Hey guys.
We have more delays. It breaks my heart to tell you this, and it just straight up breaks my heart that it's happening. Please know, I am just as excited about this project and eager to get these miners as you guys, and just as disappointed that they are not yet ready. The last weeks of delays have been absolutely killing me.
The story is this. A while back we made a decision to engage a third party to assist us with completing our production in China. The reason for making this decision is that they are on the ground in China, have direct contact with multiple factories and suppliers etc, and promised a really fast turn around on getting everything made. In theory, getting these guys to help was going to get everything done and shipped out faster. That was the idea. They seemed competent and professional through all our initial discussions. It felt like a good decision at the time. Unfortunately, this has totally back fired and instead become the cause of many delays.
Bit by bit it has become clear that this third party don't really know what they're doing. It frustrates the hell out of me. I really really wish i had not let crucial parts of this operation out of my hands as i believe we would certainly have shipped by now had we maintained control of the manufacture and done it here in Sydney. The wisdom of hindsight can be a real bitch sometimes.
I take full responsibility for taking the choice to work with these people. God i wish i hadn't. As i say, at the time it seemed like a good move. I am sorry for this. We have been seriously let down.
The cause for the latest delay is that we recently discovered that said third party had ordered largely substandard inappropriate substitute parts for our boards, not the ones we specified. We are lucky we found this out when we did. Going ahead with the manufacture with the wrong parts would have caused all sorts on unknown instabilities on the boards. People may well have received them sooner, but there would be a large chance they would not work properly, not get decent hashrates, and perhaps not work at all, or break soon after being plugged in. Dealing with this problem after the boards had been made would have been a nightmare.
So, we have ordered all the parts again ourselves from trusted sources. They are now being sent to the manufacturers. They will arrive early next week. This is the absolute best we can do under the circumstances. Trust me, the delay is worth it for the peace of mind that the boards are made properly to the specs of the design and will work. The production will continue as soon as the parts arrive. All things being equal production will happen on Tues. Basically we are put out a week by this. I am so sorry this is happening. It absolutely kills me to still not have these miners done for you.
As for the BFL comparisons, i resent this. Please have some perspective here. I have not lied to you, i have not been rude or offensive to anyone, the delays have not been months and months with no explanation. We are a couple weeks late, and i am sorry for that, truly, but i have kept everyone informed along the way, and been fighting my hardest to keep things as on track as possible behind the scenes. You have no idea how many hours i've spent on skypes and calls trying to smooth everything out. I am here with you. I am here for you. Please note also, we are not a multi-million dollar company, we are 4 guys with an enthusiasm for Bitcoin who decided to get together and make this project happen. We don't have funding, offices, secretarys etc. This is DIY. I have been working more than full time for months now to make this project happen for all of us. I am not getting paid for this. I can guarantee you that whatever profit we might end up with at the end of this will come nowhere close to a wage for 4 months of full time work. Please have some perspective on this.
Of course it is only a few who talk like this, and honestly in general it has been a pleasure interacting with everyone in the group. In the world of notoriously spikey bitcoin people, you guys have been an absolute pleasure.... mostly.
I have thoroughly appreciated everyone's input. There have been so many interesting discussions, ideas and concepts bounced around on this page. Thank you all.
We ARE almost there guys, though i can imagine its feeling like an eternity right now. Trust me, it is for me too.
Barntech