First he asked for help here, then ISTR you gave him a lead.
Then IIRC he basically brusquely told you that he had it sorted and didn’t need your help. Instead of a polite thank-you. Charming.
Now it seems he did nothing.
(I may have mis-remembered the details, but that was the gist).
Now the latest surprise that sourcing the Carclo optics is proving a problem. Doh!
They could always call Carclo in the UK and ask to source them direct, or ask them for leads to serious suppliers who have them or can get them. Even just scrape a handful together to get things moving, and final final, very much final production standard prototypes sent to the key people for a final confirmation, using the real final LEDs, not just the random ones scraped together so far to get something out to a handful of key people.
Once you are at proto 5 with some things still not quite right, you have to question whether things will converge, or basic competency. Or look on the bright side, and hope that it will be absolutely perfect, the best thing ever.
Rare, IME.
The cautious may still delay ordering until user feedback appears from early adopters, the more eyes the better. Paid dividends for Q8 buyers, after Wim bravely stopped the line on the first batch, and insisted many things unexpectedly done wrongly by the manufacturer doing their own thing were fixed before the second run.
I’d have been gutted to get one from the first run.
Hopefully distribution and interest list management will run more smoothly than previous efforts from Lumintop. Doubtless that is all in place and will run like a smoothly oiled machine, lessons having been learned.
Procurement/buying seems not to be a strong point here. Last minute efforts, broken promises, unexpected surprises. It’s not as if they haven’t had all the time in the world to get their ducks in a row and push the buttons in good time. Lack of commitment, or just incompetence, or attempted penny-pinching.
Basic stuff, once a supplier gets a hint that you are desperate, and there are few if any others, naturally the price goes up for rare parts. Consequences of dithering, failure to commit, or not having a long-standing ongoing relationship.
Very disappointing, and dare I say unprofessional. Asleep at the wheel. Had hoped for better.
What will be the next surprise/excuse ?
Rant off.