VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

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Kakemoms
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by Kakemoms »

Have anyone here actually received anything from Dragos?

The reason I ask is that I paid him 35 Euro for a Vic 1112 interface some weeks ago and have received nothing. He never sent me the promised tracking number and has even stopped answering my messages, so I assume he is not going to send it. Hopefully he will refund my money, but until I see some action from him I am assuming he may want to keep both.

For that reason I must warn you of doing business with this man.
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orion70
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Location: Piacenza, Italy
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by orion70 »

Nope, nothing arrived here (Italy). I'm getting quite worried now...
dragos
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by dragos »

So, as promised, I shipped kakemoms package first thing this morning. I arrive home to a nastygram asking for a refund. This is the second cart I have sent for this transaction. Did I wait a bit to send the second? YES, as I assume the post office is slow over there and wanted to make sure he wasn't getting 2 for the price of one. So, as I said, I shipped the SECOND one this morning, and now I remember the deal with the tracking number, While I have a tracking number, the USPS doesn't track to Norway, so I am probably going to get screwed over. From this point forward, I cannot ship to Norway. Congrats Kakemoms, you get my last shipment to your country.

Here is the customs receipt in the interest of transparency:

[Picture contains private information removed by admin]

, on Flickr


{picture had relevant private info covered, it is still on my flickr feed if you need to see it]

Also, please note that I am not here a lot, so a PM here is not the best way to get in touch with me. You can, however, reach me via email (if you sent me a paypal payment you 100% have my email address) or IRC, I am there most of the time. #c64friends on freenode for those who do not know me.

For everyone else that is waiting, your cards are coming. Lots of people have cards in hand and soon you will too!

Thanks to most of you for your support, for the ones that lace their PMs with profanity: This is a hobby, I am slow as I have a life outside of work and soldering for fun. Take a pill, its not alot of money, I am not getting rich off this or in some cases even breaking even. If I was going to scam somone, I suppose I would ask a lot more than $35. I waited years for my USB Atari Joystick, you know what? it did finally come.. again, this is a hobby....
Last edited by dragos on Sun Nov 13, 2016 11:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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orion70
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by orion70 »

:) to me, knowing that production is up and running (albeit slowly) is enough. Thanks.
VIC_1112
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by VIC_1112 »

Long time lurker, I really hate I had to register for the main purpose of posting this message. For what it is worth, I am one of the Kickstarter backers for the development of this clone board, which was scheduled to be released on October 2015. Ever since then, communication with dragos has been appaling, boards are not being released, and queries are not being answered. And yet, despite not fulfilling his commitment with the backers, he is selling boards outside of the Kickstarter campaign, apparently with the same business ethos.

If you are contemplating purchasing one of these clone boards, expect promises and commitments to be unfulfilled, and do not use payment methods which are not revocable. This comes from somebody who has been waiting for over a year for the boards in question, and I know for a fact the situation is pretty much widespread as far as the Kickstarter backers are concerned.

If you are one of the backers of the Kickstarter campaign, contemplate reporting dragos to Kickstarter using the "Report this project to Kickstarter" button at the campaign page. That will probably not do much and will not compromise the campaign, but it is better than waiting for a board that will not come. If he is not able to fulfill commitments because "this is a hobby" then he should be offering a refund option; guess what, that is not going to happen either.
dragos
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by dragos »

Thanks for posting anonymously so we cannot verify that you are actually a purchaser. Please do report me if you cannot fathom that this is a hobby not a business. and to be fair, I sold a not fully populated board outside the kickstarter, much like I sold some of the prototypes.

Kickstarters come with risk, and you agreed to that risk when you participated. Unlike some Kickstarters, These carts will all be delivered. The main issue is I underestimated the time to completion. This project has undergone many changes, all for the better. The new firmware kicks ass (thank you SROWE, you did an amazing job) There is also beta firmware with even more features. The board is user upgradeable FROM the VIC!

I'll post an update to the campaign this evening.
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jbevren
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by jbevren »

I'd like to chime in here. First, lets get some flame bait out of the way.

These 1112's are not simple to solder. I know, as I soldered a prototype myself before the kickstarter was shipped. Let's also not forget that this is not something Dragos does as a primary gainful employment gig. As this is being built entirely by a hobbyist when he's not busy with stuff like children, work, home, and other real-world obligations a person can't realistically expect him to finish them all quickly.

I received my 1112 a couple months ago and can't complain about its performance. As for people wanting proof that this was shipped, feel free to review the image attached to my response.

Image

It's unclear in that picture but it's installed vertically in a busboard between my vic-20 and my vicmem.

http://pix.jbevren.net/p/vic20/jbevs_1112 is a much better picture of my 1112 sitting on my keyboard. If anyone's in doubt if this is in fact mine or real, they can look up how IBM Model M keyboards are and find me looking for the missing keycap for the key above the number 7.

And now down to the nitty gritty.

I understand being concerned about long delays. They suck, and I don't bear any grudge against people worrying about their fairly purchased goods eventually arriving. However, dragging a hobbyist through feces because he got a bit more work than he expected is not acceptable. Our community is too small to support infighting and this discourages innovation and releases from anyone following these types of discussions.

Calm down, un-knot your undergarments, and please be patient. The boards are real, work great, and even come with features beyond the original 1112. :)

Thanks for listening to my drivel.

-David

PS: Note the serial number. That's dragos' handwriting. :P
-jbev
VIC_1112
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by VIC_1112 »

I really have no problem proving that I have indeed backed the campaign, a quick PM from the admin and I will gladly accommodate that request. Not that there is any need for that, all anyone has to do is visit the campaign page and see what the real situation is.

I can sympathize with things taking time and life getting in the way, but there is no excuse to the constant dodging of questions, lack of responses, and utter disrespect to those who have sent money, in good faith, when responding to a request for support. Boards are being sold outside the campaign while at the same time backers are being ignored. Again, all you have to do is visit the campaign page.

To anyone contemplating procuring new boards, buyer beware, and please use revocable payment methods. To anyone at the campaign still hoping for something to arrive, please consider reporting the campaign.
dragos
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by dragos »

Not sure why you need the approval of an admin here to prove to me you are an actual backer and not a troll come home to roost. Tell you what, if the length of time has been too much and you are truly a backer, just pm me your order info and I will happily refund your money with my apologies. Otherwise, those who appreciate what I am doing and those who have been gracious with their patience and I will continue the path we are on.

And Kakemoms, apologies for the delay, I'll post the ROM image soon, you will need it.
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dragos
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by dragos »

Also, just to be clear about how I am addressing this issue:

Imageimage by markgladson, on Flickr

Those are the last 11 boards needing assembly, I am burning the ROMS for them now while the iron cools off :)

Per the kickstarter update, I expect all orders filled by Thanksgiving and the rest of the boards to be on sale by the 1st of December via EBAY and my Etsy store.

If you want an email when they become available, please let me know.

Thanks
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eslapion
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by eslapion »

@Dragos
I don't know if this can help you make them faster but there is really no need to socket the smaller logic chips.
Be normal.
dragos
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by dragos »

Thanks for the tip, and on most projects i don't. But the hex bus inverters tend to fail over time (not alot, but it happens in PETs fairly regularly) so I decided to just socket the whole thing, its really not any more trouble.
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Kakemoms
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by Kakemoms »

dragos wrote:So, as promised, I shipped kakemoms package first thing this morning.
Yes, you have promised that three times now. All good things are three, but in this case its not.
dragos wrote: I arrive home to a nastygram asking for a refund.
Here is your answer to my first request for a refund:

Code: Select all

Re: Ieee board?

    Quote dragos

Sent: Fri Nov 11, 2016 6:45 pm
by dragos
While it would be cheaper for me to refund you, I am shipping your board out tomorrow.
Right, so I ask for a refund. You still send something. Maybe you did, maybe you didn't. At this point I have no idea.

So instead of digging your hole deeper dragos, why don't you just explain that the cartridges doesn't work. No one is going to blame you for that. Electronics fail all the time. If the hex inverters fail, there is a design problem. Hex inverters work for decades, they don't fail. Be open, explain the design.
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srowe
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by srowe »

Kakemoms wrote: So instead of digging your hole deeper dragos, why don't you just explain that the cartridges doesn't work. No one is going to blame you for that. Electronics fail all the time. If the hex inverters fail, there is a design problem. Hex inverters work for decades, they don't fail. Be open, explain the design.
There's nothing wrong with the design, the cards work fine. There's no need to accuse dragos of producing something that doesn't work.
Kakemoms
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Re: VIC 1112 IEEE Interface

Post by Kakemoms »

srowe wrote:
Kakemoms wrote: So instead of digging your hole deeper dragos, why don't you just explain that the cartridges doesn't work. No one is going to blame you for that. Electronics fail all the time. If the hex inverters fail, there is a design problem. Hex inverters work for decades, they don't fail. Be open, explain the design.
There's nothing wrong with the design, the cards work fine. There's no need to accuse dragos of producing something that doesn't work.
Well, is the inverter failing or is it not? Because he said it was socketed because they tended to fail, which doesn't sound like a feature.
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