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[togo]

Anyone know if Doug has got his yet? I think he's number three on the list.

I'm number five; Ben Rich was number four. Still waiting. They haven't even contacted me about my shipping address yet...

I'm number 13, and I'm crossing my fingers that the dealer announcement means you and I will be soon and they expecting to be out of "groupfunding" mode and into "retail open beta" mode soon.  I heard a rumor that EMW -> Diginow shipment is now in larger batches.

[MostlyBonkers]

What is "retail open beta" meant to mean? Surely once you ship a product it comes out of beta? Does Boeing sell a plane and say it's still in beta?  It's either ready or it's not. I hope that after all the time everyone has spent testing and refining that it's ready.

Doug: As you probably won't get an explanation as to why it has taken so long from the point when you coughed up your three grand until someone bothers to get in touch, here's a couple of reasons I can think of:

1. This is a side project for everyone involved, simply because nobody is going to make a living out of it. If that's the case, then it's a miracle it is coming to market at all.  Aside from posting on this forum and the occasional weekend ride on my bike, I don't get to do anything outside of my day job and family.  I do watch a few YouTube videos once my wife goes to bed, but I'm far too tired to do anything remotely constructive by then.  I don't even get chance to exercise!

And on a lighter note...

2. No matter how smart they are, Californians are little more than lazy beach bums. Hollywood Electrics don't even open their doors until 11am.  WTF is that about other than not wanting to get out of bed?

Come on guys, at least contact Doug and take his address and give him a date. You managed to get a unit out to Ben for his road trip, so what is the holdup? For every person who pre-ordered, I'll bet there are at least two who are waiting and ready to order. I'm sure there are many, many more that are very excited about the prospect of owning a super charger and just want to see a few in the wild before jumping in.

Can't you tell I'm starting to suffer here?!? First world problems, I know, but still it hurts being over privileged sometimes... ;-)

[RedWizardChris]

"Units are available to be shipped anywhere in the world" is not poorly worded, it means they claim 'units are' in stock now (which of course they are not actually).   Hollywood Electrics says they were told the product will be available in 6 weeks.  I strongly dislike false claims by dealers who in so doing ultimately harm the market for a technology I am excited about by eroding confidence.  Same goes for DigiNow, actually.

[Electric Terry]

Someone asked why Diginow hasn't posted a webpage with pictures and more information, and let me tell you that Brandon is spending every minute solving the potential reliability issues that have been discovered as recently as Brian Rice's install that there hasn't been time for anything else yet.

Those who preordered and waited so long will notice they got a significant discount over the 2nd round price.  With the upgrades to components, the unit now costs more to make than was planned for with the initial 20, however those who preordered will not have to pay any more, just be getting a product that should have been priced higher to start.  There's almost no profit in this, and if you add up all brandons time he has probably been working for about 15 cents an hour on this over the perhaps thousand or more hours he has in this.

Doug, I heard Brandon say the other day he wants to travel down to you to do the install personally to make sure it is done exactly correctly.  While it eventually will be shippable for others to install themselves, until a few cable lengths are adjusted, for instance to prevent the pilot pin wires from being pulled if bent too hard which can cause loss of signal and hence won't charge like Brian experienced a couple weeks ago.

Someone also mentioned it shouldn't ship if it's still technically in beta mode.  Well that is exactly why this didn't ship in December like originally projected.  And it is reaching the point where all corner case conditions have been tested but issues still have been discovered in the past month that could be addressed to make it more robust and fail proof.

Everyone that comments here, keep in mind Brandon is basically doing this for free at this point as a benefit to the community.  Someone also mentioned that someone in California is lazy, well Brandon works his regular job, then spends 10 hours refining code for the Beagle bone and making 3D printed parts and for guys like Brian and I who have been around him for a few days he only sleeps 2-3 hours some nights and other nights there just isn't time and he doesn't, so while you might be thinking of a hippie surfer who gets high and says "dude" a lot, I can assure you without question Brandon works harder than you do.

Ben Rich's successful charging has been another positive that makes all of us confident that all the first 20 will be out by July and in mid August the new ones will be ready although at a slightly higher price. 

All good things take time and this is no different.

[MrDude_1]

Is there some reason Diginow couldn't have done any of this weeks or months ago?

Constant deep rooted fear that they would have to change something after they released it? lol

All units are now limited to 9.3kW until further testing is completed, see this stage as the open beta.

I thought it was a 12kw charger... ?

[Erasmo]

Is there some reason Diginow couldn't have done any of this weeks or months ago?

Constant deep rooted fear that they would have to change something after they released it? lol

All units are now limited to 9.3kW until further testing is completed, see this stage as the open beta.

I thought it was a 12kw charger... ?

From what I've read(!), yes, but it is currently capped on the firmware side while higher power tests are conducted, but it should be upgradeable over the internet.

[Richard230]

Sounds like a "labor of love" to me. I don't envy Brandon and the other people working to develop the Diginow charger. It has got to be tough sourcing and pricing the components and getting them all to work reliably on a motorcycle - which is no doubt one of the toughest environments that any product has to deal with.  Even though I am more into larger batteries that need charging at 120V overnight, I can appreciate the charging end of the spectrum and hope that the product turns into a great success. 

[Doug S]

Constant deep rooted fear that they would have to change something after they released it? lol

At least on my part, that's expected. We know we're at best beta testers. That's the downside of being early adopters. I still want to know what's going on.

I thought it was a 12kw charger... ?

The email response I got yesterday from Grand Canyon Cycles said in part "Right now chargers are software throttled at 11.3 kWh throughput, and the designer is testing and vetting greater power levels which can be software unlocked through firmware updates, he's stated that he is looking at a 16 kWh max throughput for this hardware eventually."

I can't vouch for the truth of any of that, it's just what I was told by someone who should know more than I do. 

[MostlyBonkers]

Does Brandon work for Hollywood Electrics? I didn't think he did.  I was joking about Californians being lazy, by the way. Just trying to lighten the atmosphere a little. We don't want to take all this too seriously. :-)

[Shadow]

  I was joking about Californians being lazy, by the way.

I'm a Californian up at 4am every day working 40hrs/wk, but I learned that work ethic growing up near Chicago IL. When you own the business then run it however you would like to. As it is I ordered with Victor / Grand Canyon Cycles because he was present answering the phone while I left a message (and never heard back from) Hollywood Electrics. If Hollywood Electrics doesn't want to return my call and get a sale then that's fine with me.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Hollywood Electric is slammed with Pikes Peak racing. They'll be available again soon.


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[ElectricZen]

Oh god!  Can we never discuss work ethic again please!  I don't want to start thinking less of people cause they want to discuss how "hard" they work.   

Bonkers: don't make fun of Americans and their shody work ethic it makes them mad and insulted even if they one of the most inefficient countries in the world.  Had a guy tell me he works 60 hours a week while he watched the telly on shift.  He's a hard worker!  Btw Canadians are no better.  And honestly if you have never worked on a farm you don't know what work is.  (Also I am mostly joking as well, refer to top of my post :p)

I emailed Hollywood electric the day the original post was released, Carl got back to me in 20 min.  Harlan was understandably away (PPHIC). Think they deserve some leeway on the matter.  After all they have been promoting electric transportation longer than most.  Don't see this other dealer funding the PPHIC to promote electrics.

PS.  Hollywood electric's hours are perfect for this market and the west coast.  Who the fuck is going to test a bike at 9am? Some crazy Brit that's who [emoji14]

[benswing]

My 2 cents:

1). Brandon is working like his ass off to make a solid charger.  Mine is a beta tester (due to a shipping snafu) and it has worked admirably.  So I have high confidence in the finished product. 

2). Brandon is an engineer, and has poor customer service skills.  This project is still going to take some patience, but I believe it will pay off in spades when it arrives. 

3). Brandon is 1 person working on this after his full time job.  And patience is a virtue.  I know it is easy for me to say when I have my unit, but mine isn't perfect and you don't want to be stranded.

4). High West whiskey is amazing and I am full of it right now.  (Purposefully vague sentence.)


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[mrwilsn]

Someone also mentioned that someone in California is lazy, well Brandon works his regular job, then spends 10 hours refining code for the Beagle bone and making 3D printed parts and for guys like Brian and I who have been around him for a few days he only sleeps 2-3 hours some nights and other nights there just isn't time and he doesn't, so while you might be thinking of a hippie surfer who gets high and says "dude" a lot, I can assure you without question Brandon works harder than you do.

Coming from someone anxiously waiting for a Super Charger...

I thought you guys in California were supposed to be smart about health... bucking the majority American attitude of burning the wick at both ends thinking you will get more done.

Brandon...and everybody else reading this...

Move right to stay tight
Eat right to stay lite
Sleep right to stay brite

Never heard that one before? That's cuz I made it up....but it feels right... doesn't it?

Live by it and you will be happier and healthier and be more productive with higher quality of work.  You might think you don't have time to do things right but nothing could be further from the truth.



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[Lecram]

Guys, is this topic about the DigiNow charger or about how hard people work?