Gert Board Discontinued?

Because I am also trying to find out what is going on which is impossible in weekends when all companies are closed.
I was hoping to get info today but the meeting is tomorrow.

Any update on the availability of Gertboards? Will they ever be available again as a kit? As an assembled board? Inquiring minds want to know...

Of course they will.

[Gert van Loo]

Sorry for not responding sooner.
I now have official confirmation from Farnell that they will not sell anymore gertboard kits.
There will be a completely assembled boards available in a few weeks time.

As to future kits: I am looking if that is still viable.
The biggest problem is that a kit will be more expensive than a ready made product.
That may sound strange but all calculations show that to be the case.

I was hoping to have an solution sooner and was waiting with a post like this to
tell some happy 'kit' news but I have no solution yet.
So your are right: it is time to tell you guys/girls what is going on.
I am sorry for the inconvenience. The plan was always to sell kits until
the ready made boards became available. Farnell decided that it is not viable.

-- Gert

OK - may be worth getting them to supply the bare board ?

Gert,

Thanks for the update. It is good to know the frustration of some awaiting the boards will soon be over.

Personally yes it would be nice to have the opportunity of building the board myself but actually being able to obtain a Gertboard and start to interface with the big outside world is what the majority of us actually want to do.

I look forward to hearing more about the availability when you have confirmation..

Cheers

[Gert van Loo]

:-(
OK - may be worth getting them to supply the bare board ?

I have suggested that.
The big obstacle they see is that they have a minimum order amount which makes the bare board very expensive.
It would be possible to buy the board with some or all of the parts but then you get a final price which is around £40. (~$60)
Although it is my own design £40/$60 is just too much for a Gertboard kit. I would not pay that for it!
The guilty party is the foundation The low price of the Raspberry-Pi puts all other things around it under very high price pressure.

I ordered the gertboard as soon as it became available.
Waited and waited then waited some more.
Finally got that joyful email telling me my gertboard had been shipped.
The following day UPS showed up at my work with an envelope for me.
Joy, Rapture, Ecstasy.
Open the envelope, pull out the box, Open the box.......

No Gertboard... Raspberry PI.
So I am now probably the only person who has ever been disappointed to receive a Raspberry PI.

I ordered the gertboard as soon as it became available.
Waited and waited then waited some more.
Finally got that joyful email telling me my gertboard had been shipped.
The following day UPS showed up at my work with an envelope for me.
Joy, Rapture, Ecstasy.
Open the envelope, pull out the box, Open the box.......

No Gertboard... Raspberry PI.
So I am now probably the only person who has ever been disappointed to receive a Raspberry PI.

... no there are others ....
who have posted here....

:-(
OK - may be worth getting them to supply the bare board ?

I have suggested that.
The big obstacle they see is that they have a minimum order amount which makes the bare board very expensive.

Someone else could buy a load of bare boards and kit them though? Or would that be an issue for Farnell now that they're going to be doing the assembled kit? Personally I think it's two different markets. But it doesn't really matter what I think

While I was looking forward to assembling my kit (planned X-mas gift), knowing that it will come pre-assembled, and I can't screw it up does have its appeal. I know I'm not alone in this, but I also know I'm probably not in the majority with that sentiment. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.

I'm probably not in the majority with that sentiment.

I bet you are. I bet far more will sell ultimately to educational establishments etc. in assembled form than kits would have. Can you imagine soldering up 20 Gertboards for a class? Forget it!

I don't see why both kit and pre-assembled can't be an option though.

[Gert van Loo]

I don't see why both kit and pre-assembled can't be an option though.

That would be ideal. But a cheaper, ready-made product would reduce the sales volume of a kit significantly.
The question is: will there be enough volume left and if so find a partner who is willing to try it out.

Tandy seem to have been able at one point to obtain bare boards and then supply kits at a reasonable price sourcing the components themselves. If they can continue to get bare boards maybe they can be the future source of the Gertboard in kit form.

Tandy seem to have been able at one point to obtain bare boards and then supply kits at a reasonable price sourcing the components themselves. If they can continue to get bare boards maybe they can be the future source of the Gertboard in kit form.

They would seem to be the obvious choice, but has Farnell got a grudge against them for launching before they could themselves? Are there competition issues? Are there contractual issues? There's a lot more to it than we can ever know - unfortunately.

Open the envelope, pull out the box, Open the box.......

No Gertboard... Raspberry PI.
So I am now probably the only person who has ever been disappointed to receive a Raspberry PI.

... no there are others ....
who have posted here....

Surprise today, another box delivered by UPS.
My Gertboard, and a note from Element 14, admitting their error. Telling me to keep the Raspberry as a gift and offering me 15% off on my next order.

Way to make good on it there guys!

The guilty party is the foundation The low price of the Raspberry-Pi puts all other things around it under very high price pressure.

Yes. And leave us not forget M&Ms; they must share some of the blame, because the blasted things are so difficult to peel!

In seriousness, (1) I am not surprised to learn that an assembled Gertboard would cost less than a Gertboard in kit form; and (2, wearing my teacher hat instead of my tinkerer hat) feel the largest didactic payoff for the Gertboard is the examples it provides for numerous interfacing opportunities, much moreso than the soldering.

So, while I am disappointed that I will not be able to fill my own Gertboard, I nevertheless look forward all the more to having a Gertboard. Current plans are to demonstrate a Pi/Gertboard-based speech scrambler at an open house in May. And I am likewise delighted that the bulk of Gert's toils on the Gertboard appear to not have been in vain!

Wow.
I also received my Gertboard today along with the letter telling me to keep the
Pi they sent. The Pi (my third) is a bonus. I'm just really pleased to get the Gertboard.

Newark / element14 has been very generous. Thank you!

Now to get to work/play!

I too received a RPi in my Gert Board order, so I called got an RMA number and sent it back. Today, I got the box from Newark with the Gert Board and the note telling me to keep the PPi (which they have already) I would have been a happy customer if it were not for the note telling me to keep what I do not have. I wrote to customer service to ask them to make it right - I feel I am being punished for doing the right thing right away. They refused, citing the fact that after they started processing RMAs, they realized it was cheaper to just let people keep them. I told them I was not satified. I wonder how many other people got screwed three times like me: once having to do the RMA and make the trip to the UPS store, once for getting a box with a note to keep the item we no longer have, and once by getting a lousy explanation from customer (dis)service?

Is there a better place to do business with, besides Newark? I am in the US.

Alan

I recieved my gertboard today with a note thanking me for being a good customer and telling me to keep the pi they sent and also a coupon. Now i need to build the gertboard.

[jamesh]

I too received a RPi in my Gert Board order, so I called got an RMA number and sent it back. Today, I got the box from Newark with the Gert Board and the note telling me to keep the PPi (which they have already) I would have been a happy customer if it were not for the note telling me to keep what I do not have. I wrote to customer service to ask them to make it right - I feel I am being punished for doing the right thing right away. They refused, citing the fact that after they started processing RMAs, they realized it was cheaper to just let people keep them. I told them I was not satified. I wonder how many other people got screwed three times like me: once having to do the RMA and make the trip to the UPS store, once for getting a box with a note to keep the item we no longer have, and once by getting a lousy explanation from customer (dis)service?

Is there a better place to do business with, besides Newark? I am in the US.

Alan

So, you got what you ordered? A gertboard? What you didn't get was the free Pi that some others have got because of the dispatch issue? Now, I'm not sure that counts as being screwed. Being unfortunate maybe. But not screwed, since you got exactly what you ordered.

Note I'm not saying Newark ?RS/Farnell whoever are breaking new ground with their customer support. There is definitely room for improvement.

:-(
OK - may be worth getting them to supply the bare board ?

I have suggested that.
The big obstacle they see is that they have a minimum order amount which makes the bare board very expensive.

That doesn't ring true, if you are having boards made for the ready built version it has always been easy enough, in my experience, to get the factory to ship some boards that are not made up. After all the boards have to be made and adding a thousand onto an order is only going to bring the overall cost down.

:-(
OK - may be worth getting them to supply the bare board ?

I have suggested that.
The big obstacle they see is that they have a minimum order amount which makes the bare board very expensive.

That doesn't ring true, if you are having boards made for the ready built version it has always been easy enough, in my experience, to get the factory to ship some boards that are not made up. After all the boards have to be made and adding a thousand onto an order is only going to bring the overall cost down.

Wasn't he talking about Farnell's minimum order value of £20 rather than the minimum quantity of bare boards made up? Even that would be easily defeated. If they're £5 each, club together and buy four

Just noticed Tandy have Gert board Kits in stock again.
Bet they dont last long

Sorry for not responding sooner.
I now have official confirmation from Farnell that they will not sell anymore gertboard kits.
There will be a completely assembled boards available in a few weeks time.

As to future kits: I am looking if that is still viable.
The biggest problem is that a kit will be more expensive than a ready made product.
That may sound strange but all calculations show that to be the case.

I was hoping to have an solution sooner and was waiting with a post like this to
tell some happy 'kit' news but I have no solution yet.
So your are right: it is time to tell you guys/girls what is going on.
I am sorry for the inconvenience. The plan was always to sell kits until
the ready made boards became available. Farnell decided that it is not viable.

-- Gert

Thanks Gert on the update. I have received a kit Gertboard two weeks ago but didn't receive any of the buffered IO ICs.

Element14 in Australia said that they would like me to return the full kit instead of just sending out the missing parts.

Does that mean I will have to wait for a new assembled board? I thought it would be simpler and cheaper for them to just send out the 3 ICs?

Thanks Gert on the update. I have received a kit Gertboard two weeks ago but didn't receive any of the buffered IO ICs.

Element14 in Australia said that they would like me to return the full kit instead of just sending out the missing parts.

Does that mean I will have to wait for a new assembled board? I thought it would be simpler and cheaper for them to just send out the 3 ICs?

It would be cheaper for you just to buy in the buffer chips, they're only about 70p each. Plus as Gertboard kits are in short supply, how do you know you'll get a kit again? I know there's a principle at stake here, but in your shoes, there's no way I'd let my kit out of my site

Thanks Gert on the update. I have received a kit Gertboard two weeks ago but didn't receive any of the buffered IO ICs.

Element14 in Australia said that they would like me to return the full kit instead of just sending out the missing parts.

Does that mean I will have to wait for a new assembled board? I thought it would be simpler and cheaper for them to just send out the 3 ICs?

It would be cheaper for you just to buy in the buffer chips, they're only about 70p each. Plus as Gertboard kits are in short supply, how do you know you'll get a kit again? I know there's a principle at stake here, but in your shoes, there's no way I'd let my kit out of my site

I haven't yet...I probably won't. There is a sure call coming Element14's way if that's their plan.

I will just wait and see what happens. I really thought that it would be better to just send the ICs.