EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Introduction and miscellaneous that we haven't created categories for, yet
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joromy
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by joromy »

Jack Bauer wrote: Thu Apr 16, 2020 3:18 pm I will be continuing with the Gen 2 / 3 charger controllers while Johannes takes over the drive unit boards but by all means feel free to make and distribute.
No I would not do that, I just didn't read your messages thorough enough.....

But I will have good capacity to build boards with no restrictions on component choice.
I have only worked with trough hole P&P machines that fill hole rooms, and we all had long hair, many centuries ago.

So I don't have any Idea what I'm getting in to, or how long time it will take......
Thomas A. Edison “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work"
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Jack Bauer
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by Jack Bauer »

In light of recent events I have taken a leaf from Johannes and all boards / products on the evbmw webshop are now classified as kits requiring the end user to fit some components. Where possible all smd / fine pitch parts will be preplaced. Boards will also be supplied programmed.
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Jack Bauer
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by Jack Bauer »

Check out the new sales pitch :
You must support yourself using the resources on the openinverter forum and wiki.
IF YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO DO THIS THEN PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE FROM THIS WEBSITE!

I could sell sand to Arabs me
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mdrobnak
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by mdrobnak »

Yep, tech support takes a _large_ amount of time. Sorry to hear you've been inundated with 'basics' support. :(
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Kevin Sharpe
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by Kevin Sharpe »

Important update on the EVBMW webshop...
Screenshot 2020-05-08 at 16.19.59.png
This is a personal post and I disclaim all responsibility for any loss or damage which any person may suffer from reliance on the information and material in this post or any opinion, conclusion or recommendation in the information and material.
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Jack Bauer
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by Jack Bauer »

Just to let people know I've been out of action thanks to an old back injury the past few days. Slowly on the mend so replies / shipments / updates might be a bit slow.
[sarcasm] I know this is entirely unacceptable and will ask Elon to download me into an android body asap to avoid any further disruptions to service.[/sarcasm]
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by RetroZero »

Blue pill through-hole compatible please :-)
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by bobby_come_lately »

Jack Bauer wrote: Tue May 12, 2020 11:45 am Just to let people know I've been out of action thanks to an old back injury the past few days. Slowly on the mend so replies / shipments / updates might be a bit slow.
[sarcasm] I know this is entirely unacceptable and will ask Elon to download me into an android body asap to avoid any further disruptions to service.[/sarcasm]
Get well soon chap.
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by MattsAwesomeStuff »

Damien - Has workbenches.

Also Damien - Puts everything on the floor.

Now Damien - Calcium spinal structure self-destructs at inconvenient times.

I for one think this is a fantastic development. I fully support our cyborg overlord. I'm thinking, Lobot: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Lobot

Image
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by arber333 »

MattsAwesomeStuff wrote: Tue May 12, 2020 9:47 pm Now Damien - Calcium spinal structure self-destructs at inconvenient times.
We are Openinverter.org.....resistance is futile!
Borg.jpg
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Jack Bauer
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by Jack Bauer »

Thanks guys. Slowly getting back on my feet.
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sonachan1
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by sonachan1 »

I feel your pain. There is nothing worse than the 'crap its gone again' feeling.
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Jack Bauer
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by Jack Bauer »

Folks, I'm not answering any more pm based support questions because then guess what? I get to answer the SAME question 100 times! Isn't that fun. Please use the support threads.
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by JaniK »

Cyborg-damien source code will be uploaded to github too? I could use one of those to help me with my projects :P

Seriously, don't panic and do what you can or rest. You have done more than enough allready. :) But don't retire yet :P
Any opinions are my own, unless stated otherwise. I take no responsibility if you follow my way of doing things and it doesn't work. Please double check with someone who knows what they are doing.
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by adamover »

I understand completely why Damian has done this electronics it's not my background I am a engineer I am new to this and willing to learn
I might well ask some stupid questions but joining the forum like this enables the sharing of information having to do it all myself teaches me along with help from other people in my view that's what makes the world go round
I have recently got my 450 H transmission complete with all the plugs I have ordered a board from Damian I am going to build a test rig before it gets fitted to the car I have spent the last couple of weeks reading through most of the threads to get a better understanding
Sometimes it's a bit over my head but I am aiming to give it a good shot there are some really clever people on this forum and I think it's great that you are willing to share that information otherwise I think this would be a nonstarter from the off
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Jack Bauer
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by Jack Bauer »

Glad to help and to be honest that's what keeps me motivated. Sadly I seem to attract a LOT of noise and bs that quite frankly beats me down. My latest cross to bear seems to be people who paid top dollar to some well known names in the ev game who find themselves cut loose when things go wrong. Then it's the moron in the shed with a mig welder and phone camera picking up the pieces....
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Jack Bauer
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by Jack Bauer »

STOP PM'ING ME AND ASK YOUR QUESTIONS ON THE FORUM WHERE WE CAN ALL BENEFIT!
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Jack Bauer
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by Jack Bauer »

Folks, this is going to be a bit of a long and boring post so I’d strongly recommend not reading:) The catalyst for making this came with a particularly nasty strain of Norovirus that has left me unable to do much of anything this past week. Every time I’d wake up and think of all the house, family, car and ev projects that need some Damien attention. Frustrating doesn’t even touch on how it feels. It can often feel a bit like one of those “world’s strongest man” type of things where the guy has to pull a double decker bus with a rope. Of course it’s not really like that but feelings are hard to shake. Human nature I guess.

Two things that I decided early on when getting involved in selling boards and later board kits to help people use OEM ev parts in their projects was 1) I was not going to attempt to make lots of money. Cost is what holds most DIY ev projects back so I would price things as low as possible. I’d still need to cover costs and make a little profit but nothing more. 2) Time (mine) would be very limited so support would need to be community driven. Be that via the Openinverter forum or whatever else may work. This second point I believe is the most critical and misunderstood. I went to GREAT pains to lay out the reasoning in forum posts and videos. Even so far as to make a specific video on the subject. The following text is displayed on each section of the evbmw webshop to further drive home the point in as succinct a manner as possible :

PLEASE NOTE THE ITEMS FOR SALE ON THIS WEBSITE MUST NOT BE CONSIDERED END USER PRODUCTS. TECHNICAL SKILLS ARE REQUIRED TO GET THEM RUNNING IN YOUR APPLICATION.
IF YOU ARE AT ALL DOUBTFUL ABOUT YOUR ABILITIES IN THIS THEN PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE AND VISIT THE OPENINVERTER FORUM FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

Now even with this in mind some folks think something along the lines of “Ah well if I can’t make it work I’ll just ask Damien for help”. This will typically come in the form of an email or forum pm with very little information on the exact circumstances of the problem, perhaps a description of the person doing somethat is incorrect or not required and a polite (or not) request for assistance. This hits me a double punch : obviously I hate to see anyone struggle and my first instinct would be to jump in and work the problem, that I get these requests DESPITE trying to be as clear as possible that all support must be community / forum based. Why? Because if I did jump in on an one to one basis to assist folks I would have time for nothing else. Let me repeat that : I can choose to either run a support service OR do what I do. Make as many OEM parts open and available for converters. Be they DIY or otherwise through hardware and (my awful) software.

There is another reason none the less important that I advocate the forum for support. If YOU are having a problem with a certain aspect how many others do you think have the SAME problem? So if we fix it for one person we fix it for all people for all time in one fell swoop. Now I gotta say that makes a lot more sense to me as means of support rather than me sitting at a desk bored out of my skull answering the SAME question 50 times a week like some half baked IT support service. Best of all the support is available when you need it. Not just on my time frame.

But of course some people want a bit more of a personal approach to support and I’ll tell you how that works : I will indeed answer questions and help to solve problems but only via the support thread on the Openinverter forum! Why? See above. Best of all it’s free. No paid support here. Then the answer is available to all. Even better if I’m not there at the time, have other engagements or just don’t have an answer then others may very well be able to jump in with the answer.

Now a little guide on helping the helpers. “It’s not working” is a great start to a post on a support thread but not enough by itself. Describe as much as possible. Don’t leave out any details or steps you took despite how obvious they may seem. Pictures are great but don’t spam. If a picture is relevant to a better description of a particular issue than great. If not just describe. Post support requests and problems in the SUPPORT THREAD! Obvious right but I see a lot of new threads pop up with catchy titles like “HELP NEEDED URGENTLY” etc. etc. Probably seems like a good idea when frustrated and trying to get the attention of myself or others who may be able to offer assistance. Let’s say it works and you get an answer and get up an running. What do you think happens to that catchy thread in a few days or a week? That’s right. It drops off the radar and that catchy title that got the answer you needed so badly is not very searchable so the answer is lost to others. Whereas the support threads are pinned. That means they stay on page 1 of the forum regardless and can be searched in a matter or seconds using a keyword such as say a pin number, IC identifier etc.

I make some of the most boring videos on the internet. Just for you. Certainly not for clicks, money or ego boosting. Where possible I will have included links on the support threads for these videos that while uber long and boring are designed to transfer as much knowledge as possible about the topic in question. They are another free tool that I provide with the express purpose of answering questions in as detailed and personal a manner as possible. I hope soon to be back making more of these to update the info as the past year has been quite tumultuous for me personally (moving house) and for the world with things like the chip shortage and inflation playing havoc with the availability of previously very common electronic parts such as the STM32F1 family of microcontrollers on which most of my kits are based. Sadly I get a lot of folks who may watch a few minutes of say a 1 hour video and either go off and do the wrong thing or pepper me with questions over a range of media (YouTube comments, email, forum pms etc.) which are actually answered in he very same video in much more detail than I can provide in an hour of typing! I have taken to making my videos available on both YouTube (free to me....so far) and Vimeo (I pay for this) to try and make the info more accessible and ensure it doesn't get lost when good ol’ pootube decide I’ve tripped over some rule I’ve never heard about.

Finally (phew!), what can you do to help? Well the best help YOU can give is by parcipitiatg in the forum and helping others. Answer a question or two. Post a picture of your build. Make an improvement on something and tell us about it. Doesn't have to be electronics or software if that’s not your thing. A simple bracket or 3d print. Hell even an idea that could spawn some thinking. If that’s not for you then throw me a few bucks on Patreon or PayPal. I use that money to fund my extravagant lifestyle future and current developments including buying more OEM parts for hacking and open source reverse engineering. So that’s it. Hope this helps to clarify things a bit and make my reasons more understandable. I’ll post this in various places to try and get the message out. Thanks for taking the time to read and I’ll see you in the next uber boring video :)
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mjc506
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by mjc506 »

I'm sorry to hear of your recent illness (hope you're recovering!) and repeated support requests.

Perhaps out of line with what you're aiming for, but how about "offering" one-to-one support, but at an hourly rate that would a) make it worth your while and b) manage demand. People tend to respect a service more when they're aware of its value, and it's yet another place to direct people back to the free support on the forum.

Or just set up a "support@evbmw.com" that just gets redirected to Johannes :-)
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by Alibro »

I still don't understand why you don't make money from PooTube.
Everybody else does including me. :shock:
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Jack Bauer
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Re: EVBMW Product Support Explanation Video

Post by Jack Bauer »

Because pootube (poogle) consider what I do to be prohibited under their monetisation rules. Hence vimeo backup for when/if my channel vanishes mysteriously.
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