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My CPF Online status. Please read.

dat2zip

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 5, 2002
Messages
3,420
Location
Bay Area
The slowdown in the economy has hit us all. Many of you know that the shoppe has throttled back and even tabled or shelved projects to reduce cost and expenditures.

When I get funds built up to a sufficient level I restart a project or new converter board and bring it to market. I do not take prepay for any of my products.

Funds have risen to sufficient levels about every two months over the last 6-8 months. Now it looks more like every 3 months or more to have sufficient funds towards new products.

Also, we have contracts not related to CPF which is keeping us busy.

We are still here, but, are sitting on the sideline waiting for the economy to pick up.

It takes a lot of time to monitor CPF. To ensure timely answers to posts I am proposing monitoring CPF mondays and fridays. You will most likely see my responses on these days. Instead of randomly logging on during the week we all know when I will be on CPF and you know I will probably answer at that time and more than likely not during the other days I'm not on CPF.

As always we get email notifiction of any PMs and our email is up and running when we are awake which we try to answer as soon as we get them.

Answers to emails or enquiries that are too generic or vague are hard to answer and usually raise more questions than answers. Vague and unspecific questions are hard to answer.

If you want a response consider the following information:

1) what battery technology are you using. NiCD, Alkaline, li-ion and which ones do you plan on using. Some people use primary 123s and rechargeable li-ion batteries. How many cells are you going to use. What is the full charge voltage and discharged voltage levels?

2) What LED or LEDs are you using? How many, how will then be wired? Series or parallel. What is the make and model number of the LED. Is this a seoul P4 or a Cree XPE?

3) what is your expected usage? Is this just for show and to blind your friends and only will be on for a few seconds? or used for 10-15 minutes at time to inspect dark alleys???

Take your time composing the email or question. Think about how you would describe the situation to a total stranger.

Questions that are hard to answer are similar to:

"I need a driver for my flashlight. Can you recommend the best one?"

" I have a ***** flashlight. Can you recommend the best reflector for an upgrade"

(Substitute your favorite make/model for the ******)

I may revise the online activity as needed. I'll update this thread if schedules change.

Wayne
 

dat2zip

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 5, 2002
Messages
3,420
Location
Bay Area
If you really need to get answers. IM is the best way. See the thread on how to contact the shoppe for more information.

IM allows you to ask a q, get a response or a Q back many times over a short period of time.

Trying to pose a Q, getting a response and then asking another Q via email is not timely enough and is hard to keep track on our end who said what and when did he/she say this or that. Remember, you are one person and we have to deal with a lot of people.

Wayne
 

dat2zip

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 5, 2002
Messages
3,420
Location
Bay Area
I believe a lot of other people are in worse shape. There are many that don't have homes now or are no longer employed.

I feel very humbled by this situation and very thankful that I can continue my hobby and business out of the home.

Wayne
 

Tekno_Cowboy

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 2, 2008
Messages
1,680
Location
Minnesota
I guess I'd have to qualify there, as I'm unemployed at the moment thanks to a major round of layoffs at Hutchinson Technology. (IIRC, over 1000 people from Hutchinson alone)

Thankfully I've got enough side jobs going to get me by until I get a new job. I'd hate to think what would happen if I wasn't such a handyman.
 

RedLED

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 5, 2006
Messages
3,599
Location
Palm Springs, CA, Beverly Hills, CA, Washington, D
Your honest approach and filling your customers in on what is going on is very good business.

There is not a single person in the country that has not been hit hard by this awful mess. And it may stay like this for a while.

Just want to tell you that you care enough about your customers to post these details.

Good luck, and remember we are all in this together, and I think if businesses help each other it will make things come back quicker.
 

RedLED

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 5, 2006
Messages
3,599
Location
Palm Springs, CA, Beverly Hills, CA, Washington, D
I believe a lot of other people are in worse shape. There are many that don't have homes now or are no longer employed.

I feel very humbled by this situation and very thankful that I can continue my hobby and business out of the home.

Wayne

We still have our house and we have had it quite a while, and I am still doing OK in business, but we are down like everyone else in these times.

I do feel for all the people who lost their homes and jobs or even both.

I was raised with my Grandmother in our house, and she was married in 1923, and rode high like others in that decade, then the crash. They lost quite a bit, and I am glad now I listened to how they survived the depression.

Hope things get better soon, but I think it will take a while as too many people have been hit hard by this.

Best wishes in these hard times,

RL
 
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