Liquid Synergy Designs Inc. -ASIC mining hardware

[Rakessh]

So... those taking delivery of their K16's and sticking it out... Will you be mining BTC or an altcoin (sha256 based) with the miner?

I've mentioned ROI'ing in BTC on these things December and been ridiculed for it (free electricity and overclock with diy buck reg mod... may make a guide on that once I've done my own).
So out of interest, how many will be mining an altcoin with theirs?

[markm]

I merged mine bitcoin + all the merge-able coins.

I am looking into "mine only when there is enough power coming in" solar/wind setup for when grid power is too costly.

-MarkM-

[silicont]

Still waiting for batch 5 80-chip refund, SB update, and kingdom come.

[steamboat]

Update:

Chip refunds:
We have processed the majority of the refund requests which were verified in the first two batches which did not require additional manual verification. We have also just received refunds for two additional batches, which includes our chip purchase, which will be used to process assembly refund requests. Refund requests will continue to be processed until they are complete.

There currently remains 2 batches of chips, and we are roughly one thousand chips in to the next batch of refund requests.

Chip shipment:
Yifu has stated he shipped the first batch on Monday. We are currently awaiting a tracking number. He has also stated the second batch should ship today or tomorrow.

Assembly update:
We are continuing to debug and troubleshoot the Klondike design. We have not been successful in hashing on more than one bank at a time, and have discovered further hardware flaws in addition to the lack of firmware which may inhibit the board from performing properly when the firmware required to use all 16 chips is finalized. We have ordered replacement parts for testing, which should be here this week. We are also working on the capability to update the firmware via USB to avoid the need for a PIC programmer. Terrahash has not responded to our inquiries regarding their claims to have a fully functioning unit. We have emailed Bkkcoins several times, to no avail.
If any of you are familiar with the Klondike design and would like to help, please let us know. We are most interested in firmware developers to assist in debugging the code, but all assistance is welcome. 

In the event the chips arrive prior to the design being finalized, we have two options. We can either assemble the units based on the design at the time of delivery, or we can delay assembly to finish the design and ensure it functions prior to shipping. We are still working on the procedure to handle this scenario, but suggest waiting until the units are fully functional. We cannot rule out the possibility of a hardware level flaw which would require a component replacement to function properly until we are successful hashing with all 16 chips.

Assembly refunds:
We have received our chip refund, and will begin processing assembly refunds shortly. We are working out the best way to process the requests, and will post an update upon completion.

Next gen:
We have been working towards solidifying the redesign using next gen chips, and are cautiously optimistic. We cannot release any details at this time.

There are several questions we have not answered, and we will get to them as quickly as possible with a more detailed update.

[alfabitcoin]

Still no refund for 80 chips in batch 2! Submitted within 20hrs after refund request was first sent out! Request was pass as OK, no additional questions!
I doubt you have refunded almost 2 batches of chips buyers. Count a little posts of confirmations of received refunds! I might be wrong as no all report on forum. We have no insight of what is going on Steamboat and its a little insulting.
Refund at once, I am sick of waiting! I was on time and prompt on everything, its your turn.

I counted 21 members with refund confirmations and that is all. (Unknown of those who did not posted confirmation). I dont know what to say or think on that......
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Au277u2T6_H3dGRjZkllM3R5cTdVXzZpd0h2Sm5Ub3c#gid=0

Spreadsheet made before refund request form has 5290 chips total from 43 buyers. What may I conclude from it?

Every single GB making spreadsheet and refund list, only our does not. We need to have a refund list (chips and assambly refunds)!

[ionstorm]

Update:

Chip refunds:
We have processed the majority of the refund requests which were verified in the first two batches which did not require additional manual verification. We have also just received refunds for two additional batches, which includes our chip purchase, which will be used to process assembly refund requests. Refund requests will continue to be processed until they are complete.

There currently remains 2 batches of chips, and we are roughly one thousand chips in to the next batch of refund requests.

Chip shipment:
Yifu has stated he shipped the first batch on Monday. We are currently awaiting a tracking number. He has also stated the second batch should ship today or tomorrow.

Assembly update:
We are continuing to debug and troubleshoot the Klondike design. We have not been successful in hashing on more than one bank at a time, and have discovered further hardware flaws in addition to the lack of firmware which may inhibit the board from performing properly when the firmware required to use all 16 chips is finalized. We have ordered replacement parts for testing, which should be here this week. We are also working on the capability to update the firmware via USB to avoid the need for a PIC programmer. Terrahash has not responded to our inquiries regarding their claims to have a fully functioning unit. We have emailed Bkkcoins several times, to no avail.
If any of you are familiar with the Klondike design and would like to help, please let us know. We are most interested in firmware developers to assist in debugging the code, but all assistance is welcome. 

In the event the chips arrive prior to the design being finalized, we have two options. We can either assemble the units based on the design at the time of delivery, or we can delay assembly to finish the design and ensure it functions prior to shipping. We are still working on the procedure to handle this scenario, but suggest waiting until the units are fully functional. We cannot rule out the possibility of a hardware level flaw which would require a component replacement to function properly until we are successful hashing with all 16 chips.

Assembly refunds:
We have received our chip refund, and will begin processing assembly refunds shortly. We are working out the best way to process the requests, and will post an update upon completion.

Next gen:
We have been working towards solidifying the redesign using next gen chips, and are cautiously optimistic. We cannot release any details at this time.

There are several questions we have not answered, and we will get to them as quickly as possible with a more detailed update.

Get these babies fully functioning, don't ship us remaining people buggy units.  I'm for waiting a lil longer for working units, USB firmware updates sounds awesome, hopefully you can get two banks of chips working.  Shit if I lived near u SB ID help build those miners for free so us get them out the door

[FuzzyThunder]

So I guess my refund request wasn't part of that majority.

I also assume there's no way to find out whether or not my refund request was received properly.

I never got any email telling me it was rejected or accepted and  never got a refund(16 chips in batch 5).

This is the only time during this whole clusterfuck that I've been concerned.  

Edit: I woke up this morning and found that my refund had been processed over night. Thanks, SB.

[silicont]

Assembly refunds:
We have received our chip refund, and will begin processing assembly refunds shortly. We are working out the best way to process the requests, and will post an update upon completion.
.
.
.
There are several questions we have not answered, and we will get to them as quickly as possible with a more detailed update.

Correct me if I'm wrong, bu in the many words from SB, we haven't seen assembly refund instructions yet.  His statement above sounds a little like assembly refunds have been submitted.  "We will begin accepting assembly refund requests shortly" is what I hope that says.

[eroxors]

Chip shipment:
Yifu has stated he shipped the first batch on Monday. We are currently awaiting a tracking number. He has also stated the second batch should ship today or tomorrow.

Wow. Sebastian ordered his first batch from Yifu on 5/11 (10 days after our batch 1 on 5/1). He RECEIVED his batch yesterday. Assuming about 10 days for shipping, Yifu shipped 20 DAYS out of order. un-fucking-believable.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=187660.msg3181364#msg3181364

In the event the chips arrive prior to the design being finalized, we have two options. We can either assemble the units based on the design at the time of delivery, or we can delay assembly to finish the design and ensure it functions prior to shipping. We are still working on the procedure to handle this scenario, but suggest waiting until the units are fully functional. We cannot rule out the possibility of a hardware level flaw which would require a component replacement to function properly until we are successful hashing with all 16 chips.

Not that it matters for me anymore, but will you be entertaining an 8-chip option for a nominal fee increase?

Next gen:
We have been working towards solidifying the redesign using next gen chips, and are cautiously optimistic. We cannot release any details at this time.

This is great. I'll be very interested in what you can manage.

In light of this news, I've officially requested a refund for my 50 chips w/assembly in batch 1. I wanted to stick it out because I was one of the first to purchase chips, but I was under the impression that the chips were already enroute from Yifu. It now seems that boards are at least 2-3 weeks out, and by then the whole game may have changed and my projections are all messed up. I'm hopeful that a next-gen board can be manufactured with parts already purchased. In the meantime, I'll be happy to know that my BTC isn't going to that fucking insolent child, Yifu. Thanks for your competence and patience SB.

[eroxors]

I would encourage everyone who has lost money because of Yifu to leave a negative trust rating:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=68196

[Lollaskates]

Still waiting on my damn refund. Tell me where in the "Batch" refund queue I am? My chip purchase was in #4.

I dont understand why the default process isn't refund, as everyone will have less negative ROI taking a refund than continuing with the miners. Only idiots and people "in it for the fun of having a miner" are still waiting on the functional assembly of a non-functioning product with a flawed design. The people still waiting on refunds that only cover "part" of a batch should trigger the full batch refund, period.

[cardcomm]

:: snip ::

There are several questions we have not answered, and we will get to them as quickly as possible with a more detailed update.

Thanks for the update. I've been trying to keep patient - I know it must be a real pain processing all these refunds.

But you are right. This update hasn't answered all the questions by a long shot, and has created even more questions as well. I hope "as quickly as possible" is less than the usual week+.

Perhaps doing an update followed very soon by an "answer questions" post would be helpful, and would likely remove some of the pressure for continued updates. I mean, each update triggers more questions, and people get really frustrated waiting a week for them to be answered.

I know I've complained loudly in this thread in the past. Please don't take this as a complaint. I truly believe you are trying to make the best of a crappy situation, and I'm just suggesting "paired" updates might make things easier on you. (Obviously, I realize being completely left alone to fix this mess would be the best way to make things easier for you. Unfortunately, that's not really workable.)

I think the main thing on everyone's minds is "Where am I in the refund queue?", "Did you get my refund request, and was it verified?", "Are the chip refunds directly coupled to hardware refunds? (I'd assumed so, but there seems to be some question)", and "Will I get stuck taking chips? or the variation "Will I get stuck taking a refund?" It would be AWESOME to get some clarity on those concerns, and some visibility into the refund queue position.

Thanks again SB for trying to make the best of this.

I'm gonna take a deep breath, stay patient, and wait for my refund. Which BTW I have gotten NO feedback as to if it's even been accepted/received.

[bigbeninlondon]

I didn't realize assembly was directly connected to chips.  I thought assembly was going to be refunded the same way chips were.  I don't want a 25% refund on assembly if I can instead apply the whole thing to a Gen2 board.  That's my end game, or so I thought.

[markm]

We're planning to let Yifu screw us around for a whole 'nother generation?

Or can we have him pre-order bitcoins from us by shipping us chips first then we pay if we like the way the finished boards we put them in work?

-MarkM-

[ibminer]

I didn't realize assembly was directly connected to chips.  I thought assembly was going to be refunded the same way chips were.  I don't want a 25% refund on assembly if I can instead apply the whole thing to a Gen2 board.  That's my end game, or so I thought.

it is my understanding assembly refunds is not connected to chip refunds... in an email from SB:

If you request an assembly refund, it will be separate and apart from the chip refund you have requested. Yes, you may refund your chips and wait to request an assembly refund until there is more information regarding a version 2 board. Yes, you have the option of receiving the components to produce the units.

I would anticipate instructions on assembly refunds at some point...

[logicbomb666]

So as of today, steamboat still doesn't have a fully functioning unit. (from test chips that arrived on time)

I have been keeping my calm throughout this whole ordeal, but this last update is starting to shake my nerves.

Imagine what would have happened if all the chips were actually delivered on time:  As of today, we still wouldn't have fully assembled units. 

[wrenchmonkey]

So I guess my refund request wasn't part of that majority.

I also assume there's no way to find out whether or not my refund request was received properly.

I never got any email telling me it was rejected or accepted and  never got a refund(16 chips in batch 5).

This is the only time during this whole clusterfuck that I've been concerned. 

I'm in the same boat. Still haven't heard back a damn thing. WTF is the problem? Why does it take a week to get a simple fucking 2-line update? This is beyond unprofessional...

[hoss]

A confirmation of chip refund request 'received' and a queue guesstimate would calm my nerves.  
    - again 260 B1 + 268 B3 REQUESTING REFUND
I submitted my request ~Friday 6th September PLEASE ADVISE. 
~As of this post I have NOT received an email to confirm or deny the request~

[ScaryHash]

Well, this latest update certainly makes things "interesting", in a most inconvenient way, from a personal perspective.

I have chip orders in batches 1,2, 3, 4 & 5. (fascinating, isn't it?)

I've also paid for assembly for those miners....this does get better.

So...if batches 1 and 2 are shipping, but I've requested a refund (6 days ago)...how exactly is this going to be handled? I've received no e-mail or confirmation...

Personally, I've completely lost faith in the whole Klondike thing. I thought would stick it out, but I'm not optismistic, hence I've requested a refund.

I'm assuming that there aren't enough refunds for batches 1 and 2??

Does this mean I'm going to get "somewhat functional" miners from batches 1 and 2 and a refund from batches 3, 4 and 5? What about my assembly costs??

What a complete clusterfuck.

[bystander]

The uncertainty of the refund requests' status is indeed weighing on everyone's mind.  I've been tempted to re-submit the two refund requests again, but not sure if that would speed up the process or flag it as a duplicate entry.  The folks who did not sign correctly at least received a response one way or another.