Re: Playing with the DM-16CC! Message #17 Posted by John I. on 20 Mar 2012, 7:16 a.m., in response to message #16 by Giancarlo
I received 2 'early' DM15cc units - I think from the 'first batch of 50' - on the 29th of February.
They are very nice.
For completeness, there were two issues I had, but Michael (the designed) in Switzerland was really good in sorting them out.
1/ Minor: One key on one unit needed to be pressed at a specific angle to get it to register. Michael told me by email how to peel back the top foil to check - on doing so it was clear the metal 'dome' for this key was offset from the needed location. Re-seating it fixed it. (probably a 5 minute job).
2/ More serious - on taking the units out of the soft cover I'd see every so often the 'PR ERROR' message, as has been reported by a few other people. This meant any programs in the unit at the time were being lost. This could happen several times a day depending on how often I took it out to test. (Possibly around 1 in 4 times, or 1 in 5 times that I took it out.)
Doing some tests with the units suggested it was due to static discharges. I put the units into $2.00 iPhone cases (plastic) and had a greatly reduced incidence of this, to just one example in 4 days of fairly regular tests.
Michael (by email) suggested putting insulating tape over the 4 screws on the back on the units (he also offered to replace the units, no questions asked). I put tape over the screws and also ran tape around the sides - this was on the 6th of March. Since then I've not had a 'PR ERROR' incidence, even though I have given it a pretty fair amount of use.
Michael tells me the new units will have better keyboards, better insulation (the metal screws won't connect to the main board), a capacitor to provide momentary power loss protection, and few other improvements.
In use - I echo the earlier comments by others, they are nice little machines. I carry one in my pocket (in the iPhone case, it fits nicely with the tape around the unit) and tend to use it in preference to the 35s in my bag for quick calculations. The keys on these units do need careful pressing - and consequent careful watching of the display - but it is ok in practice. The feel is certainly not anything like my 15c LE or older 11C, but the small package makes it useful for different sorts of reasons. If/when the facility to download/upload programs via the miniUSB port comes along I can see these will be nifty little units.
Needless to add I've no affiliation with Michael the designer/seller. His support by email has been excellent, and I'd say the whole concept is really good too. Given his obvious knowledge in the field and his determination to identify the teething issues with the first units I would expect the units to come will be pretty good.
Sorry for the long message - hope it is of interest to some.
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