New 250EX owner, a few problems

[Adambomb]

Mike has brought to my attention the fact that I installed the diodes in the pedal daughter board incorrectly. Can a member here more knowledgable than myself explain how a diode works, and what the consequences are if installed backwards?

[Ray]

Adam,

It’s basically a one way valve for electricity.
Not to be insulting at all, but the concept is one of the very basics of electronics, it is how transistors, SCR’s and pretty much everything digital does what is does, it’s why we use silicon.
If you still have my number I’ll be more than happy to spend some time with you on the phone, and point you down the right path for more info.
Watch out though this stuff is addicting, gets you thinking about quantum physics and the like. It can turn you into a GEEK!! OMG.

[performance]

To use my Radio Shack Science Fair knowledge of electronics, a diode is a gate that allows electricity to flow one way and not the other. See the little "arrow"? Thats the path it should flow if I remember right.

[performance]

Everlast Management puts Everlast in a tough position.
Suks that I have to hear on this site from another customer that shipment/delivery is not expected until Jan 17th, considering I just e-mailed Everlast yesterday & was told "The units did not arrive to us yet. Once it is in stock you will be contacted"
Simply having a decent product is not a formula for continued success.
I've said it before & I'll say it again, it doesn't take much to keep customers informed. Almost everybody can understand some shipping delays or inventory shortages due to warranty issues.
20yrs of owning 2 Amoco Service stations & I can tell you that the rule was; 1 dissatisfied customer will tell at least 10x as many people (& this is now probably magnified now by the Internet) about their bad experience then a satisfied customer will tell about a good one. You do the math, it's really not a good strategy for success.
IMHO, quality customer service requires STAYING INVOLVED thru the entire process (good, bad, on time, delayed, or whatever). Sales, Warranty, Tech Support, etc..
It would only be proper for Everlast to inform (in some way) the few long outstanding pre-paid customers & those waiting for warranty fulfillment's, the status of the product they are patiently wait for.

So.. still waiting to hear from Everlast regarding the December 21st, now January (maybe??) shipment....

ASE,
I have stated that when I have a FIRM date, I will release it. They are on the water and have been for some time. When I get a confirmed, final delivery date from the shipper I will put it up ASAP. And when they are in I will release it. I have gotten estimates, but we get dinged every time we give out "estimates", so we aren't releasing estimated dates. Typically we will receive a full and accurate and confirmed delivery date a week before it gets in. If there is NO news, then there is no need to create our own guesstimates, which we have done in the past and it always backfires. But if you want, then consider the estimate that Adam announced a good ballpark.

[Adambomb]

OK, so the diodes I have here don't have an arrow....but they do have two squiggly lines and a black band at one end. How do you interpret direction of flow from that?

I assumed the 17th as a ballpark delivery date. Since it's a week and half away, You should recieve a firmer shipment docking date confirmation sometime early next week if that date is close. If not, well, it is what it is.

[everlastsupport]

The black band is the cathode. A diode will pass current in one direction, so if you match the black bands they will be in the right way.

[Adambomb]

I am curious then, Mike, the attatched pic shows the diodes with the black bands facing away from each other. Are you saying that they should be facing each other? How do they need to match?

[Adambomb]

That thumbnail did not come out right. See post #44 on page 5

[ASE_MasterTech]

Quite a reasonable and well thought out request. When a company has your money and you have nothing there is a certain sense of urgency.

Good customer service would strive to actions that would mollify the situation. Perhaps your patience should be rewarded with consumables or the like.

But mine is a third party view that really has no relevance.

In all fairness, I must state that Everlast had already agreed to some compensation in my order for the 'unusal' delay issue, which of course only comes to fruition upon delivery of the order.

Perhaps this wasn't the proper area/thread to vent my grievance as it is more one of 'sales follow-thru' involving some notification process for overdue pre-paid customers &/or warranty claims.

I cannot comment 'first hand' on Everlast Tech support, but from all I have read they seem quite competent, courteous, & helpful. However, when my order does finally arrive, I am hopeful that I will not be requiring too much of their assistance..

[sschefer]

Mike has brought to my attention the fact that I installed the diodes in the pedal daughter board incorrectly. Can a member here more knowledgable than myself explain how a diode works, and what the consequences are if installed backwards?

\
So the original question didn't really get answered.

A diode in a A/C (alternating current) circuit serves to allow either positive or negative current to flow depending upon the direction that it is installed.

For instanc if I make a "Y" connection and install a diode in one direction on one leg of the Y and another diode in the other direction on the other leg of the Y I have partially rectified the A/C current and produced one leg that is positive and another that is negative. The result will be a DC (Direct Current) circuit. This will produce pulsed DC since there will be a pause in current flow when either the - or + is not being passed. In order to produce a smoother current flow you would use 4 diodes in a full wave bridge rectifier configuration.
..........

[Adambomb]

Thank you for the explanation Steve. It is still a little over my head in that I don't understand the phases of power (1 phase vs. 3 phase)....I know (I think) in AC the current switches polarity at 60hz? I don't even know what the hertz means. Electronics were never my thing, I always had to keep asking what the difference was between volts and amps when I was a kid, and I still had a hard time grasping the concept. I'm just an electrical retard.

But I got it, a diode is a one way check valve.

[Adambomb]

Strange, there are still several posts missing from my thread? That's not even counting the ones that disappeared on purpose.... The webmasters update surely wreaked havoc on this site!
A little update, I received my replacement rear panel the other day, I just haven't had time to swap it out yet. I guess the wp20 torches aren't in yet? I'm on the waiting list if not!

[performance]

Adam,

We are doing the best we can, all things considered. We will keep working on things.

[everlastsupport]

Any missing thread will have to be re-created. The database was corrupted when we went from 3.6 to 4.0 vBulletin. Just re-upload or start another thread. AussieChris re-created his already.

[Ray]

As hosed up as this was I think we’re lucky we got back what we did.
Great job Mike.

[angular]

I've been hesitant to post anything since the forum upgrade & data loss. I'm a software engineer and work with databases all the time. The #1 rule before you run any kind of upgrade script is to make a full backup of your database.

Getting back to welding & welders... I replaced that multiplexer chip and my 250EX is back to normal operation. Life is good. Now if I only knew how to weld! Ha.

[Adambomb]

I wasn't trying to imply that the mods were responsible for the data loss, I just saw a thread that everything was back to normal, and I was pointing out that there are many posts still missing from this thread. None of them were of any particular importance though, so no great loss.

I'm still curious about the WP20 torches. Did they come in with the last shipment?

Angular, did you still need some inside pics of my unit?

[performance]

Adam,
The WP 20 torches are not from the factory, in fact non of the torches are. But the ones with the welders do come "through" the factory...Being a separate product, they are not shipped in the same shipments.

[Adambomb]

Gotcha Mark. So does Everlast have any WP20 torches, or are you still waiting for the next shipment?

[Oleg]

Gotcha Mark. So does Everlast have any WP20 torches, or are you still waiting for the next shipment?

Hey Adam

Actually order with touches and consumables arrived
We should get it delivered to our warehouse sometime this week !