Latest Tracker III info
02-01-2005, 08:44 AM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
The Tracker is delayed to late March due to the late delivery of the PIC chip. It's a new chip and did not come off the assembly line when expected. We are now into Chinese New Year delaying any work until March.
Yours truly,
Lewis Polk
Yours truly,
Lewis Polk
02-01-2005, 01:59 PM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
Sounds great Mr. Polk, it will be worth the wait. There are a couple things I'd like to find out though, what is the dimensions of the new case? What are the gimbal knobs compatible with? I ask because I have found a transmitter tray and knobs I want, but they have JR or Futaba/Hitec to select from. Any info there would be great, Thanks Mr. Polk!!!
Keith
Keith
02-01-2005, 05:09 PM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
Dear Keith,
I will have to find out as our sample is in Europe this week for a show there. I'll get back to you with dimensions later.
Yours truly,
Lewis Polk
I will have to find out as our sample is in Europe this week for a show there. I'll get back to you with dimensions later.
Yours truly,
Lewis Polk
02-02-2005, 10:22 AM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
The Buddy Box jack will work with the Futaba trainer cord and we think the JR?hitec as well, though we haven't tried those two yet. It's 100% compatible with Futaba, so if those will work with Futaba, so will ours.
Yours truly,
Lewis Polk
Yours truly,
Lewis Polk
03-15-2005, 06:17 PM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
I talked with John Gill at Polks Hobby. He told me that the container with the chips are still in customs. The tracker III will be availble abt mid April
03-15-2005, 06:42 PM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
I dont get it! This is right from Polks own words http://chat.polkshobby.com/cgi-bin/u...1;t=000033;p=2
03-15-2005, 07:38 PM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
Dear All,
The chips are now in stock and we are doing a final test on the boards with the new chips. Packaging is being printed and made and the case injection is under way. Gimbals are being made, so all is in the works now.
We're not going to do any shortcuts, but progress is steady.
All the best,
Lewis POlk
The chips are now in stock and we are doing a final test on the boards with the new chips. Packaging is being printed and made and the case injection is under way. Gimbals are being made, so all is in the works now.
We're not going to do any shortcuts, but progress is steady.
All the best,
Lewis POlk
04-04-2005, 03:45 PM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
I have said that there was a delay in the delivery of the main chip from Micro Chip or also know as PIC. This latest and greatest chip enhanced the capacity of the radio several times and at long last we have the chip. We now have to retest the chip to make sure there were no significant changes from the original specs as often happens with a new product. Once this is done we will turn the project over to manufacturing that now has all the parts in stock.
The case is molded, gimbals made, the box printed, the foam is molded, the labels are made, the switches are on hand, the antennas are on hand, the nicads are on hand, the buddy box plug is on hand the charger is on hand and the mail parts are on hand.
What is missing is the final main board awaiting confirmatio of the engineer to proceed. He's working day and night to hand make a working sample with the new chip to confirm the software remains the same with this new chip and to give it a flying test. He's about a week away and when produced we will fly in enough to cover confirmed orders.
It will only take 2 weeks or so to make once engineering finishes, so now you know as much as I do. We have made the Tracker II for two years and were never out of it. The Seeker 6 orders are now caught up and hopefully we can keep them in stock on a regular basis. Boy is that a hot item!
We have been doing this for some 70 years and we have done it well. We could not control this giant manufacturer who ran into new product dificulties. We have trained a second tech to handle phone calls once the product is out.
Almost all of our current users will not give up their radios and they are some of the most famous writers and flyers in the country,
I can understand your frustration, but imagine ours too. After spending a fortune in development and advertising we were blindsided by the delay. The evolution to the new model was so great that I didn't want to continue the old model until the new one arrived.
I'll post again only when I have an official delivery date confirmed.
Yours truly,
Lewis Polk
The case is molded, gimbals made, the box printed, the foam is molded, the labels are made, the switches are on hand, the antennas are on hand, the nicads are on hand, the buddy box plug is on hand the charger is on hand and the mail parts are on hand.
What is missing is the final main board awaiting confirmatio of the engineer to proceed. He's working day and night to hand make a working sample with the new chip to confirm the software remains the same with this new chip and to give it a flying test. He's about a week away and when produced we will fly in enough to cover confirmed orders.
It will only take 2 weeks or so to make once engineering finishes, so now you know as much as I do. We have made the Tracker II for two years and were never out of it. The Seeker 6 orders are now caught up and hopefully we can keep them in stock on a regular basis. Boy is that a hot item!
We have been doing this for some 70 years and we have done it well. We could not control this giant manufacturer who ran into new product dificulties. We have trained a second tech to handle phone calls once the product is out.
Almost all of our current users will not give up their radios and they are some of the most famous writers and flyers in the country,
I can understand your frustration, but imagine ours too. After spending a fortune in development and advertising we were blindsided by the delay. The evolution to the new model was so great that I didn't want to continue the old model until the new one arrived.
I'll post again only when I have an official delivery date confirmed.
Yours truly,
Lewis Polk
04-05-2005, 04:16 PM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
Thanks for the update and I'm sure you are tired of hearing the same question over and over.
I'm not a famous pilot or writer but I also use a tracker II and I won't give mine up either.
WYLDMAN
I'm not a famous pilot or writer but I also use a tracker II and I won't give mine up either.
WYLDMAN
04-26-2005, 04:03 PM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
All right, the last update on the t3 was on April 4th, I think it is time for an update. Keeping everyone hanging by a thread with updates every 3 to 4 weeks is just plane mean [
]. With everyone chomping at the bit, you should pick a day every week to give updates (ex. Monday would be nice) to settle the natives down. It does come across as if Polk Hobbies does not care. I am myself trying to wait patiently, but I know my patience is waining and I am starting to look at other radios because I have no clue of the status of the t3. With a weekly update, people will be less prone to do the same, and a lot less tension would be felt on both sides.
Dave
]. With everyone chomping at the bit, you should pick a day every week to give updates (ex. Monday would be nice) to settle the natives down. It does come across as if Polk Hobbies does not care. I am myself trying to wait patiently, but I know my patience is waining and I am starting to look at other radios because I have no clue of the status of the t3. With a weekly update, people will be less prone to do the same, and a lot less tension would be felt on both sides.Dave
05-01-2005, 02:35 AM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
I have heard an update on the t3 radio. Lewis Polk sent this message in the Polk Hobbies forum:
It sounds like a couple more weeks until the next update so keep your fingers crossed that they do not encounter any more unforseen problems.
May 1, 2005
Dear All,
My apologies for the long delay in the Tracker system. It was far more difficult then I expected and unforeseen engineering problems were encountered. We have a few hundred thousand dollars in parts sitting and sleeping at the factory that we have pre-paid for, so it wasn’t for lack of trying. Rather it was more like trying to make a PC computer into a server and making this a totally universal radio took a bit longer than I thought.
The job is now done and at the factory, though they are on a week long Golden Week vacation until May 7th. They will begin the assembly and pc board making jobs as soon as they return. The molds are done as are all programming jobs and the packaging and instructions are finished.
What held us up? It was a tough job anyway, but the biggest problem was the buddy box system. It’s easy on analog mechanical systems, but not easy at all on digital systems. You have to cutoff all logic when the buddy box takes over electronically instead of mechanically and thus the biggest delay. Also, we tried to make a universal buddy box and failed. We had a fall back position of using a Futaba styled jack and cable ( Futaba is the trade name of another company and none of its parts or technology was used) and even then we used the original jack style.
This, of course, was after a long delay of testing a brand new chip that is the secret of making this product. Others had to resort to two chips to get the kind of performance we get in one giant new chip and thus do not have to divide functions down. Additionally, the memory stick concept was so new that it took a big redesign from the older radio to make it happen. This card will allow updates to be self installed without coming back to the factory, and we can change frequencies on demand as well with this card.
So…………the real question is when will the assembly be done? We don’t know today, but will have updates during the latter part of the month.
All the best,
Lewis Polk, President
Dear All,
My apologies for the long delay in the Tracker system. It was far more difficult then I expected and unforeseen engineering problems were encountered. We have a few hundred thousand dollars in parts sitting and sleeping at the factory that we have pre-paid for, so it wasn’t for lack of trying. Rather it was more like trying to make a PC computer into a server and making this a totally universal radio took a bit longer than I thought.
The job is now done and at the factory, though they are on a week long Golden Week vacation until May 7th. They will begin the assembly and pc board making jobs as soon as they return. The molds are done as are all programming jobs and the packaging and instructions are finished.
What held us up? It was a tough job anyway, but the biggest problem was the buddy box system. It’s easy on analog mechanical systems, but not easy at all on digital systems. You have to cutoff all logic when the buddy box takes over electronically instead of mechanically and thus the biggest delay. Also, we tried to make a universal buddy box and failed. We had a fall back position of using a Futaba styled jack and cable ( Futaba is the trade name of another company and none of its parts or technology was used) and even then we used the original jack style.
This, of course, was after a long delay of testing a brand new chip that is the secret of making this product. Others had to resort to two chips to get the kind of performance we get in one giant new chip and thus do not have to divide functions down. Additionally, the memory stick concept was so new that it took a big redesign from the older radio to make it happen. This card will allow updates to be self installed without coming back to the factory, and we can change frequencies on demand as well with this card.
So…………the real question is when will the assembly be done? We don’t know today, but will have updates during the latter part of the month.
All the best,
Lewis Polk, President
05-19-2005, 10:58 AM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
Wow! After readin all this I am glad that I didn't order oneyet. Will wait and see if there are faulty component/software issues once the radios come out. Meantime my 2 Futabas are working just fine. [8D]
on any new info.
05-20-2005, 06:44 PM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
I just got this post off the Polk Hobby forum: May 19
Just thought you would like to know the status. It would be nice to get now that my old Prizm just started giving me trouble.
Dear All,
The latest word is that all designs for the boards are completed and the factory has started making the boards. This is less than a week's job and we expect to have completed boards early next week to test before assembling then into the final radio case. I'll let you know when this is approved next week.
All the best,
Lewis Polk
The latest word is that all designs for the boards are completed and the factory has started making the boards. This is less than a week's job and we expect to have completed boards early next week to test before assembling then into the final radio case. I'll let you know when this is approved next week.
All the best,
Lewis Polk
Just thought you would like to know the status. It would be nice to get now that my old Prizm just started giving me trouble.
07-01-2005, 10:01 AM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
AN UPDATE FROM LEWIS SURE WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR THOSE OF US THAT ARE ON THE WAITING LIST. SOME MEMBERS OF MY CLUB ARE STARTING TO CALL THE TRACKER III "POLKMON RADIO" AND COMPARE IT TO THE LOC NEST MONSTER, BIG FOOT AND SUCH.
LEWIS PLEASE TELL US SOMETHING.............................
LEWIS PLEASE TELL US SOMETHING.............................
07-01-2005, 01:23 PM
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RE: Latest Tracker III info
Just Got this off of polks web site.
Dear All,
We are finished testing the first production sample of the Tracker III and will get 5 more next week to test further. If it passes all flight tests we will bring in the first shipment of a few hundred by air to get into the market place while the rest will come by sea a month after.
Yours truly,
Lewis Polk
I just wounder Who gets the first few hundred. I hope its EVERYBODY that pre ordered and have been waiting for what seams like years.
Dear All,
We are finished testing the first production sample of the Tracker III and will get 5 more next week to test further. If it passes all flight tests we will bring in the first shipment of a few hundred by air to get into the market place while the rest will come by sea a month after.
Yours truly,
Lewis Polk
I just wounder Who gets the first few hundred. I hope its EVERYBODY that pre ordered and have been waiting for what seams like years.