FireBox: A Tiny DCC Train Controller

[Rivet Miscounter]

Let's move on.

I agree.  A healthy dose of blowing off steam and lessons learned and now...onward and upward.

[thomasjmdavis]

No offense meant to the "let's move on" crowd, but WHY not allow those who want to continue the conversation to do so, and those who do not want to participate can stop reading and commenting on how the rest of us should stop reading and commenting.

[Rivet Miscounter]

No offense meant to the "let's move on" crowd, but WHY not allow those who want to continue the conversation to do so, and those who do not want to participate can stop reading and commenting on how the rest of us should stop reading and commenting.

Just a suggestion, for the sanity of all involved.   I mean, nobody can stop you aside from the moderators/Admins so be my guest.

But from experience, (and, not to be cliché but...) we are indeed moving straight into "beating a dead horse" territory.   The main character here is off the grid, there's no updated communications (nor consensus among the fray) about when/if any money will be returned.   The kid has been slammed every possible way imaginable. (and probably rightly so)  He either doesn't care or does and is afraid to face the music.

So to recap...
1. Either we're gonna get all/part of the money back, or we won't.
2. Kickstarter is a lot like eBay...layers and layers of insulation, un-enforced policies, and clearly defined "unwritten rules" about how to game the system.  Getting anywhere with them is going to take a LOT of your energy.  While I get the principle of the thing, let that burden fall on him...he needs to carry that weight on his shoulders, not you.
3. @dcutting 's name is mud here and likely around the model railroading community.   The chances of somebody suing him (or beating him up) over fifty to a hundred books is slim. (and bad ideas, both.)

So what else is there?   

I subscribe to the philosophy that if you loan someone $100 and never hear from them again, it was probably worth it.   Not the kind of people or the kind of energy you want in your life.   And not worth the stress or bump in blood pressure.

[CBQ Fan]

Just to clarify my suggested visit was not to beat him up, it was for him to see the real people he has impacted. It is much easier to screw someone over via electronic means. Not so much when you are face to face.

[ridinshotgun]

I reached out to him via kickstarter so I could at least have a record if he responded or not and he got back to me with a pretty lame response, "that it will take some time to coral everyone information and sell off the assets.  That it doesn't happen overnight."  I guess they tell time differently in where he goes to school.

Funny that it takes so long to sell $650 of assets and type in paypal addresses..

[John]

you might be able to pursue a wire or mail fraud case ..

[Mark5]

Ugh, don't think I'll buy anything from anything this guy does (including his shapeways shop) due to this PR poopshow.

I was considering these for my lone Kato SD40-2, but I'll think I'll stick to my original plan of adding the 3rd brake cylinder to the Kato trucks: https://www.shapeways.com/product/XMQPFQDGB/triple-clasp-ht-c-kato-early-prod-bulk-n?optionId=57559856&li=marketplace

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/cuttingedge

Mark

[John]

Ugh, don't think I'll buy anything from anything this guy does (including his shapeways shop) due to this PR poopshow.

Me neither -- I was thinking of getting the USAX shell .. but not anymore ..

[MK]

His home page still says "FireBox...A Tiny DCC Controller - Successfully Funded on Kickstarter!"

https://wasatchscalemodels.com/

Balls!   

Maybe Vinny from Jersey can pay a visit since there's an address on his home page.     Looks like a private residence on Google Maps.

[wvgca]

how come he is keeping -some- money for shipping, when he never actually shipped any completed product ??

[reinhardtjh]

His home page still says "FireBox...A Tiny DCC Controller - Successfully Funded on Kickstarter!"

https://wasatchscalemodels.com/

Balls!   

Maybe Vinny from Jersey can pay a visit since there's an address on his home page.     Looks like a private residence on Google Maps.

Although if you click the "Pre-Order Now" button it now goes to a 404 Not Found page.

[FlightRisk]

FireBox Update: Just another note that the DCC-EX team has been focused on getting out release 3.0 of DCC++ EX. That is very, very close. We are finishing the web documentation, release notes, final beta testing, etc. (perhaps a week) After that, we will discuss as a group what can be done with the FireBox project and decide on the next step. Perhaps we can use our resources to pick it up or re-engineer the controller. We need something like the FireBox, or an all in one board that goes on a Mega. All the other solutions that involve off the shelf motor boards have limitations that we as ambitious engineers think we can do much better I have a relationship with David. There has been some discussion already with the group so, a little bit like the election, if you can be patient with us, I promise some answers Anyone who wants to join the team whether to help with design, review schematics, or just offer design ideas, we are always looking for help. Contact me via PM. We Will keep you updated!

Fred
DCC++ Team
N4IXL
Join us on Discord to view discussions: https://discord.gg/y2sB4Fp
https://www-ex.com

[reinhardtjh]

Thank you Fred.  I'm pretty sure most here would rather see something useful come out of the FireBox project if it's possible.

[dem34]

Just received the partial refund over paypal, anybody else?

[ridinshotgun]

Just received the partial refund from over paypal, anybody else?

Yes just got mine.