Wanted Hermes Lite 2

[Jonathan Jesse]

Before I order one, does anyone have a HL2 that they would like to sell?

73,

Jon WS1K

[n1ig anthony]

email sent.

[Steve Haynal]

Hi All,

Makerfabs should have another batch ready to ship at the end of this month. The HL2 with enclosure and N2ADR filter board costs $350-$360 new from Makerfabs and includes shipping. This is less than the $380 some are asking for on this list. Also, the units purchased from Makerfabs have a limited warranty. This warranty is not extended to resold units.

73,

Steve

kf7o

[n1ig anthony]

Steve,

I do not believe that is accurate. Shipping does not appear to be free, and adds another $39 to $49 to the cost. See below:

[n1ig anthony]

Although the new units are covered under a limited warranty, when I shipped back the unit I purchased from the last group of 2022, I was stuck paying for the return shipping to China, and it took almost 2 months for me to be reimbursed for the base cost of the equipment.  I was never reimbursed for the return shipping.

YMMV

Anthony - N1IG

[Jonathan Jesse]

Steve,

I would like to know why you felt it necessary to interject your opinion in a private deal.

I am an adult, I spend my money the way I see fit. I knew what I was buying. You did not know what the deal was or even if we had made a deal. I don’t need or appreciate your help. Mind your own business.

If you thought I was being ripped off, a private message would have been more appropriate.

Jon WS1K

On Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 7:23:34 PM UTC-4 softerh...@gmail.com wrote:

[Karl Heinz Kremer]

Wow! That is one way to show your appreciation to the guy who created the fantastic radio you are about to buy. 

Karl Heinz 

On Apr 19, 2023, at 10:04 PM, Jonathan Jesse <drunkk...@gmail.com> wrote:

Steve,

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[Steve Haynal]

Hi Jon,

I am the moderator of this group. You asked in a public forum if someone had a HL2 to sell. N1IG responded with a price of $380 in this same public forum. Although the original message has been deleted on the web interface, (I assume by N1IG as I didn't delete it) most people receive e-mail for this group and these e-mails can't be retracted. So hundreds of people saw or will see a price of $380. A goal of mine when I originally started this project was to make an inexpensive SDR and keep it inexpensive. Therefore, I wanted to educate you and others on this list regarding your purchase options. Due to recent increases in shipping costs, $380 is not too much off the mark. I do not know if or what final deal you may have made privately. I did not try to stop any private deal. I am sharing information about pricing and availability of the HL2 so people on this list can be more informed. 

73,

Steve

kf7o

[n1ig anthony]

Steve,

I was a little taken aback by your post, and told JJ that I was going to rescind my offer to sell since I had been made to look like I was ripping him off.  

I just looked at the order I made back in 2021, at at that time the shipping was $35.02 and was not free.  So I am a little confused as to why you thought there were no shipping charges.

If you recall back in August 2022 I received a HL2 that did not work:

https://groups.google.com/g/hermes-lite/c/NWp8DxOtSok/m/Db4wmfriAQAJ

As it was something that I could not readily correct myself, I returned the unit.  And although I received a refund for the returned equipment, Makerfabs did not refund my cost for the returned shipping of a defective product.  So in the end I was out of pocket for for that expense.

$57.60 for the costs of USPS shipping to China, and ended up with no radio.  

People should be informed that if they return defective items to Makerfabs, that they may have to cover that expense themselves.

In my case, I lost $57.60 which apparently wasn't covered by the "limited warranty".

Anthony - N1IG

[Ed Grafton]

Unless you are buying from Ebay or Amazon, most warranties do not cover return shipping. It has been that way since I can remember.

Ed

WA4SIX

[n1ig anthony]

In my experience there are vendors off of eBay and amazon that provide return shipping for defective products.

[Ed Grafton]

There are some, but it is stated on the website.

Due dilligence.

Not trying to be rude, as I have been through your situation buying a pressure washer from Home Depot. Didn't work right out of the box. I had to drive 60 miles to a Warranty center to drop it off. They changed the motor  I had to drive back to pick it up. Of course, no charge, but 2 hours of my time  fuel was a kick in the butt.

Ed
WA4SIX

[n1ig anthony]

Reading here:

https://www.makerfabs.com/warranty-and-return.html

If the return is caused by the consumer, consumer should be responsible for the shipping fee. The specific fee should be based on the express company you choose.

If due to our reasons, the goods received are damaged or not correct, and the consumer is not required to bear the shipping fee for this reason.

The return was not caused by me.  The return was caused by MakerFabs providing a defective product.  

Due diligence?

MakerFabs didn't didn't adhere to their own warranty and return policy as written above.

[Ed Grafton]

My bad. I skimmed the site  never noticed that.

You do have reason for a gripe.

Ed

WA4SIX

[n1ig anthony]

Thank you, Ed.   Stuff happens.

[n1ig anthony]

So the people on this list can be more informed, MakerFabs actually DID NOT reimburse me directly for the defective equipment.  They attempted to initiate a refund through PayPal, but MakerFabs told me that the system would not allow it to happen.

What I ended up having to do was to initiate a "Charge Back" through the credit card company.  Not exactly a quick or easy process.  It took a few months for me to get my initial expense back, and still didn't get back the cost of returning the items.

YMMV

[Ron Lewkowicz]

I thought that they are supposed to test all these boards before they ship out.  There is no excuse for shipping out a defective board. I have an order in with Makerfabs currently.  There is definitely no free shipping and total bill $532 CDN.  Feeling a little nervous now.

[tmoto...@gmail.com]

Ron –

I have 4 of the HL2’s – not a stich of problems with any of them.

 

MakerFabs has done a great job on the ones I’ve rec’d – and they do test them to a certain extent – as there are some bias settings that are done at time of manufacturing.

 

Anything can happen in shipping or handling, or customer build for that matter. But on a whole – they have been excellent.

 

My X6100 went back for the encoder clearance issue, friends 7610 back for a display issue, another for a blown set of finals in his 101MP. No manufacturer is immune to some sort of issue…

 

You can’t beat the cost per feature proposition of the HL2.  I use one for a QRP rig, another as a panadapter for my FTDX101D, one has a 100W PA that it feeds, and the last will likely resto-mod a TS850 I have here as a donor radio for the PA/Filter deck. These are just as loved as my ANAN7000 and my FTDX-101D.

 

Will be getting close to time that I might need another HL2 for a remote project.

 

Fence sitters at every rodeo – they are all important parts of the experience.

 

Some ride – some watch – No right or wrong seat in the house!

 

Your choice!

 

Tom – K2TC

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hermes-lite/79c04731-f893-4250-8627-ea1755d5a6d4n%40googlegroups.com.

[n1ig anthony]

I agree with Tom's post.  

Despite the issue with my previous buy, I didn't hesitate to purchase another two HL2's when they became available.  It is a quality product, and the failure rate seems to be incredibly low what I've seen posted in this group.  

They do need to work on the return process and make sure that return shipping is reimbursed in a timely manner.

[KK Ze]

@n1ig: Er, if you  remember, we tried many times and finally succeed to reimbused  you , as your payed by credit card. For ths shipping fee back $52.7, indeed i forget to pay you, and as you remind me we pay to you in few hours,by refunding your& your friends other order.  better you can confirm this to avoid misunderstanding to other members here.  thanks. 

[KK Ze]

Er, as a business company, we did try to make profits via our work, but always keep promise, please rest ensured.

[Steve Haynal]

Hi All,

Just a few comments on this thread.

Makerfabs does test units before shipping, and does not ship defective boards. I, N2ADR and Makerfabs worked hard to setup a Raspberry Pi-based test procedure:

https://github.com/softerhardware/Hermes-Lite2/wiki/Raspberry-Pi-Test-and-Program

Sometimes things break after shipping or some more extended use. Search the web interface of this list for bathtub:

https://groups.google.com/g/hermes-lite/search?q=bathtub

From this last batch, I am only aware of 4 or 5 problem units. 1 or 2 we were able to fix in the field. 3 were sent to me. 2 of those were fine and operator error. There was only 1 real failure which Makerfabs has agreed to replace when the next batch is ready. This is the typical failure or return rate, of around 2 to 3 percent for a batch of almost 200 units. Interestingly, some people insist on paying for shipping both ways, some one way, and others want full reimbursement for shipping.

To help simplify logistics and keep shipping costs low, people should first ask for help on this list. Next, if we determine there is a problem, units should be shipped to me for repair, especially if in North America. Only for rare circumstances do we want to ship units all the way back to China.

This is a small open hardware project which has some how grown beyond anyone's expectations. Makerfabs has done an excellent job with the Hermes-Lite in my opinion. They are not a big company with a huge service department. Instead they specialize in small batch production for open hardware projects. The person responding to this thread, Zeqing, is actually the CEO of the company. Sometimes it can be difficult to communicate across large distances, language and cultural barriers, but I believe Makerfabs is doing their best to provide a good product and service.

People should exercise caution before ordering a Hermes-Lite. This is not a Kenwood, Yaesu or Icom radio backed with a large service department. It will be challenging for many to setup the software correctly. You may need to inspect and/or repair surface mount technology, or at least wait patiently for a repair or replacement. Sometimes things will go wrong and it may be difficult to figure out or fix. This is not a plug-and-play commercial product, but still very much an experimental kit.

73,

Steve

kf7o

[n1ig anthony]

Yes, I did just receive a refund.   Thank you very much for addressing the issue.

zeqin...

Apr 20, 2023, 11:36:59 PM (5 hours ago) 

to Hermes-Lite

@n1ig: Er, if you  remember, we tried many times and finally succeed to reimbused  you , as your payed by credit card. For ths shipping fee back $52.7, indeed i forget to pay you, and as you remind me we pay to you in few hours,by refunding your& your friends other order.  better you can confirm this to avoid misunderstanding to other members here.  thanks. 

[n1ig anthony]

Steve, et al

I don't think that there is a question that the HL2 is an amazing and quality product.  I would not have ordered another 2 of them in Jan 2023 if I didn't believe so.

If you recall back in August 2022 I received a HL2 that did not work:

https://groups.google.com/g/hermes-lite/c/NWp8DxOtSok/m/Db4wmfriAQAJ

You and some group members did help talk me through diagnosing the issue.  I was not told to send it to you for evaluation/repair.  I would have much preferred to do that instead.

The only thing I'm still a little miffed about, is the free shipping comment.  I don't mind being called out if I do something not of good form, or even just a little sketch. In fact, I expect and appreciate it.  But I don't take it well when it's based on inaccurate information.  

All that aside, I would and probably will buy another HL2 in the future if they are still available.  

Anthony - N1IG

[Sid Boyce]

Reading the current posts I gauge that expectations and experience
levels now are quite a bit different to when the HermesLite project
originated and progressed from HermesLite V1 (sitting here somewhere)
and Version 2 Beta9.

With 3 HL2's I have only had one failure - a PA FET which I replaced
locally and I run one HL2 24/7 as my main rig no problems.

It's been an amazing project all down to great insights into what was
possible with a few off-the-shelf parts with FPGA programming by Steve
and later contributions from Jim and others.

Additionally I run an ODYSSEY-2 + 100W PA ex-IC737 on 40m only. The
designer and supplier of the ODYSSEY-2 (David Fianitski) once expressed
amazement at how it was possible that HL2 with a higher parts count than
his ODY-2 (160m - 6m) at $600.US  could be sold for so much less.

73 ... Sid.

> *From:* herme...@googlegroups.com
> <herme...@googlegroups.com> *On Behalf Of *Ron Lewkowicz
> *Sent:* Thursday, April 20, 2023 1:45 PM
> *To:* Hermes-Lite <herme...@googlegroups.com>
> *Subject:* Re: Wanted Hermes Lite 2

> */If the return is caused by the

> consumer, consumer should be
> responsible for the shipping fee. The
> specific fee should be based on the
> express company you choose.
>

> If due to our reasons, _the goods
> received are damaged_ or not correct,

> and the consumer is not required to

> bear the shipping fee for this reason./*

> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hermes-lite/e70fe436-38fe-4584-b12e-e64cc9d956edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>.

>
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--
Sid Boyce ... Hamradio License G3VBV, Licensed Private Pilot
Emeritus IBM/Amdahl Mainframes and Sun/Fujitsu Servers Tech Support
Senior Staff Specialist, Cricket Coach
Microsoft Windows Free Zone - Linux used for all Computing Tasks

[Steve Haynal]

Hi Anthony,

Where did the idea of free shipping come from? I said $350-$360 in my post. If you add up the current advertised cost for HL2, filter board and enclosure on makerfabs web site:

52.70+16.90+269 = 338.6

I had factored in an additional $10-$20 for shipping to arrive at $350 to $360, as that was what air mail shipping was a few years ago. Shipping has gone up more than I realized, but even with current air mail shipping the total is less than $380.

**I do not like to see used HL2s with our without shipping advertised in this group at the same price or more as a new unit with shipping. Used products depreciate. I will continue to call out or block posts if others try to do this. People are welcome to sell used HL2s here, provided there is meaningful savings (20%-30%) over new units.**

I do remember diagnosing your problem in August 2022. You confirmed that X2 was the problem on Aug 24 4:47AM, and then posted on Aug 25 7.59AM that Makerfabs would take care of it. Usually someone confirms the problem and asks what to do next. It is usually right after a user confirms a problem that we discuss whether to send a unit to me or back to Makerfabs. You chose to proceed immediately with replacement by Makerfabs and did not allow time for this discussion. I thought that was what you wanted to do. 

73,

Steve

kf7o

[Steve Haynal]

Correction - both posts were on August 25.