TouchDRO Adapter Upgrade or Trade-In

ycroosh

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Hi folks,
I've upgraded the adapter lineup to brand new hardware and firmware. More info here: TouchDRO Adapter Feature Comparison

New adapters are a decent step up from the previous version, and a huge leap compared to the MSP430 platform. Part of TouchDRO's value proposition is that it's constantly being upgraded and you will not be stuck with an obsolete DRO. This is easy with the app, but adapter hardware is harder, so here what I can offer:

1. People who bough a fully assembled (in the box) TouchDRO Adapter for Glass and Magnetic scales, You will have an option to send the board to me and I will upgrade the firmware to the new version. This will get your access to TouchDRO Plus app, add support for over-the-air updates. For US-based customers It will cost $25, which will cover the labor to reprogram and retest the board, and send it back to you. If you are outside of the USA, please contact me and I will figure out what to do about shipping.

2. People who bought an old version of the adapter directly from me (from yuriystoys.com or touchdro.com) can trade in the old adapter for a credit towards one of the new adapters. The credit will be 50% of the price you paid for the old adapter, not including shipping. The adapter(s) does not have to be functional, but you will need to find the original receipt/PayPal transaction and include the printout when you ship the adapter to me after you place an order for a new adapter. I will accept one trade-in per new adapter. I.e. if you buy one board, you can send one old trade-in. If you buy 5 new adapters, you can send 5 trade-ins. When I get the old adapter(s) back, I'll send a refund.

If you are interested, please email or PM me.

Please note: I don't know for how long this offer will be valid. If it ends up being a huge amount of work, or people start abusing the system, I will pull the plug on it.

Regards
Yuriy

UPDATE 1/24/24 - I got quite a few emails/messages from people who missed the meaning of the first option: the V2 adapter sold as a bare board, kit with an unassembled enclosure, and a fully assembled unit. The $25 upgrade applies to the fully assembled units (i.e. what you bought had "Option" in the name, like Option A, etc., I can still upgrade the unassembled adapters, as long as the ESP32 revision is the latest version E, but this will not include the Plus app.
 
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Yuriy:
I have two questions:
1) How recent is this upgrade? I bought an (assembled) adapter board and box from you about a year ago. The invoice lists it only as WEB_QUAD_4_AXIS. Is this now 'old' and "in need of" an upgrade?

2) Is there a way to ensure that my DRO will not be made obsolete by an unwanted upgrade in the software? It's working fine right now and will likely be plenty sophisticated and capable enough for any work I will ever do on my mini-mill.
Thanks.
John
 
Yuriy:
I have two questions:
1) How recent is this upgrade? I bought an (assembled) adapter board and box from you about a year ago. The invoice lists it only as WEB_QUAD_4_AXIS. Is this now 'old' and "in need of" an upgrade?

2) Is there a way to ensure that my DRO will not be made obsolete by an unwanted upgrade in the software? It's working fine right now and will likely be plenty sophisticated and capable enough for any work I will ever do on my mini-mill.
Thanks.
John
Hi John,
1. So the upgrade is not required. I.e. nothing is "in need of" any sort of upgrade. If you re happy with your setup, use it.
2. Well, you can disable app updates in Android. That said, the system is backwards and forwards compatible. The latest version of the app works just fine with the very first Arduino sketch that came out in 2012. I don't have any intention of changing that.

Given the tone of your message, I suspect something got lost in translation in my post. Let me paraphrase:
I just added a bunch of new capabilities to the adapter firmware. Some of those things will enable new functionality in the app; the new TDA-4xx adapter is the unlock dongle for the TouchDRO "Plus" version, for example. I can't just push them out to the old adapters. For people who want this functionality, I am trying to offer a way to get their adapters upgraded. This is not required. All of the old functionality in the app will still work if you don't upgrade, and when the app gets updates, it will work just fine with your old adapter.

Hope this makes sense
Regards
Yuriy
 
Thanks, Yuriy.

I think I understand. :)
It's not clear what hardware I actually own - is it the MSP430 platform, or the same hardware but older firmware than you are selling today or??

I'll try to go to Android (Google Play?) and make sure I have disabled auto-updates; it sounds like that will keep things running 'as-is' into the future.

Is there a way to easily roll back the app to a previous version?

Cheers
John
 
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Thanks, Yuriy.

I think I understand. :)
It's not clear what hardware I actually own - is it the MSP430 platform, or the same hardware but older firmware than you are selling today or??

I'll try to go to Android (Google Play?) and make sure I have disabled auto-updates; it sounds like that will keep things running 'as-is' into the future.

Is there a way to easily roll back the app to a previous version?

Cheers
John
If you bought the board a year ago, it's using an ESP32, which is the same as the new adapters. The rest of the board is different (your board is simpler).

There is no way to roll back to an older app version.

Regards
Yuriy
 
How many time when we buy something we can discuss it with the developer and not some off shore call center. I am impressed with the information and the response provided. It is fare beyond what I am used to. Keep up the good work.
 
How many time when we buy something we can discuss it with the developer and not some off shore call center. I am impressed with the information and the response provided. It is fare beyond what I am used to. Keep up the good work.
I agree. Very quick and patient (!) response from Yuriy to a beginner like me - it is really valuable.
BTW, I'm really happy I chose the TouchDRO instead of one of the alternatives.
 
I am purchasing one of the new boards for my mill and will be moving the old board to my lathe. Is there any new functions in the Plus ap that is used on the lathe?
 
I am purchasing one of the new boards for my mill and will be moving the old board to my lathe. Is there any new functions in the Plus ap that is used on the lathe?
Hi Rob,
Thank you for the order.
The first batch of features is very mill-centric but some are useful on a lathe as well. For example, the graphical overlay can be used to turn fancy shapes. Over time I'm planning to add more stuff for the lathe, specifically for threading, etc.

Regards
Yuriy
 
I ordered a touch dro less than three months ago. It set me back more that $200 just for the box and a tablet and it's already obsolete. Now I need to pay extra $25 and shipping to get my brand new dro updated. I emailed touch dro sevetal times and they are not even bothering to respond to my emails. Very frustrated. I should have gone for a dro off aliexpress instead I guess. I could have gotten a full package for that money and aliexpress gives you some protection when you buy from them.
 
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