Anyone got a Snickerdoodle yet? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: djsb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2017, 04:42:07 pm
content: I've been having a quick look at these.https://www.crowdsupply.com/krtkl/snickerdoodleand I'd be interested to know if anyone has received theirs yet?Is it worth the risk of me pre-ordering a Snickerdoodle black?

author: agehall
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2017, 08:30:16 pm
content: There are people claiming to have thiers on the Krtkl-forum. I'm still waiting for mine even though.They do claim they've had production issues that were just resolved a week or two ago, so who knows - maybe they will actually start shipping soon.

author: Zermalmer
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2017, 09:38:44 pm
content: according to this latest updatehttps://www.crowdsupply.com/krtkl/snickerdoodle/updates/signs-of-lifeIt looks like they run into an long time known but not traceable bootrom problem which they can't determine for sure....but now identifiedMaybe they want to get rid of that before really shipping.

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2017, 11:23:07 pm
content: I have been periodically checking these guys since they made the $65 initial offering. I thought as did others "too low to be true". Well the price is now $95 (snickerdoodle one) and the shipping date is stillOrders placed now ship Oct 31, 2017.There is a resemblance to the iter fusion project which also has a continually receding delivery horizon.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 12:03:27 am
content: Quote from: chickenHeadKnob on August 20, 2017, 11:23:07 pmThat's the risk of crowdsourced products. They generally are small start-ups that will encounter issues and roadblocks. Even though the time to market is obviously long, the product still seems very viable and relevant in today's market and at the current price.

author: agehall
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 05:18:07 am
content: Quote from: evb149 on August 20, 2017, 09:16:04 pmI think they've shipped some boards, but due to the boot ROM problem (or so they say at least), their yield has been terrible. I think most of the boards that have gone out the door has been the regular version and not the black version.I pretty much see the money I spent on my order as a sunk cost at this point and if anything eventually shows up at my doorstep, I'll be happy, but until then, I'll remain a bit sceptic that I'll ever see a Snickerdoodle.

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2017, 04:53:08 pm
content: The stupid name puts me off, never mind boot problems.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2017, 09:52:09 pm
content: Quote from: evb149 on August 22, 2017, 01:13:11 amThey are not even saying the board is bricked though. From how I interpreted it, the FPGA was slower than expected to start up and failed their production test (presumably some time limit in their script is used).Then they mention its only at low temperature, but I doubt they environmentally testing each board. Maybe a cool breeze in the factory that day, and Y5V caps?It's odd, but I see how if the production issue is in China, no matter how small, poor communication could delay everything.Quote

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2017, 09:58:47 pm
content: Quote from: evb149 on August 22, 2017, 01:13:11 amIt might very well be a case of Murphy's Law. No matter how well prepared you are, when everything hangs in the balance, something stupid will turn up that might very well ruin it all.Quote from: mikerj on August 22, 2017, 04:53:08 pmYour loss, I guess

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2017, 09:58:10 pm
content: Quote from: Mr. Scram on August 22, 2017, 09:58:47 pmMore like a lucky escape judging from the issues it has,

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2017, 10:48:09 pm
content: Quote from: mikerj on August 25, 2017, 09:58:10 pmThat's only if you treat crowdsourcing as normal web shopping. A lot of people do that, but obviously that's not how it works. You make an investment, which might or might not pay off. If you cannot accept that in advance, crowdsourcing projects might not be for you.Honestly, the original $65 dollar is not much for supporting a cool start up and a fair chance of getting what looks to be a sweet FPGA board.

author: donotdespisethesnake
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2017, 02:16:41 pm
content: Quote from: Mr. Scram on August 25, 2017, 10:48:09 pmWith crowdsourcing, it is not an investment, it is a donation. The reward is a "perk". I think the fact that the process is identical to web shopping is what create a misleading impression.Of course, you could just until the product is on general sale, and then support the cool start up by buying the product and get a sweet FPGA board, except with buyer protection.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2017, 06:32:00 pm
content: Quote from: djsb on August 20, 2017, 04:42:07 pmThese seem to have been a long time coming.The Snickerdoodle One is the same chip as the Arty Z7-10 and the Prime LE is the same chip as the Arty Z7-20. For $50 less in both cases. But you can get the Arty off the shelf.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2017, 06:52:55 pm
content: Quote from: donotdespisethesnake on August 26, 2017, 02:16:41 pmIt's not quite a donation and not quite an investment, but whatever the case, it's certainly closer to both than it is to a regular purchasePeople inevitably get disappointed when there are delays, the product is not quite what's promised or things are simply not delivered. All while that's intrinsic to the format.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2017, 07:13:41 pm
content: Quote from: Mr. Scram on August 26, 2017, 06:52:55 pmSo far the only thing I've bought from such a site is the HiFive1 RISCV arduino-compatable, also on CrowdSupply.https://www.crowdsupply.com/sifive/hifive1/"$75163 raised of $1 goal". lol.I ordered in early December last year and it shipped before Christmas. It was pretty clear that the product was already developed and they were using CrowdSupply only to outsource order fulfilment.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2017, 07:16:27 pm
content: Quote from: brucehoult on August 26, 2017, 07:13:41 pmI've looked at the HiFive1 multiple times, but wasn't too sure about the toolchain. I'm also trying to avoid swamping myself with too many platforms. I mean, swamping myself even more

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2017, 07:36:02 pm
content: Quote from: Mr. Scram on August 26, 2017, 07:16:27 pmToolchain is fine. RISCV is a standard target in the main gcc & binutils repos now. llvm getting there. OpenOCD works fine. gdb.The easiest thing is to just add the URL from the SiFive web page into a standard Arduino IDE preferences dialog and everything gets automagically downloaded and installed. Select the board and port and you're away. Or you can use the toolchain downloaded by Arduino from the command line if you prefer.

author: osholt
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 28, 2017, 02:59:35 pm
content: I got one of the first batch months ago and while the hardware is there and it seems to work, the toolchain, documentation and support are non-existent. USB JTAG doesn't have a software implementation / instructions yet and the board files provided for use in Vivado etc. are pretty basic so it's pretty difficult to use right now. They been promising a documentation update for months now and none of it has materialised. So much potential...The only projects anyone seems to have done with them so far are linux based and you could easily have done all that with a Raspberry Pi with much less hassle.I hope they get their act together and start shipping and documenting.

author: SMB784
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2017, 08:30:48 pm
content: I received one of the fabled Black versions back in mid may of this year. The problems they had with boot were a yield issue, not bricked devices that they actually shipped. As a result, there were a few of us who were able to get our hands on working devices despite this yield problem. They shipped around a thousand units, maybe 2000 if you count all the snickerdoodle black versions that they shipped.My main complaint has been the inconsistent/near total lack of documentation for the device. However, I understand that they have a team of 3 guys trying to put together a raspberry pi version of an FPGA. Things are going to be slow, especially given their yield problems that they only recently were able to address.I am hoping that now that they have all the bugs worked out of the actual device, they can focus on support and documentation. However with their pending alpha release of the pismasher (which I am very patiently waiting for), this may cause a further delay. It's a device with great potential, and I love the fact that it has built in wifi/bluetooth. That was the selling point for me.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2017, 09:47:32 pm
content: Pismasher, Rasperry Pis... The name isn't really great in the plural form, is it?

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2017, 07:02:22 pm
content: QuoteI finally clicked on this link after weeks of thinking a "Snickerdoodle" was a "Drawdio."