Simplifying shipping

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  • While the 2032 and other batteries cost much less than a USD the prevent shipping via USPS and thus wind up costing $10. It should be possible to buy devices without the battery.

  • Are you trying to buy from Adafruit, or somewhere else? And you're trying to buy the Puck?

    Maybe they're being overly careful about it - generally because it's such a small battery, isn't li-ion, and is installed in the device, in protective packaging most shippers are totally fine with it. If you order from shop.espruino.com I ship out from the UK and I'm pretty sure that all goes through USPS without issue.

    Having said all that, I don't supply batteries with the Pixl - because it's not shipped in a box and isn't encased it's much less obvious whether postal services will take it.

  • Yes, the Puck via Adafruit. And, yes, they are far too conservative about it. Don't know if you can do anything -- just a mild observation.

    It's a replacement for my existing puck which almost works after being through the washing machine. But the Bluetooth radio being a casualty.

  • ...it's called a coin cell... or button cell... obviously not as resilient as coins and buttons on washable garments... - I know that that is not the radio that did not survive. Next thing is to program the puck to object to come too close to the opening of a washing machine... may be with the most modern, technically advanced - communicable -models this could be done. ;}

  • Ahh. I can have a word with them I guess - it's hard for me to check from the UK, but are there other devices they sell with coin cells in that they will ship just fine with USPS? It's possible it got classified as having a LiPo battery in by accident.

    which almost works after being through the washing machine

    That's a new one! Well, I guess it's not that water resistant.

    You could try leaving the PCB submerged in distilled water for a few days (and shaking it every so often), then letting it dry out for a week and trying again? If the aerial itself isn't physically damaged it's likely there's just detergent around the tracks or under the chip that's adding resistance.

  • For now, buying a new one seems like the safest solution ... to the problem of having in a solution.

  • [I thought I had posted this earlier]

    What's strange is that after I replaced the cell the flashing lights program I left in it sort of worked, though the colors seemed a bit off. But I didn't see it show up in the list of Bluetooth radios in the IDE. No big deal, just an FYI. That's what I get for carrying it around as a demo of what one could do with JavaScript for IoT. (related to the ECMA TC53 effort which Espruino might want to join)

  • the colors seemed a bit off

    This could well be a side-effect of increased resistance from soap and/or corrosion on the chip's pads. I bet it'll probably run down the CR2032 a lot faster as well :) To ensure it's properly sorted you probably want to unsolder the metal shield and have a good scrub around there with an old toothbrush as well - so yeah, a new Puck is definitely the easy option!

    I should also add that other non-Adafruit distributors are available that will ship via USPS (http://www.espruino.com/Order) - for instance @Robin on here sells them via https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071FBVH7X

    TC53 looks really interesting. I don't have too much free time, but how would I get involved? It seems like to join ECMA (even for a small company) would require a @€3000 per year fee, which is not something I could really afford. Even though what I do is all open source the company isn't registered as a charity, which rules out the free membership.

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Simplifying shipping

Posted by Avatar for BobFrankston @BobFrankston

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