2013- Customer Service Feedback and Committment Statement

[Effectsiation]

1- I'm just a little confused on this one. I've been using Twitter pretty regularly to announce when new PCBs are released. Did I say I would do something else? I honestly don't remember.

2- I have removed some of the oldest versions (going back to 2009, 2010) but the archive ZIPs usually contain at least one or two previous versions. The Krunkee was was removed at the request of MI Audio, actually.

1 -- MY MISTAKE!    I honestly hadn't checked Twitter in quite a while, because I found the page/forum to be more up-to-date. I see now you've been keeping up with it.

2 -- Would there be any harm in leaving all the old docs (minus the ones requested to be removed) up? I selfishly ask because I have a stash of your old etched boards I never got around to building. I suppose I could just interpret from the newer versions/schematics though.


Thanks for all you do!

[raulduke]

'The biggest pain of my amp build was that all the docs were online and I don't have a computer where I build my stuff...'

I totally agree on that one. Any chance it is Ampmakers documentation you are referring too?

That is the companies only downside IMO; Online documentation.

Last thing I want is to be staring at my laptop (or even worse iPhone) when building something.

Please stick with .pdf's Brian; I personally think you do a very good job of keeping everything tidy and well organized.


My only real bit of feeback would be more demo's for your new projects (as you mention yourself). Many of these are new designs so it would be great for customers to be able to get a 'feel' for them before ordering.

Personally I don't think video is entirely necessary; well recorded (and well commented using SoundCloud etc.) clips would be fine by me.

[madbean]

There's certainly no harm in it. I think what I will do is to create one archive file with all the older versions in it. The main reason for not making these more "up front" on the site is that some projects had several versions back when I was hand-etching, and I believe it would be confusing to people who are newer to the site.

But, I have pretty much everything saved, so I will look and figure out how to collate everything. Maybe it's time for a madbeanpedals dropbox.

[madbean]

Please stick with .pdf's Brian; I personally think you do a very good job of keeping everything tidy and well organized.


My only real bit of feeback would be more demo's for your new projects (as you mention yourself). Many of these are new designs so it would be great for customers to be able to get a 'feel' for them before ordering.

Personally I don't think video is entirely necessary; well recorded (and well commented using SoundCloud etc.) clips would be fine by me.

Thanks for your input.

[midwayfair]

PDFs are one of the only reliable ways to ensure that no page scaling will result in an accurately sized etch.

I've been testing Google Docs for this. It's just like working in a word processor, and it can be updated easily, in real time, and remotely. They can't be saved in high resolution apparently, but I was able to print in multiple browsers an accurately sized etch image (after some trial and error on the sizing in the google doc ...) at 600dpi. A PDF would still probably be necessary for the etch image itself, though, to be safe and to avoid the hassle of getting it sized properly in the document before posting ...

[madbean]

I guess the thrust of my desire to have some of it online is that it can be more of a "living document". IOW, when changes are made, mods, corrections, etc I don't have to go around telling people to re-download a pdf.

Naturally, the etching artwork itself has to be in a pdf.

But, I also agree that no one wants to sit by a damn computer when they are building so it is probably a non-starter.

[juansolo]

'The biggest pain of my amp build was that all the docs were online and I don't have a computer where I build my stuff...'

I totally agree on that one. Any chance it is Ampmakers documentation you are referring too?

That is the companies only downside IMO; Online documentation.

Yup and agree totally. The online docs, though excellent, were the biggest pain in the arse of the entire build.

[Vallhagen]

I guess the thrust of my desire to have some of it online is that it can be more of a "living document". IOW, when changes are made, mods, corrections, etc I don't have to go around telling people to re-download a pdf.

My 0.2 SEK on this one:

I vote for pdf-s. Pretty much just as you have it arranged right now, i like it. I actually dont want the build doc to be "living" in a way that it can be hard to get the version history. If - say - i need to troubleshoot or mod my Chunk Chunk (old version PCB) right now, i am pretty happy that i have the whole pdf right here on my HDD. Maybe i am a bit oldschool but i also like paper. I printout the whole pdf, do my own checkmarks on the BOM and comments on the schematic.

***

WGC earlier suggested a more indepth explanation of each circuit too. I think thats a cool idea, maybe as a separate board on the forum. One sticky thread for the mangler, one for the Chunk Chunk etcetc. It could include idea/history of the circuit as well as a technerd signal path explanation. Very much of this info/knowledge IS allready here (and on the rest of the web) in different threads, but as an idea to have it in one place.

***

...but its hard to make the best place even better...

Cheers!

[stevie1556]

Personally I like the PDF's. If it was on a web page then people might struggle having it near their working area if they have a PC, I have a laptop so it wouldn't be an issue for me personally. Also, all web pages display differently, depending on how someone has their screen set up. A PDF will display the same no matter what. And they are easy to print out.

Also, although you are doing the boards for profit, its good to see a company open enough to allow other people to sell their products (PCBs from other sellers designs) through your forum. It's direct competition, and that has to be respected.

Also, I haven't had to post many help threads, as a lot of the answers I've needed have already been answered on other threads, proving that the forum is not only a great place to get help, but also a massively helpful learning tool.

I think you should also have a 'donate' button as well. Even if you don't want the money, once a month give all the proceeds to charity. The reason I say this is because I etch my own boards, as I like the DIY side of things, and it's just a way of saying thanks for the layouts that you provide free of charge.

Sent from my thumbs using Tapatalk!

[djaaz]

One thing that could be improved is the tech help section which is a section i post too often.

The "try, fail, learn, fix" bit of the DIY experience could be somewhat improved. That's basically a "spend more time there" request with some explanation of the fix when they happen there.
This is the section of the forum i learnt the most from.

My vote is for keeping the pdf as they exist with the errata section and their downsides.

[spaceboss]

WGC earlier suggested a more indepth explanation of each circuit too. I think thats a cool idea, maybe as a separate board on the forum. One sticky thread for the mangler, one for the Chunk Chunk etcetc. It could include idea/history of the circuit as well as a technerd signal path explanation. Very much of this info/knowledge IS allready here (and on the rest of the web) in different threads, but as an idea to have it in one place.

***

Cheers!

+ 1 for PDFs.

I also agree with Vallagen and WGC on the book learning end. I love to learn about stuff and I realize that big part of DIY -- is self-sufficency in learning, etc.

But sometimes after multiple 10 hour workdays of herding poisonous cats, paint by number is all I can handle. While I could infuse knowledge if it was there, I'm just too fried to go hunting. (Most of my learning has come from when I inevitably screw up--and am required to learn what does what in order to get the magic box gratification.) So while I totally understand not serving everything up on a silver platter (It feels obnoxious to even ask for more), my brain would be more lubed for the heavy lifting if it had an occasional watering.

Regardless, this site is an amazing collection of well organized projects, resources, and talents. (I love the project page layout for example.) It's become my favorite spot on the web. Cheers to a good year for you and your endeavors Mr. Bean.

[aballen]

I would not say a fail, but if a picture is worth a thousand words a demo video is even better.  I've got so many beans builds queued up a demo might help me figure out which one to do first.

I really love what you are doing Brian.

Yes, I do need to get more demos done. This is probably the biggest fail on my part so far. There are a few, but not nearly enough. That is something I intend to correct for 2013. Thanks.

And, just to put a finer point on that: I plan on demoing ALL three new Zero Points over the next week.

[chromesphere]

It goes without saying that my wholehearted praise and gratitude goes to Brian for this resource that he has created for all of us.

As far as the individual webpage idea goes though, im of the other opinion.  The thing i like best about madbean projects are they are completed.  I have confidience that when i undertake a madbean project, it will work (or with minimal tweaking). This is like Tonepad projects.  For a simple project, like a boost, it probably doesnt matter so much.  Aquaboy on the other hand 

It makes the project obtainable for all skill levels.  Diysb forum (and freesb's) has these development pages.  They are difficult to follow and tend to evolve continualy with no finished 'product'.  Nothing wrong with that of course, its the melting pot that alot of finished product projects come from, its essential!  I'm just highlighing the advantages of a pdf style project.

Anyway, just my opinion.  Keep up the good work mate!  You've always got my support.
Paul

[jubal81]

As far as documentation goes, what about using a wiki format? I use PBworks quite a bit and set up one for our web management at the newspaper and it's been invaluable.

You could designate moderators as editors and they could add photos, demos, links to forum topics, links to suppliers, mods, build reports, etc. The BOM, schematic and artwork can easily be attached as a file for printing.

[pedalman]

Id like a link to all the popular schematics and diagrams. shop is in the garage and i wouldnt mind putting together a binder.