if there are third party rights involved in the material you still can't sell it.  Here it all depends on whether or not that piece of art has anything Star Wars on it.

[ark_ader]

Did I just give Dave an exit? 

[FrizzleFried]

[DashRendar]

Maybe I'm too trusting, but I hope there's a legitimate reason for Dave's disappearance and these yokes not being shipped. 

I really hate to see anyone being bullied- almost as much as I hate to see people swindle others out of their money.

 

Not saying that's necessarily it, but I do hope there's a valid excuse and people will get their yokes (or their money back). 

Dave has certainly mishandled this by posting only at that KLOV forums, and not here.  Hopefully he's replying to the email inquiries I'm sure he's getting.

[Breaker]

Havok - have you had a chance to email Dave?
Any response?

Breaker.

[Havok]

Sent an email right when he came back on Klov, and he responded. However, still no yoke and just sent another email Monday asking if it shipped yet and requested a tracking number, with no response yet. Once something changes, I'll post an update...

[HaRuMaN]

o/~ go on take the money and run...

Steve Miller Band - 1976
Dave with Ram Controls - 2009-2010

[DashRendar]

That's -smurftastic-!

 

[MameMaster!]

Sent an email right when he came back on Klov, and he responded. However, still no yoke and just sent another email Monday asking if it shipped yet and requested a tracking number, with no response yet. Once something changes, I'll post an update...

Really? This was kinda' funny at first-- but the reality is that it's so disappointing. I really believe that he has these parts and that he will produce these things eventually. It's just way too bizarre considering all of his posts and especially his photos he's posted of the parts for this to be part of a some stupid scam.

Hey Dave-- seriously what's the deal here? All want to do is give you money for your hard work......seriously!

So far it was a bad partner, bad weather, sickness, too much work, too much "real life".....help us understand. We really do want to support you. You're the only one willing to go as far as you have to create these repro parts to such exacting specifications.

 

[TheShanMan]

The thing I don't get is this: If "real life" is getting in the way that much, fine. But to not even get one unit shipped to Havoc sometime in the last month or so just to get this monkey off his back? And alternatively, to not post a pic of, say, a half dozen completed units? But instead to keep popping in here/klov every few weeks to say "this time I'm really going to start shipping yet Havoc never gets a tracking #? Ridiculous. At least give people a plausible, concrete explanation of what's going on, rather than yanking people's chains.

Cmon, Dave. Even your most ardent supporters are losing faith here.

[Level42]

I really believe that he has these parts...

There's no need to believe it, I've got a complete set of parts right here waiting for my SW yoke parts to come back from the powder coater.
These parts, plus the SW cockpit wide T-molding, created with the original mold, are the BEST things to happen for me in this hobby so far.

I thank David for that. I'm just sad he didn't take my advice. Keep shut about everything, and then simply start delivering. The receivers would have done the work for him on the forums. But then in a positive way.

[CheffoJeffo]

I don't have the first clue why Dave hasn't shipped a yoke yet, BUT I believe that he will.

I'm the first to pull out the RealLife(tm) card for vendors, but I've got nothing here.

I don't believe for a second that Dave is scamming anybody, but am at a total loss to explain what has happened since the "it's done and shipping" notifications.

Whatever the problem is, I hope it works out in short order for all parties.

[FrizzleFried]

By the way... dude has enough time to photoshop the following image but not enough time to ship a single yoke?

Hmmm...



PS: I am just having some fun now... this ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- is getting so absurd that I just can't help myself.   

[JMB]

http://arcadecontrols.com/hosted/yoke/

Let's see if someone can build one before the others get shipped.

[MameMaster!]

I forgot about that one-- that was pretty damn clever. 

[Xiaou2]

 Kinda Burns me a little, is that page saying Civic and TigerHeli made their yokes
first... and that Civic was first to use the green gears.

 As far as I know, I was the first to make a working SW yoke years before anyone
else besides the guy who had a machine shop... and incorrectly used optics rather
than gearing and pots. His was also all metal as far as I recall... and may have used
the original SW handlegrips - severely simplifying the process.

 I believe I was also the first person (again by Years) who found, made mountings,
& installed the green gears on my yoke and custom Super-hangon controllers.

 I found the gears shortly after I built the SW yoke, and made them for my
Super Hangon controller... and then replaced the failed SW zip-cord gear hack
almost immediately after.

 The pics have been up on my site for ages.

 But I get  "Tips"     Ehh....

 
 Still, Im happy that others have attempted and succeeded using simular
tactics.
    
---

 Friday, June 2nd 2000 - I was announced on Retrogames.com
 http://www.retrogames.com/062000.html

 Of course, at that time I Think only the Y-Axis was tested as the x was yet
to be mounted.  I think it was a year later that I had the new mount design
built, and I found the proper gears.  I play tested the thing on a temp-holder,
and it was Awesome   Then I built the Shangon controller.

 Both used the same rear parts...  But I didnt replace the SW y-axis for another
6? months cause I knew it would be a pain to redo it.   After it was done,
I didnt change the pictures of it on the site.  Was too lazy to snap them until I was
asked enough times, over a year later,  ...which I believe was 2003.


The site is a huge old mess:

http://xiaou2.homestead.com/arcade.html

 But it can at least still inspire, and or give way to some laughs / insults.    heh

Edit#2:

 http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=89243.0

 Shows the Internal changes with proper gears, as well as much
better photos.

[FrizzleFried]

It says quite a lot when brother "X" chimes in to this thread and DOES NOT "defend" Dave... 

...and I agree... "X" did the home-grown yoke first from what I can see...

[MameMaster!]

Havok-- any updates? 

[FrizzleFried]

Lessee... as of 1 week ago he knew of the thread on KLOV... I mean,  I'm SURE brother Havok has taken delivery of his yoke by TODAY,  right?  I mean,  there's no way on Gods green earth Dave didn't ship that bad boy the very next day... and,  uh,  there's been no Holiday... no natural disaster in Cali... no other reason I can think of as to why that first yoke couldn't ship... right?   

[HaRuMaN]

Maybe he'll get a y-y-y-yoke in the mail...

(for those who don't get the joke, google p-p-p-powerbook)

[ChadTower]

I can't believe after all this time nobody has ever just driven over to his business to find him.  Someone has to be local.

[HaRuMaN]

 

[SirPeale]

I never posted this story before, but since this has been happening I'll share it.

A couple years ago (I think it's been that long, I'd have to check the PMs to be sure) Dave posted a B/S/T ad to get rid of a bunch of classic board.  I forget what they were, but he stated he was sick of having them around and wanted to get rid of them.

I threw him an amount - it was pretty low, actually, but I was surprised when he accepted.

He said he didn't want the money right then, but was happy to send the boards out right away.  He said he trusted me to pay.

I was going to be away for a couple days and told him to hold off on it, and he said it was too late.

I actually got back in time to accept the shipment...and...nothing.  Waited, waited...finally sent him a message and he replied right back that the package had come back that there was no one there to accept.

Now...every package shipper I've ever dealt with either leaves a notice on the door, or makes more than one attempt.  All I have is his word that this is what happened.

I never said anything about it because...well, hey, it's possible, though improbable.  But with this silence...

Am I out any money?  No, of course not.  But he's said before that things have been shipped, with no package to be seen.

[ratzz]

This is even more interesting ...

A while ago I looked up whois details for ram-controls.com and as usual it gave full details of his business address etc., I wish I'd made a note of it now, because the whois data has now been removed:

Domain ID:
Domain Name: ram-controls.com
Created On: 21-Jun-2006 00:00:00
Expiration Date: 21-Jun-2010 00:00:00
Sponsoring Registrar: 'Check Whois' (NSI) (NSI)
Status: client_transfer_prohibited
Name Server: yns1.yahoo.com
Name Server: yns2.yahoo.com
Registrant ID: Unknown
Registrant Name: Unknown
Registrant Organization: Unknown
Registrant Street1: Unknown
Registrant Street2: Unknown
Registrant Street3: Unknown
Registrant City: Unknown
Registrant State/Province: Unknown
Registrant Postal Code: Unknown
Registrant Country: Unknown
Registrant Phone: Unknown
Registrant Fax: Unknown
Registrant Email: Unknown
Admin ID: Unknown
Admin Name: Unknown
Admin Organization: Unknown
Admin Street1: Unknown
Admin Street2: Unknown
Admin Street3: Unknown
Admin City: Unknown
Admin State: Unknown
Admin Postal Code: Unknown
Admin Country: Unknown
Admin Phone: Unknown
Admin Fax: Unknown
Admin Email: Unknown

This means that it has manually been blanked out by the administrator of the domain name -- 9 time out of 10 the owner.

I even looked up his warehouse on GoogleMaps to see if the building on the home page was his (it isn't)...

The plot thickens!

Removed link ...

[Neverending Project]

Here's another "Dave Shipping Story" to share..

Dave and I made a deal to trade some non-working PCBs that I had for some awesome parts that he had. We agreed to the deal. I'll skip to the end and say that we both got our stuff, and I was happy in the end. It went something like this (I'll try to summarize with dates):

All the following are PMs (on KLOV) back and forth.

Between 8/24/09 and 8/26/09
Me: Wanna trade this for that?
D: Sure.
Me: Is this your correct address? I have mine boxed up.
D: Yes. Is this what you wanted <pastes list>? Sounds good.
Me: Great. Boards shipped.

I shipped them vis USPS with delivery confirmation.

Dum de dum....

9/2/09
Me: Did you receive the boards yet? Confirmation says they were delivered.
D: Haven't seen them. Did I ship you your stuff? I can't remember.
Me: Uh oh. Here is the tracking info. I haven't received anything yet.
D: We sometimes have problems with USPS and FedEx. I'll check into it. No sweat, you'll still get your stuff from me.

9/13/09
Me: I was out of town. Did you ever find the boards from me? Did you ship my parts?

9/15/09
Me: Did you get my last PM? Should I e-mail or PM you?

9/16/09
Me: Are you getting my messages?
D: Sorry, was busy. I sent the parts a while ago. Checking into it. Sorry.

9/18/09
Me: No worries. I should check with the USPS and find out where they delivered my boards since you never got them.
D: I did get your package. I sent your stuff a while ago, and it appears to be missing. I don't have any notes since there was no money exchanged. Can you send me the list of stuff again so I can ship again?

9/19/09
Me: OK. here ya go. <pastes list>

9/24/09
Me: It's been another week and still nothing. Any word?

Switch to e-mail
10/8/09
Me: Can you reply to this to let me know you're getting my messages? One word reply is fine.
D: What's this about?
Me: Our trade back in August.
D: Send me the list you wanted. I will fix the situation immediately.
Me: <copies and pastes list again>

10/14/09
Me: Got package. Phew. But one of the parts was out of stock.

11/4/09
Me: Still waiting on that part. Any word?

11/12/09
Me: Checking in. Part?
D: Already on the way. Should be there tomorrow.

11/13/09
Part arrived Next Day UPS.
D: Did it show?
Me: Yes. Thankyouverymuch.

The dude's full of excuses.

[FrizzleFried]

Edit: This may help though: http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_c3tl2g

Not the same company.  I actually have done advertising work for these folks...

[Havok]

Havok-- any updates? 

Nothing yet - no email, no package.

 

[ratzz]

Edit: This may help though:

Not the same company.  I actually have done advertising work for these folks...

Ok buddy, remove the link from my post as to not confuse ...

[TheShanMan]

NP, I know what one of the topics of conversation will be at Jordan's arcade party!

[mytymaus007]

 

[TPB]

Dave started this thread.  Not Frizzle or somebody else. He started it for the sole purpose of saying the yokes were "done and shipping", and that Havok's yoke was "on its way".

He then offered BYOAC and KLOV purchase specials.  Six weeks later, and not a single yoke has been sent.  Why did he start this thread, when he had no intention of honouring his word and shipping immediately ?

Three words sum up the only logical explanation : CASH FLOW PROBLEM.    

Dave might be having financial difficulties - perhaps that's what he meant by "real life".

At $225 per yoke for the BYOAC and KLOV specials, he only needed to drum up 23 orders to get over $5K of the green stuff in his pocket.  The cash he's received from this scheme he's devised, has hopefully fixed up his finances.

There should be a happy ending.  Everyone should eventually receive their yokes.  At the very least, Havok will get his one, as Dave's provided a photo of ONE assembled yoke and it's got Havok's name on it.

It would be funny if someone came out of the woodwork and stopped Dave with a Cease & Desist ...

That would be PayPal.  But the reason would have nothing to do with copyright.

[FrizzleFried]

Three words sum up the only logical explanation : CASH FLOW PROBLEM.    :'(

DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!!!!!

[HaRuMaN]

Havok will get his yoke after this happens:

[shardian]

I'm amazed to hear how much of a problem Dave has with shipping, especially if he runs a business. My company does ALOT of business with USPS and UPS. Both companies pretty much kiss our ass to keep that cash a-flowing.

I've gotten 2 shipments from Dave, and both had issues.

One got lost in the shuffle apparently, and he got it out to me immediately once I brought it to his attention. I can't remember if the 'lost in the mail' was used.

The next definitely had the 'lost in the mail' excuse, but a 'replacement' was shipped out immediately once I brought it to his attention.

Basically, there is no way that many of his shipments get lost. Obviously Dave's issues makes my procrastination and unorganized issues look like child's play. Even more, I would expect a guy who runs a business such as his Real Life (TM) job to have MUCH better organizational skills.


Final message to Dave:
#1 Paypal offers built in shipment management.
#2 you can have said automatically organized shipments picked up from your business.
#3 have one of your employees handle your shipping.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, even Noice hires an employee to take care of menial tasks AND gets his orders taken care of promptly!!!