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<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>I've been neglecting (dreading) sending updates, so if you've
been wondering where No. 12 is, voila.</p>
<p>The initial order batch remains seemingly-perpetually 2 weeks
out. Right now I'm waiting for some additional parts for the pick
and place machine (tray and stick feeders), which should arrive
soon now. Once I get to this point I'll be posting a demo video
and written documentation. As always, email for refunds.<br>
</p>
<p>Another piece of news is that we're now back to THREE regional
variants. I'll be emailing all customers for final selections
before shipments this fall, but the attached datasheet describes
which carriers are approved in which regions. The "Global Version"
is LARA-R6001 in the datasheet, the "EMEA, APAC, JAPAN, LATAM
version" is LARA-R6801, and the "North American Version" is
LARA-R6401.
Note that carriers indicated with open, not filled, circles, will
not be available until the third production run some time in 2023.</p>
<p>I've been expecting to be able to fill orders continuously as
they come in beginning this November, but the relentless nature of
the chip shortage is forcing semiconductor manufacturers to secure
orders well in advance for the foreseeable future. <b>Orders
placed now are still in the November delivery block.</b></p>
<p>Umm what else. I guess that's it for now. <br>
</p>
<p>~Justine</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>***** UPDATE No. 11 (4/12/22) ******</p>
<p>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 href="https://youtu.be/xKAfQlkbDaw"
target="_blank"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://youtu.be/xKAfQlkbDaw&source=gmail&ust=1653350426797000&usg=AOvVaw23D_hhEFdywVaB_KBcxs2S"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">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:</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Some more high-res pictures here: <a
href="https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/Photos_P5/"
target="_blank"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/Photos_P5/&source=gmail&ust=1653350426797000&usg=AOvVaw0V1DhJz-I8WBbO2bbGggzP">https://skysedge.com/<wbr>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:</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>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"><font
color="#888888"><br>
<br>
~Justine</font> </font></p>
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