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Author Topic: DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!  (Read 7658 times)

Patrick Truchon

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Re: DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!
« Reply #75 on: July 03, 2016, 10:26:04 PM »

1). Brandon is working like his ass off to make a solid charger.
2). Brandon is an engineer, and has poor customer service skills.
3). Brandon is 1 person working on this after his full time job.

I agree with all these points and have a lot of respect for how hard Brandon is working to make this happen.  I wouldn't actually mind the delays if there was more transparency about the progress and the challenges being addressed.  A short blog post every few days would not only help quench my curiosity, but it would also help me plan my summer trips.  I've had to cancel several weekend trips already because I thought I'd have the charger by now.  Not having the charger is not a big deal.  Thinking I would have it and not having it is.  Better communication would help that.
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dukecola

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Re: DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!
« Reply #76 on: July 04, 2016, 05:07:39 AM »

I've been speaking with one of the dealers, they are telling me if I place my order that Diginow says they'll be shipping that batch 15 AUG.  Is this a pipe dream, as I see those who already placed orders haven't even gotten theirs yet. Reason I'm concerned is that up north here, the riding season ends in late Sep, so even a Aug 15th ship date, that means I'll have the charger for about 6 weeks before season is over.  So, I really can't take much delays, otherwise I'd just might as well wait till March and get one then for next year. However, my bike should be here next week and all I'll have is the base stock charger and that means no long trips this year :-(  Now I'm wondering if I should get a Elcon so at least I have a higher capacity charger until Digi is shipping regularly.
« Last Edit: July 04, 2016, 05:18:39 AM by dukecola »
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Doug S

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Re: DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!
« Reply #77 on: July 04, 2016, 06:06:38 AM »

Not to spread misinformation around, but there is an unsubstantiated rumor, from a probably reliable source, that the first batch of chargers has shipped to Hollywood Electrics for final testing, followed by packaging and shipping. Dunno what "final testing" encompasses, but that's what I've heard.

Obviously this is third-hand information, and it would REEEEAAAAAALLY be nice to hear something official, but I suspect it's not going to be too long before the trickle becomes a little bit more of a flow.
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Shadow

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Re: DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!
« Reply #78 on: July 04, 2016, 11:33:46 AM »

...I'd just might as well wait till March and get one then for next year. However, my bike should be here next week and all I'll have is the base stock charger and that means no long trips this year :-(  Now I'm wondering if I should get a Elcon so at least I have a higher capacity charger until Digi is shipping regularly.
Keep in mind if in USA and looking for tax credit, that the Alternative Refueling Tax Credit (up to a maximum of $1000 in credits) on EV Charging accessories has not yet been extended for next year and you'd have to take delivery by end of 2016 tax year to qualify. Just the $3000 base cost of a SuperCharger without any of the required accessories already maxes out this incentive. See form: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-access/f8911_accessible.pdf
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MostlyBonkers

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DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!
« Reply #79 on: July 04, 2016, 12:55:01 PM »

Hmm, it seems work ethic is a touchy subject... Just for the record, I never suggested that Brandon or anyone else wasn't working their socks off on this project. In fact, when he had his accident, I encouraged him to take it easy for a while.

I must admit I was disappointed when I emailed Craig at Hollywood Electrics and didn't get a response. I got an initial response asking me to ring him. That's not practical for me due to the time difference and their opening hours. Making a call from home in the late evening would cost me a fortune from my mobile too.  So I replied back asking for a price list and shipping costs to the UK and was ignored. I know they've been busy with Pikes Peak, so it's not such a big deal. However, it can't be good customer service to ignore a very straightforward request for information.

I'm all for flexible working. I don't start work until 10:30. However, a retail business should work around their customers. Most dealers are open by 8:30, or 9am on Saturdays. It's good to get a test ride in early so it's done and I can get on with the rest of my day with my family.

The lack of communication with this project has been a shame. It doesn't matter to me so much, but it is important to those planning their summers around the product. Terry has helped with his updates and I'm sure that is appreciated.

Ben is right, patience is a virtue. Unfortunately I think everyone's expectations were raised a bit too early and the result is that people are getting frustrated.

Someone mentioned a riding season finishing in mid September. How far north is that? Greenland? ;-) Wear warm clothes and keep riding until it ices up. Oh, and wait for the super charger. It's only worth going through the hassle and expense once.

Just my two cents and apologies for shit stirring by joking about lazy Californians. Did I mention they're soft as shite too and all Americans take themselves far too seriously? It's as if they think they're a cut above everyone else on the planet and they're about to vote Trump in as their next president.... ;-) Present company excepted on this forum of course. I'd hate anyone to take offence! If we don't maintain a sense of humor we'll just end up like the Germans... :p
« Last Edit: July 04, 2016, 12:57:08 PM by MostlyBonkers »
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Semper Why

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Re: DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!
« Reply #80 on: July 05, 2016, 03:39:40 AM »

Can't you tell I'm starting to suffer here?!? First world problems, I know, but still it hurts being over privileged sometimes... ;-)
Heh. Pretty much all of technological progress is to solve First World Problems.

Aww, too lazy to find a pay phone and you hate carrying quarters? How about we sell you an expensive phone that doesn't use wires and you have to recharge the battery?
You'd rather do something than wash dishes after dinner? How about we sell you an expensive machine that will do it for you?
Is that light bulb too fragile and too hot? We can make an amazing, expensive bulb that is more efficient and will last for years.
Is calling people on the phone too much of a hassle? How about we let you send letters to your friends in an instant, across the globe, with as many words as you could possibly want, for less money than a postage stamp?
Don't you hate going on vacation for a week and having to pack 4-8 books in your luggage, taking up valuable space? We can sell you a machine that carries thousands of books for the size of a book you read when you were 7 years old.
Cigarettes giving you cancer, making you a smelly pariah among your friends, or turning you into a litterbug? We'll sell you a machine that will give you the same fix without the smell & without the carcinogens.

Solving first world problems incidentally solves third world problems. Problems like zero telephone infrastructure, distribution of information, transportation inefficiency, sanitation, lighting, medicine...
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Ndm

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Re: DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!
« Reply #81 on: July 05, 2016, 05:41:45 AM »

This is painful to write from my off grid solar cottage on the lake, once the kids are settled in watching their Netflix  movie for the evening I'll try to grasp the reality of it all, in case anyone was wondering I'm being facetious, I'm going on twenty years with the cottage and still manage to fascinate people that I can run my lights, fridge, freezer, water system  plus my bike! from the sun, the beautiful thing about the diginow is that I can dial the rate up or down according to how much sunshine I am getting, I'll have to save money for a bit but I will have one someday! Take a minute and enjoy the fact someone put their lives on hold to get this done, just curious if dc input to the charger could buffer solar high output (150vdc) to charge the bike?
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BrianTRice@gmail.com

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Re: DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!
« Reply #82 on: July 05, 2016, 10:43:46 PM »

For what it's worth, some recent concerns that came out of testing have just been addressed. I can say at least that any development at this point has all been in the control/governing software and refining the hardware to install. I've given my thumbs-up to ship!
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MostlyBonkers

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Re: DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!
« Reply #83 on: July 06, 2016, 12:50:34 AM »

Considering the kind of person you are Brian, I think that should be seen as a great step forward for the project. :-)

Do please take that as a compliment by the way!
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BrianTRice@gmail.com

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Re: DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!
« Reply #84 on: July 06, 2016, 06:18:35 AM »

just curious if dc input to the charger could buffer solar high output (150vdc) to charge the bike?

It's a switching power supply and in principle could handle it, but I'd ask how to arrange it. I know that the charge rate management is done with switching and should be settable to something that your battery bank is happy with. Making it act the right way every time might require some customization to automate it ("oh, it looks like Ndm's house battery, I'll set to X").

Considering the kind of person you are Brian, I think that should be seen as a great step forward for the project. :-)

Do please take that as a compliment by the way!

I appreciate it. Ben will not have the problems I saw, but his ride doesn't tax the configuration logic and I wound up dealing with some iterations after his build that had some subtle catches to them.
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PlatPays

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Re: DigiNow Super Charger officially available from 2 dealers!
« Reply #85 on: July 06, 2016, 06:24:56 PM »

Sorry for the late reply.

@Chris the latest information I got is that my unit will be shipped in the next days. I was also informed that my charger is part of the 9 units that Diginow said were available for purchase.

@Lecram Yes, I am going to install it myself.

@Mostlybonkers Thanks, I live in the Netherlands, one of the countries with a high density of 11 kW 3 phase public chargers : )
The latest information I got is that it will be able to produce 11.3 kW like one of the other posts on this topic was mentioning.

About the installation, I do not have a power tank. I was told that in that case I can connect it the connector that is normally used for the power tank. This seems to be a 3rd way of connecting different from connecting via the controller or Anderson connector ?
This is also important information for possible clients who do not want to invest in additional battery but have the full charging capacity available.

In general I am excited, also because in the long run it could possibly charge up to 16 kW  :D!
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