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Hello again subscribers, customers, and generally-interested
personnel,<br>
<br>
My pick and place machine is fixed and working, which is a relief.
Since I got it fired up I've been learning how to use it, which is
taking some effort (to give a sense of it, it runs a modified kernel
of Windows NT with an expectedly abstruse UX), but it's starting to
do things resembling what it needs to do and this is exciting. Okay,
it was probably conceitedly optimistic to think I'd be able to turn
out boards on this in a few days, having never used such a machine
before, but here's a short clip of it trying to place a capacitor:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/xKAfQlkbDaw">https://youtu.be/xKAfQlkbDaw</a><br>
<br>
Okay, but now on the most recent board I assembled by hand (an
effort parallel to that of learning the machine), which had small
design tweaks, the audio isn't working. It looks like it's the codec
chip, which blows me away because I haven't changed anything about
the audio circuit. I suspect an assembly problem but reflowing
solder and replacing the chip hasn't effected it. I'm hoping that
there's some odd thing I just screwed up with the hand assembly of
that component (twice), so the next board assembled will be the
first one done by the pick and place machine, and hopefully the
audio is working again with that. <br>
<br>
Stay tuned. I'm trying, I'm trying. Cancellations honored on request
as always!<br>
<br>
~Justine<br>
<br>
<br>
***** UPDATE No. 10 (9 was skipped somehow) (3/23/22) ******<br>
<br>
Hello everyone,<br>
<br>
I finally took photos of the different colors. There will be more
and better pictures and a new video showing functionality around
when I sent the first units (seemingly perpetually a month out), but
here we are for now:<br>
<br>
Atomic Hotline Red:<br>
<img src="cid:part1.rLsbQSmx.xRQC0a8G@skysedge.com" alt="RUSP_Red"
class="" width="661" height="490"><br>
<br>
Beige:<br>
<img src="cid:part2.UW0tCHy7.ptoflGGb@skysedge.com" alt="RUSP_Beige"
class="" width="664" height="543"><br>
<br>
Black:<br>
<img src="cid:part3.0DyvzB50.fspQ28mQ@skysedge.com" alt="RUSP_Black"
class="" width="639" height="474"><br>
<br>
Seafoam:<br>
<img src="cid:part4.AV1tZz6o.LrCF4Z9b@skysedge.com"
alt="RUSP_Seafoam" class="" width="594" height="485"><br>
<br>
White:<br>
<img src="cid:part5.7jIBCAbS.ttA6rl8a@skysedge.com" alt="RUSP_White"
class="" width="522" height="444"><br>
<br>
Some more high-res pictures here: <a
href="https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/Photos_P5/"
target="_blank" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/Photos_P5/</a><br>
<br>
~Justine<br>
<br>
***** UPDATE No. 8 (3/15/22) ******<br>
<br>
Hello everyone,<br>
<br>
What I have here is a "bad news" situation. The part I've been
waiting on for my pick and place machine to produce the first batch
of phones (see past updates pasted below for detail) arrived, but it
only partially fixed the problem. This knotted up my stomach nicely.
I've been working on it every day that I can, and believe I've
localized the issue (which, if you're interested, relates to an
internal braking resistor for the six Z-axis BLDC motors). I'm going
to try replacing the power-module for the Z-axis motors, which is a
little rack mount module that I'm ordering today. By the time I get
this fixed, produce, and test all the boards (the production/testing
part should just take a few days)... well, we will slip another
month on the scheudle. Stomach knots.<br>
<br>
Please request a refund if your inclination is to get mad that this
is taking so long. <br>
<br>
If you placed your pre-order before 2/20/2021, you're among the
first 200 customers, and if you ordered before 11:09 AM EST on
1/17/2021, you're among the first 84 customers. <br>
<br>
Also, I should have those new pictures for my next update email (in
about another week).<br>
<br>
~Justine<br>
<br>
<br>
***** UPDATE No. 7 (3/6/22) ******<br>
<br>
Hello rotary un-smartphone customers and subscribers!<br>
<br>
I'm still waiting on the replacement part for my pick and place
machine. The plan remains to send the first 84 N. American units out
this month (nor March). I'll also taking photos of completed phones
in all the different colors (finally) this week, and I'm working on
the assembly instructions. A demonstration video is also coming. As
always, please ask for a refund if you're done with waiting. <br>
<br>
Note that the previous couple updates are pasted below.<br>
<br>
~Justine<br>
<br>
<br>
***** UPDATE No. 6 (2/21/22) ******<br>
<br>
Hello customers and subscribers,<br>
<br>
Sorry for sending this email is going out a day later than promised.
The <br>
next one after this will be next Sunday, 2/27.<br>
<br>
My assembly (pick and place machine) is still broken, so the
possibility <br>
that I'll get orders out in the next week (before the end of
February) <br>
is vanishing. March. I'm planning to get those first 84 orders
shipped <br>
in March. Please wish me luck getting this machine running, and
again, <br>
if you'd like a refund, just let me know.<font color="#888888"><br>
<br>
~Justine</font><br>
<br>
***** UPDATE No. 5 (2/13/22) ******<br>
<br>
Greetings pre-order customers and subscribers!<br>
<br>
I'm trying to send the first 84 North American phones out this
month*.<br>
<br>
An additional 114 will be able to go out about a month after that,
but the front OLED display is out of stock until summer, so I will
give those 114 customers who are next in line the option to receive
the complete kit minus the OLED display, and they would receive the
display separately when I get them in the summer. The phone will
function fine without that front display, but without the ability to
display incoming calls and other messages.<br>
<br>
Outside of those initial 198 N. American orders, all other
components will be available again (including for the global
versions) in October, so that's when the remaining pre-order backlog
should be produced and sent out. I'm hoping to be in "normal
production", with orders being filled as they're placed, around
November.<br>
<br>
Considering the ongoing protracted timeline, which I know is
frustrating most of you, I would like to emphasize that I'm <b>encouraging
folks to request refunds</b>, and then re-order when the chip
shortage is behind us if so desired. It's indeed been difficult --
much more so than I ever expected -- but this phone WILL be at
full-normal production status eventually. <b>Failure is not an
option. The only way this won't happen is if I drop dead </b>(knock
on wood).<br>
<br>
OK, regarding my promise to get the first orders out this month,
it's actually dependent on my new pick and place machine, which is
is the centerpiece of my newly put-together basement production
facility:<br>
<br>
<img src="cid:part6.NTNnHjvD.PNfqae3o@skysedge.com" alt="Pick and
Place" class="" width="1008" height="672"><br>
<br>
The thing is, due to a bone-headed mistake that was entirely my own
fault, I managed to bork one of the circuit boards that makes the
thing run when hooking things back up after having it moved, which
was a 4000lb project in its own right. I'm waiting on a replacement
from abroad to get the machine running again, but can't actually
start producing the RUSP boards (in a lay speak: "soldering the
electronics together"), until this is working again. At the end of
January I was positive I'd be able to get the first phone kits out
this month, in February, as described above, but every day that goes
by at this point without this machine working is a day of schedule
slip. <br>
<br>
Again, if you're not comfortable with me always saying "soon, soon,
I promise... very soon", please request a refund. But I do have the
parts for a batch of kits as described above, and it's just a matter
of getting this machine going again.<br>
<br>
Also, the colors of the phones are slightly refined from the photo I
sent in the last update. Better, more true to what folks envisioned.
I don't have the chips to spare to assemble one of each color fully
for a photo op, so very soon (by the time I ship the first 84), I'll
take photos of each color by recycling the same electronics.<br>
<br>
From now on I'm also going to be sending updates weekly. Expect the
next on Sunday, 2/20.<font color="#888888"><br>
<br>
~Justine</font>
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