Hey MichaelMKKelly,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of that out.
We’ll always listen to feedback whenever it’s given in a constructive way (or at least without being mean)
If anything, it’s the most valuable thing someone can do for us, aside from buying more 😉
There are a few things I would like to mention so that we’re all on the same page.
There was a month delay in shipping as there was an issue with the production run of the PCB’s
Honestly, the delays in launching this have been incredibly frustrating for us. We’ve learned a lot from the process and can’t wait to do better in the future.
I can’t thank you (and our other early adopters) enough for bearing with us!
When I first received the product, the faceplate cracked.
[…] they are looking to resolve this in the future.
This is correct; we’ve added some thickness to the case in a few places, especially around the edge.
Interestingly, the white material, in particular, was way more brittle than we anticipated.
As such, we immediately lost ~16 of the original 100 white faceplates we ordered, as the clips had deformed weirdly!
Localbytes recommends using their configurator addon which I have (so far) not used. However I have looked at how it works and it seems painful to have to recompile and reupload firmware to the board to change what a switch does.
It’s worth noting that the configurator has a few additional benefits, mainly because the LED follows the state of the buttons.
We explored a few options but ultimately felt that configurator was the best approach, especially for designing a device that will still function just fine if we aren’t around any more (although hopefully, that won’t be a situation any time soon)
We are looking at providing a config for HASwitchManager, for example, and some docs for more advanced deck features with custom automation and configs.
Perhaps it is not fair to voice an opinion when not using it in the “intended” way? Or is the intended way to tinker?
We always meant for it to be tinkerable.
We received feedback from insiders that the configurator was a great starting point and would fit a wide range of use cases.
But we never want to be in a position to restrict what could be done with the device.
If anything, I look forward to seeing more home-grown configs for specific usages!
It does seem to be in a bit of a strange place of trying to cater to both those who want it to “just work” and those who want to tinker with it. It ends up somewhere in the middle.
You’ve probably hit the nail on the head here…
I was continually finding myself between thinking, “Does this decision restrict x?” and “Who would need x anyway?”
There’s something to be said about the onboarding, though.
We can (and want to) improve the getting started guide, as it needs to be approachable for someone just getting into HomeAssistant.
Ideally, I’d like the configurator to handle the flashing process, too, but that brings a new nuance and difficulty.
In theory, we could write fresh firmware, and then have all of the configuration happen at runtime, but, that would greatly restrict the tinkerability, in exchange for only a slight improvement in onboarding.
Maybe this means that in the future, I need to focus more on who exactly the target audience is.
That said, being solo-developed, I tended to defer to what was helpful for me and my friends, and that seemed to have served me well, to an extent.
The side USB port, when plugged in through the case, doesn’t allow for full insertion of a USB-C cable
Yeah, that was a real blow when we saw what had happened.
Initially, the case was a lot snugr around the PCB and extended with more height.
The faceplate was then flat and clipped in.
As we moved away from that design and had two parts that fit together with a seam in the middle and, therefore, needed space around the PCB for the clips, we lost track of how much room there was to play with.
We’ve already updated the assembly to have a USB charger holder and a much bigger cutout so it doesn’t collide.
If a GPIO pin can be freed up then exposing that to allow for physical add-ons would be great
I want to do this, but at the moment, I’m not sure how without introducing a lot of configuration complexity.
We’d probably need a big refactor for how we use the pins, as we’d probably move to an IO expander for the keypad itself, etc.
All in all, your write-up is fantastic; it is massive food for thought!
I don’t want any of this to have come across as an attempt to invalidate your thoughts, etc.
They’re your thoughts, not ours!
If anything, it’s quite the opposite; I share your thoughts on many of the points you’ve raised!
I guess the TLDR is we hear you, and we’re working on it
Thanks!
