500 Lumen - AAA Flashlight (photos) - Work In Progress - Part 2

[cnlson]

I think I did read it correctly that all lights were shipped. That's an effort unto itself considering how lengthy the process of shipping international packages can be.

This is really exciting. Congratulations on reaching a huge milestone in this project.

i'm pretty sure, since he mentioned only part of 4 would be in this batch, that "all shipped" means all that he had right now. Not coincidentally, I am in batch 4 so I'm excited, but not sure mine is one the way.

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Thanks for all the posts and support.
I'll most likely catch up on them tomorrow but thought I'd share a quick update in the meantime as I know that's probably the info you most want to be reading (as would I).

Tracking numbers, I haven't sent any out yet, will do that tomorrow as I want to get as many packages out as possible by tonight (which means before sunrise), then I can send out mails when I'm away from home during the day.

Taking a little more time than planned but aiming to at least reach end of window 3 tonight, and expecting to reach at least half way into window 4 by tomorrow.
Then I'll know accurately how many of window 4 are ready for shipping.

Expecting more Torpedos within roughly a 1 week (enough to complete all of window 4 and hoping to reach into window 5) .

Also, working on a time estimate for the rest but as I'm going to need some more PCBs made, still waiting to hear back on components and fabrication and I'll post more details on that.

Thanks for your patience and looking forward to send out some tracking numbers tomorrow.

Tgwnn

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Ok, just back from the post office.

I went upstairs to get some more envelopes from a huge box and under the few large ones on top were all smaller ones (not going to fit).
Ordered some more which will be here tomorrow.

So I've shipped part way through window 3 (with the exception of 2 or 3 that needed some additional items (eg. total of more than 5 nukes as I need to pack them separately), and will ship more again tomorrow.

...going to read through posts in a moment.

Tgwnn

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Holy cats after all this we are just days away from landing! Weeee!

Hi nbp,

My guess is the first one should land Wednesday as it was an EMS, then with a little luck, some more this coming weekend or early the following week.

Weeee! lol

I can't wait to see all the feedback from the masses! This is the most exciting beta I've ever witnessed and it has barely started!

Thanks Alex,
back breaking, wallet breaking and eventually, record breaking :thumbsup:

No offense to TGWNN at all, but I just was looking at Part 1 and was amused to see that the 1st production run was hoped for by Christmas of 2011. Lol. Who knew there was so much that went into designing a flashlight?!?! I sure didn't realize all the work that would go into this! Pretty cool to be a part of it.


I have to ask, Guy, do you have a wife and/or kids? I would curious to know what they think of this project so far. And I can't be the only one who is also quite curious about what you do for work that you could afford the R/D that has gone into the MBI projects so far, since you have made the comment before that this project is far from breaking even. You may have no name, but I am interested in your story.

Hi nbp,

Absolutely no offense taken
Retrospectively, its a very good thing I had no idea what I was getting into or else it may never have started
Thanks so much for being a part of it.

I have a lovely wife (Mrs. Guy) and 2 kids (li'l Guys).
Mrs. Guy has been a huge help lately (putting the nukes into the Torpedo Case head and all kinds of other things.
li'l Guys helped with sticking the MBI stickers on the envelopes and the Barking Guy (that'd be our dog, let us know when it was time for fresh air (that means needs to be walked).
Just as a roughtimate, taking into account all the prototypes and costs to date, each Torpedo X cost perhaps 3X the actual ticket price if I were to divide by number of Xs.
Perhaps 30% of that is attributed to being my first project of this kind and thus may be considered learning expenses.
That assumes that the thousand plus hours I've put in to make it happen are at zero cost.

My daytime work....
part dreamer, part problem solver, part technician, part stupid
I have to stay stupid enough to not see or buy into the limitations that are obvious,
that allows me to use technical skills to dream up solutions to problems.

Some days can be peaceful but there's usually always some impossible deadline to meet and on the crazy days, it can call for intense focus and plenty of mcgyver tactics to stay afloat.

I guess that could be describing quite a lot of scenarios but unfortunately, there are some work imposed restrictions which prevent me from discussing it all (even though I am working towards vaporizing them).

Good luck nbp. We've tried squeezing the story out of him. He's just said we will find out at some point. It's got to be quite a job.

He does have a wife and 1 or 2 kids. He went on vacation at the end of last year.
(Not a stalker, I promise)

Thanks Alex
Spot on as usual
Helluva job indeed. Perhaps a few too many "need to save the world in 24hrs" moments but I tend to enjoy a good challenge and thankfully the job seems to mellow with time.

Woo hoo!

Flying now..... Woo hooo

Maybe he has a kid and 2 wives?

... and one of them had a baby but she wasn't sure if it was hers :duh2: ??


Just one great wife for me

Great news! And now the mailmen stalking begins I hope mine was one that made it as I ended up somewhere in batch #4.

Thanks Cataract,
Almost there though I think I spotted it earlier this evening

Massive milestone (kilometre stone?) TGWNN. Kudos to you! And thank you.

Thanks so much Heywood Floyd,
Definitely a kilostone :twothumbs

I have to say that as these are eXperimental, its somewhat nervewracking(ish)
but looking forward to using this as a springboard to make the real deal!

Wow! Great reading, great pics, fantastic work! Bet you're glad to be at this point in the game! Sleep, precious sleep, let the kids shovel the snow (give them a few Torpedo's and they can melt the driveway clear)

Thanks Dale,
Very happy though this weekend has felt like a dream.
My next critical priority is getting more PCBs made so I can be sure to complete window 5.

Quick question, if we didn't get a tracking number, should we assume we aren't in this shipment? Or that you are catching up on two years of sleep deprivation?

Hi cnlson,
I think I answered already in my previous post
but Alex has it right below too.
I have to send these mails out one by one, type each tracking number from the shipping slip etc..
My preference is to get things in the post as soon as I can, then whilst its on route, there will be plenty of time to send the tracking number but for the X I'll plan to send out mails tomorrow and will of course post more details here on status.

I'm going to guess that he hasn't posted tracking numbers get. Mary be a few days to get them all out.

:thumbsup:

I think I did read it correctly that all lights were shipped. That's an effort unto itself considering how lengthy the process of shipping international packages can be.

This is really exciting. Congratulations on reaching a huge milestone in this project.

Thanks so much ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond,
Apologies if my post was ambiguous, I need to re-read it but what I meant was all the Torpedos that were here, rather than the entire pre-order batch.
Not sure how but the shipping on this round is far more expensive than I expected.
Guessing it might be the extra 196gm of the Calendar, that clocks it over 500gm (something like 504gm)
.

i'm pretty sure, since he mentioned only part of 4 would be in this batch, that "all shipped" means all that he had right now. Not coincidentally, I am in batch 4 so I'm excited, but not sure mine is one the way.

You got it,
well interpreted and sorry not yet for batch 4 but will be working through that tomorrow as mentioned.

Tgwnn

 

[Bimmerboy]

Torpedium.

LOL

Barking Guy

LOL!!

My daytime work....
part dreamer, part problem solver, part technician, part stupid
I have to stay stupid enough to not see or buy into the limitations that are obvious,
that allows me to use technical skills to dream up solutions to problems.

I bet you're Willy Wonka, and have little orange unicorns called Uniloompas.

 

[Bimmerboy]

looking forward to using this as a springboard to make the real deal!

And I'm looking forward to buying the real deal (as well as a bunch of other stuff from you)!

I had only posted a couple times at the beginning of this adventure 2 1/2 years ago, but have been following the whole time. I'm breaking my silence this new year to put in my congratulations to you, as others have before, for doing all this, well,... stuff! LOL Best wishes for continued success!

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Just sent out a batch of "its on the way" emails.....

I bet you're Willy Wonka, and have little orange unicorns called Uniloompas.

Hi Bimmerboy,

We'll need to find a mate for Uni who then might give birth to some Uniloompas

And I'm looking forward to buying the real deal (as well as a bunch of other stuff from you)!

I had only posted a couple times at the beginning of this adventure 2 1/2 years ago, but have been following the whole time. I'm breaking my silence this new year to put in my congratulations to you, as others have before, for doing all this, well,... stuff! LOL Best wishes for continued success!

Much appreciated and thanks so much for following since way back when.

It's gotten totally out of hand since post #1 (LOL) but in a pleasant way.
The goal is to have fun, making fun stuff


Tgwnn

 

[Endalaus]

Just received my shipping notice, thanks Guy. Can hardly believe the time is almost here! After following the torpedo for the last couple of years I have to say that it must be a truly unique project with the thoughts and help of so many experts on tap, can't wait to get it in my hands!

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Just received my shipping notice, thanks Guy. Can hardly believe the time is almost here! After following the torpedo for the last couple of years I have to say that it must be a truly unique project with the thoughts and help of so many experts on tap, can't wait to get it in my hands!

Hi Endalaus,

Thanks for posting and still being here after all this time, and of course my pleasure.
Sure is very exciting being able to send them out, even though they are eXperimental,
and feels like we are closer to the end goal.


I received a delivery of a few more Xs today.
It will most likely be the last for a couple of weeks.

I spoke with my new PCB fabrication partners that I've been working with the last few months.
They've made 4 PCBs for me so far and are truly a pleasure to work with.
The answer to every question is always "Yes".

They rescued us in agreeing to send out components to TheGun as there were none in stock for what we needed.
I'm hoping to use them for production but also to make some more to make up for the ones that got killed during assembly.

Of course they not only agreed, they spoke to TheGun today to double check everything and he's sending them a finished proto to verify before they start.

Tgwnn

 

[sticktodrum]

I woke up in the middle of the night, and saw the email. I seriously almost yelped in excitement, but just barely managed to hold in a scream that would have woken my wife.
It's on its way! Aaaaahhhh!

Thanks Guy. I'll post a nice video when this puppy arrives, provide a bit of entertainment.

 

[NowIC]

Yeah! Received my shipping notice, and such a nice letter it was. Guy, I really hope this light does well. For selfish reasons for sure, but also because I so much want you to have this success. You've earned it, and you're just such a great guy. I hope you get rich and your life is filled with happiness. You've made me feel a part of something meaningful. And you've practically paid me for the privilege (you only charge a fraction of the cost to develop). Congratulations on this beta release! I will do my best to keep my end of the bargain and provide you with helpful feedback on the Torpedo X.

 

[TEEJ]

.....
Not sure how but the shipping on this round is far more expensive than I expected.
Guessing it might be the extra 196gm of the Calendar, that clocks it over 500gm (something like 504gm)
.....


Tgwnn

Use a hole punch, 'lil trim, etc, to remove ~ 4 grams of calendar?

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Another good sized batch going out tonight and more mails tomorrow so please hang in there....

I woke up in the middle of the night, and saw the email. I seriously almost yelped in excitement, but just barely managed to hold in a scream that would have woken my wife.
It's on its way! Aaaaahhhh!

Thanks Guy. I'll post a nice video when this puppy arrives, provide a bit of entertainment.

Hi sticktodrum,

Thanks so much for the post and will look forward to the video :twothumbs

Yeah! Received my shipping notice, and such a nice letter it was. Guy, I really hope this light does well. For selfish reasons for sure, but also because I so much want you to have this success. You've earned it, and you're just such a great guy. I hope you get rich and your life is filled with happiness. You've made me feel a part of something meaningful. And you've practically paid me for the privilege (you only charge a fraction of the cost to develop). Congratulations on this beta release! I will do my best to keep my end of the bargain and provide you with helpful feedback on the Torpedo X.

Hi NowIC,
Thanks so much for playing a part and my pleasure of course.
Still slogging away here but its going very smoothly now that I've got everything into a system of sort.
Look forward to the feedback and then really driving this baby home to being what it truly can be.

Use a hole punch, 'lil trim, etc, to remove ~ 4 grams of calendar?

Thanks TEEJ,
That's a good idea....
Can't hurt the calendar but I'll experiment with the envelopes

Tgwnn

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Heading to the Post Office now....

I'm about 2 Xs short of finishing Window 3 and perhaps one or two Torps from the other windows that need something else checked/packed but gotta head out before I pass out.

Tomorrow planning to re-check everything to make sure I've completed all orders up to Window 3 including the ones with extra requirements and also expect to start shipping Window 4 tomorrow which might need 2 days to complete.

Have to also inspect the new Torpedo Xs that arrived today and then I'll have a final number of whats shippable this week.
Once confirmed, I'll send an email to everyone who's X has not yet shipped with more details.

Tgwnn

 

[GhostReaction]

Though I m new to MBI and been MIA on CPF. This thread rocks.
I can't wait to get the production on mbi website.
Keep up the fantastic work Guy! :rock:

 

[CaptainRogersUK]

guy,
i have not received a shipping notice from what i can see. could you confirm for me by pm or here which window I was in.... not having much luck with deliveries lately. also still waiting for confirmation of hf ti you were working on.. lol

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Though I m new to MBI and been MIA on CPF. This thread rocks.
I can't wait to get the production on mbi website.
Keep up the fantastic work Guy! :rock:

Thanks GhostReaction,

Much appreciated

guy,
i have not received a shipping notice from what i can see. could you confirm for me by pm or here which window I was in.... not having much luck with deliveries lately. also still waiting for confirmation of hf ti you were working on.. lol

Hi Captain,

Just confirmed you are in Window 5.
The easiest way to confirm it is if you check your original confirmation mail from Paypal it will say something like:
"Torpedo X Ultimate W5"
W = Window

On the HF Ti, will check mails later tonight and mail you as I thought I was waiting to hear back on the HF-Rs



In the meantime....
Total emergency day at work so most likely won't be able to send out any "shipped" mail until late tonight my time.
Thanks in advance for your patience.

Tgwnn

 

[sledhead]

Nice. Checked my PP....W3. Excellent! Really was not sure where I was.

 

[Bimmerboy]

We'll need to find a mate for Uni who then might give birth to some Uniloompas

Hey, Cataract... would you happen to be a redhead?

 

[TEEJ]

Another good sized batch going out tonight and more mails tomorrow so please hang in there....



Hi sticktodrum,

Thanks so much for the post and will look forward to the video :twothumbs


Hi NowIC,
Thanks so much for playing a part and my pleasure of course.
Still slogging away here but its going very smoothly now that I've got everything into a system of sort.
Look forward to the feedback and then really driving this baby home to being what it truly can be.



Thanks TEEJ,
That's a good idea....
Can't hurt the calendar but I'll experiment with the envelopes

Tgwnn

If what's BEHIND where it says MBI is OK, I'd cut out the outline of the letters to shave the weight....

Or use an upsized punch to make the holes for the spiral part of the binder large enough to lose the 4 grams.