The new and LAST USL build update thread!

[js]

OK. So SilverFox will be dropping by Bill's place 6 days from now! And will then mail the stuff to me shortly after that.

Also, I got an email from Bill explaining his life-troubles over the past 18 months, which were the reason for all of the delays and lack of communication. That phase of things is now over, or at least letting up a bit, however, so I'm hoping that he will have everything ready to hand off to SilverFox when he gets there this coming Saturday. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that that is a safe bet. I told Tom to bring some boxes, and he has plenty of room in his vehicle, so it seems reasonable to assume that he will be able, by hook or by crook, to grab all the supplies, components, chargers, and power supplies. I think I will have to explicitly tell both Tom and Bill that, yes, Tom should take the power supplies as well. This will release Bill of any further responsibilities on this project, and allow me to take over.

Let's hope it all goes smoothly and as expected.

 

[addictedmatt]

Good luck! Hopefully you wont need it.

 

[Westy]

I hope he's got all necessary $'s to hand over to fully cover the shipping we've prepaid etc....don't want you out of pocket Jim! Let us know if any top ups required.

(truly fair would have been hourly payments to Jim for this followup saga! - garnisheed from XXXs check).

 

[plasmaman]

A huge vote of thanks to Tom and Jim for giving us something to look forward to!

 

[HarryN]

When I read this thread, it makes me so relieved that I only spent my own time and money in an attempt to make my "Breeze" light. Until you actually attempt something which really breaks new ground:
- design
- find suppliers
- test components (several times)
- purchase parts
- Invest MUCH more money into it than you will ever get back regardless of pre-pay or not.
- have things fabricated by suppliers (several times)
- Learn new things about optics, electronics, parts fabrication
- deal with out of tolerance parts
- worry about liability
- Worry about your reputation
- worry about your suppliers coming through (or still existing by the time you need them)
- deal with orders, extras, and changes
- deal with the anxiety of "will it ever work like my proto?"
- deal with the realities of life, work, etc.
- deal with your wife getting really tired of flashlights and flashlight parts around the house.

You just cannot imagine what a toll it takes on a person.

It is a lot of work just to build the first proto (ask JS about his first M6-R ), but building a bunch - it is a whole different level again.

I hope that if someone else takes on the task of attempting another ground breaking light, they consider a slightly different funding path:

a) Payment 1 - Payment for interested people who are willing to help fund the development, with no expectation of receiving a finished product, but will get the "option" to buy one if things work out.

b) Payment 2 - Payment for the product by people who bought into the phase 1 - payment 1 concept.

For anyone who thinks this is an unfair concept, consider that I dropped $ X thousands (I refuse publish how much) into development of a light (with no revenue), and I am guessing that this light has to be in the multi K range as well.

I really wish the best for everyone, but please remember that your payments probably don't even cover 1/3 of the parts costs to get to the point of delivery.

Nonetheless, I can understand the challenge of purchasing, waiting and imagining that these things are straightforward.

 

[Westy]

No offense Harryn, sorry you got in further than you wanted. (sounds like you did anyhow).

SNIP..
1) You just cannot imagine what a toll it takes on a person.
snip...

2)Nonetheless, I can understand the challenge of purchasing, waiting and imagining that these things are straightforward.

#1 - why not? We don't live on couches with a matched IQ to cushions, the carreers of many here and even solely intelligence alone of many members can envisage the steps involved you note. It can be as open a process as the builder likes or closed. Unfortunate if they fall way short $ wise no question but that perhaps discerns the abilities and talents of many and who should perhaps carry on in such ventures.


#2 - not sure who imagines these custom lights are straightforward. I don't. Not one item noted in your list surprises me except perhaps your thousands/our only covering 1/3 etc, but that's to the builder and their planning. I LIVE that process, nothing easy about it but that's work/hobby or not and if I !#$ up thousands it's out of my business pocket. Accountability and ownership - I support these.

Westy (hopes this is THE last USL thread and it closes off with useful updates to completion)

 

[js]

Well . . .

Bill responded to my email about Tom dropping by this Saturday, and said that, yes, Tom called him last night, but unfortunately, he (Bill) will be out of town this weekend working.

He says he has started the process, and has taken half of next week off to finish it, so he will get it in the mail to me either Friday or Saturday of next week if the post office is open those days. (It's not).

Part of the issue, he said, is that there are lots of unsold parts and bodies, so he has to make sure I get what I need, but not all the extras that complicate the build. (It's more complicated to build a light with no parts to start with, though . . .)

He says he has started boxing up the power supplies, and that he is just going to ship them direct to the buyers. They will get their power supplies probably before they get their lights, he thinks. (Indeed.)

******

So, there it is. I was going to suggest that Bill leave the parts with his wife or son or neighbor, so Tom could pick them up. Or that maybe he could take the weekend off instead of half of next week. Or that I don't care if the build is "complicated" by extra parts. Extra parts are a problem I'd love to have, actually.

But, really, what's the point . . .

Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to wait and see if Bill has mailed out all the stuff by the Friday of the week after Thanksgiving, the 5th of December.

And if that doesn't happen . . .

I'm

going

to get

angry.

 

[cmacclel]

Jesus JS this is getting absolutely rediculous

One excuse after another.......pretty sad. He should just give you every little thing he has, never mind sorting things out! You and SilverFox have gone above and beyond with no end in sight

Take half of next week off? All he has to do is toss everything in a box and hand it off to SilverFox then if there is any extra parts they can just be sent back to him, and he misses no work!

I think things are more than they appear!

Mac

 

[Westy]

definitely stinks, no reason at all he even had to be their let alone he had more than ample notice, let alone the nerve of him holding back to ensure 'neat line' quantities only are delivered - huge sympathies to JS and silverfox....Bill shipping out power supplies, more utter BS dreaming- above was for direct pickup, no harder than boxing a few lunches....

Westy (wondering how many original owners that paid via mailed funds remain for that method of legal followup)

PS, was looking fwd to the 'pickup' update, now I'm snapping

 

[js]

So far, no packages have arrived at my door. And it turns out the post office was open on Friday and Saturday--at least here in Ithaca--so they should have been here by now. If Bill shipped on Monday, I should get them this afternoon.

Somehow, I'm less than optimistic for some unexplainable reason . . .

Ah well, we shall see. Three days left (including today).

 

[js]

Still nothing . . .

One more day.

 

[js]

And nothing today on my porch. No packages. Nothing. Nada.

Not good.

And, of course, no word from Bill: no call, no email, nothing. This whole thing is starting to seem strangely familiar. Oh wait . . . that's right, ANDREW WYNN ROUSE.

I honestly never thought it would come to this. I really didn't. But here we are.

I think it's time to explore other options.

 

[addictedmatt]

I don't get it. Does he actually have the stuff? Why wouldn't he give it up? Maybe he has gone mad, and he wants the worlds largest collection of USL's all to himself. This is crazy. My offer to help still stands. I can donate some new hosts or whatever else is needed.

 

[Carpe Diem]

Hi JS...

Thanks for the updates.

Please keep me posted, kind sir.

:shrug:

 

[paulr]

Jim, kudos for your heroic efforts in this project. I hope Tom can pick up the stuff from Bill sometime since my guess is that it won't go out any other way. Jerimoth (#231), no, I haven't received anything, I haven't been following this thread too closely. I hope something comes out of it, but if not, I just don't have it in me to get too worked up about it, for reasons I've already explained.

 

[Codeman]

...ANDREW WYNN ROUSE...

Or DSpeck. Attempts to recover the money from that fiasco have been going on for a couple of years now.

I don't know what's going on with Bill, but he obviously isn't the same person that he was a couple of years ago.

 

[js]

Well, I'm not going to get all that angry. I'm too disgusted and disappointed for that. But I will reveal some things.

For starters, more than a year ago I made the same offer to Bill in private that I made just recently in public: I offered to take over the project entirely; I even offered to pay for the shipping for him to send me all the parts.

He declined.

At this point I'm pretty sure that Bill never even mailed out all the lights that I built for him a year ago. I made 17 (is that right?) lights for him. At that time the battery packs were right on the edge of being too low in voltage, and I was worried about them. I didn't want to spend too much time cycling them and testing them, but I did give them all a quick partial charge to bump their voltage back up to safe levels.

So, if Bill hasn't touched them since then, those packs are ALL dead. D-E-D dead. As are all the spare packs waiting to be built into lights. If Bill couldn't even be bothered to post to this thread, I doubt he cycled two dozen USL packs to keep them fresh.

So they're toast.

This whole thing is a bust. A waste. It's over. The USL project is dead. I formally declare it. We can't even get an effing LIST of the people who are still due their orders.

So, now what?

I propose that on a case by case basis, I try to do something for everyone who never got their USL's. I can build custom lights, or custom packs, or whatever. We could even create an entirely new project.

I was thinking that a light that used a C size Mag host and four of the A123 systems batteries and a 62138 would be a killer light. A lot longer than a USL, but pretty darned cool nonetheless. And immune to overdischarge and death due to neglect. I'd be willing to undertake some such project. Or build some special regulated lights for everyone.

Let's have some ideas here. Let me know what people would like (besides never to have given Bill any money).

And I will think about starting a new thread. How about "The USL build is dead: long live the USL build--or NOT!"

 

[wquiles]

js, thanks for keeping this going as long as it has been.

I was one who also got burned by lies and promises from AWR, and I would like to help as well. In fact, my involvement in the PhD (Hotwire Regulated Design Collaboration project) has been focused on bringing a regulated variant that will work in the SF M6 since I know many folks were left wanting a regulated solution for the M6:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2731699#post2731699

Perhaps we can leverage this work (we now have running hardware and software driving real hotire bulbs!) and come up with solutions for both the M6 and the "new" USL project.

Let me know how I can be of help/assistance.

Will

 

[mst3k]

Theory time. You guys remember way way back when the project was just getting going? Remember that fire Bill had in his kitchen? I imagine that fire cost a considerable amount to fix. Let's say there were 60 of us that sent Bill an average of $400. Hmmmmmmm, Bill had a fire and suddenly found himself with an excess of over $24,000 in his bank account. I'm thinking, fix house and hopefully find a way to raise that money back later for the USL build. I'm also guessing that Bill doesn't have the parts necessary to complete the project and this is why he is so reluctant to let anyone come to his house to pick up the parts.

I thought this was the case long ago, which is also why I think Bill denied letting Jim take over the project so long ago as well.

I really hope I'm not right, but I guess it really doesn't matter anymore.
I just hate that Bill is getting to skate with our money and nothing is going to be done about it, but oh well. This isn't the first time I've lost this amount of money on a project gone awry.

Oh well, Merry Christmas everyone! Time for happy thoughts now.

:thumbsup:

 

[flashlightgordon]

Hi guys. Well it's been a long time since I heard of the USL, and signed on in anticipation and excitement. A great idea that made my little flashoholic heart beat a little faster. During the past years(!) waiting patiently, there have been several ups and downs reading posts on the USL, hoping for a happy ending. That being down the drain, I would like to thank everyone who tried to be a part of the solution, and put up at fight to complete the project. As for Bill, if he continues to deal with the challenges in his life as he has done with this project, so be it - i'm sure that he will get what he deserves, sooner or later.

Another project featuring a light with some considerable "wow" factor, sounds great.