I know there are a lot of users waiting for the Wireless Beta to complete and little info on progress so one of the most numerous questions I keep getting is
"Whats going on in the beta and when will it be finished?"
Well first for the rumors that like to always pop up :
No there are no big issues that have us all quite. We have been making small incremetal improvments to the design all through the beta to give you the best product we can.
What this means is parts and code changes happen and require us to start testing again.
So that you understand what kind of changes here are a few that have been made permanant. And few of these show why you do not release a parts list for a device in beta.
The power wall wart on the TX and the standalone RX has been changed. This gave us a less exspensive one that actually runs the voltage regulators cooler,waste less power, saves you money and is stocked in larger quanities with shorter lead times.
The connectors on the express module was changed with a lot of work on Vairmoose's part to find a much better connector that prevent the plugging in of the module incorrectly and supports the module much better with a tighter fit.
A few changes to the PCB's have been made to make assembly easier.
The firmware has been tweaked to increase the performance of the system.
The adapted express modules were tested on a SSR4 to verfy that it appears to function as I expected and posted.
We have a real crackerjack Beta team on this and at this point they have given it the go ahead for their shows so I believe we will give it the go ahead for everyone elses very soon.
This means we can close the coops for the stuff and get it coming. Make sure you have what you want in the coops as I will not wait after the go ahead is given and will move right ahead to get the stuff moving.
The pcb's will get ordered and as soon as I can get them back, some will be sent to the case manufactor to fit cases for us and they will start machining them.
The parts coop can get ordered so that the backorders get moving. I know the RF modules are backordered so Bill will want to get our orders in as soon a possible so you can be building as soon as possible.
What I am saying is do not sit waiting to enter you coop orders till the beta is over as it will be too late. I do not want all the PM's later like with the expresses complianing you did not get what you need in the coop.
I expect this will be the only coop for the wireless this year as the demand will be met. I will have some spare PCB's as normal but they are intended for new members not for the members that just never got around to ordering on the coops.
RJ