Some Mechanical and Electronic Updates
over 5 years ago – Tue, Dec 18, 2018 at 01:05:36 AM

Hey backers,  

Thank you for your patience between our updates. As we shared in our previous update, some of the Knog team have been on the ground in China at the factory monitoring tooling progress. The aim of the visit was to approve all the different parts of the Bandicoot for production.  

Mechanical/Tooling Update  

Most of the parts were good to go. The chassis, USB clip parts and PCB support are looking really schmick. The silicone component didn’t meet our (very high) standards though, so further tooling refinements are currently being done to improve this.  

Electronics Updates 

The Bandicoot’s circuit and software have gone through a number of revisions to ensure these components are operating at their best. We’ve added in some exciting new functionality for you too. 

Locking feature
We’ve had lots of requests for the addition of a locking feature to make sure the Bandicoot isn’t turned on accidentally. So we’ve added it in. The Bandicoot can be locked by pressing and holding both of the buttons for 2 seconds, and unlocked in the same manner. Simples. 

Standby for years
We’ve reduced the standby power so that the battery is not quickly drained when not in use. When fully charged, the power in the Bandicoot will last for up to 2 years in standby mode – so when you’re ready to go your Bandicoot is too. 

ModeMaker
The Bandicoot comes pre-programed with lots different light modes that will suit most people. For those of you who want to customise your own light modes, we’ve finished the process of adding Bandicoot to Modemaker. Whether you want flashing light modes, very long running low output modes, or something else that tickles your fancy, you can make it a reality with Modemaker. 

Low battery Light output strategy
We have updated the strategy for low battery light output, so that you have plenty of warning before being left in the dark. 

How does this work? If you have the Bandicoot in High Mode, for example, you will have 2hrs of 100lumen light. The Bandicoot will then drop to 30 lumens to warn you that your battery is getting low, before dropping to less than 5 lumens until the battery is flat. Checkout the below graph to see this in action.

Ease of use
Our electronics team have gone through 50 revisions of Bandicoot firmware to make it the most user-friendly headlamp on the market, whilst keeping it feature packed. We’ve been working on the details of the Bandicoot’s operation, everything from the timing of the button presses and the ease of accessing modes to changing brightness and checking battery status. Just like Goldilocks, we’ve now got it just right. 

Sample products We got some samples of the red and black silicone Bandicoots last week and took them for a little spin around Australia’s great outdoors. Boy are they looking good. 

We’re still on tracking for shipping in January, if final product testing with improved silicone tooling goes to plan.

Once again, thanks for your patience with us. We are working really hard to make sure all elements of the Bandicoot are of the highest quality, so we can deliver you something that you love as quickly as we can. 

Love,
Team Knog

Time to lock down your addresses
over 5 years ago – Mon, Nov 26, 2018 at 01:39:40 AM

Hey everyone,  

Great news, we are approaching final samples for production approval, which is very exciting! The team has been working hard to make sure all parts of the Bandicoot are just right. 

We have some team members in China this week to monitor and manage these final samples, so we can get cracking on making your Bandicoots. We’ll be able to post another update shortly with some behind the scenes info and photos directly from the factory. 

TIMING UPDATES

We last confirmed that we would be shipping in December, but in order to provide the best product possible, it is now looking like we will be shipping from the first week of January. 

CONFIRM YOUR ADDRESSES 

We will be locking down your shipping addresses on Thursday 6th December, so please check that the address you have provided us via Backerkit is correct, as this is the address your Bandicoot will be sent to in January. If you can’t find the link to your survey, you can request it here: https://the-bandicoot-headlamp.backerkit.com/ 

As always, look forward to your comments. 

 Knog.

Heads Up - Charging Credit Cards for BackerKit Orders
over 5 years ago – Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 01:49:37 AM

Hi Backers,

Just wanted to give you a little heads up that we plan to lock orders and charge cards for add-on items you purchased or any additional funds you may owe through BackerKit on October 30th. Make sure that you have the correct card information on file. If any issues arise with your payment you’ll receive an email letting you know to correct your payment information.

If you need to review payment information, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://the-bandicoot-headlamp.backerkit.com/

We are not locking down your shipping address - there's still plenty of time to update this, which you can also do via Backerkit. We'll post another update to let you know when you have to finalise your address.

Once again, thank you so much for all your support.

Love Knog.

Pre-Production (1st off tool) samples with all the bits!
over 5 years ago – Mon, Oct 22, 2018 at 02:56:06 AM

Hi All,

We have news to share and progress shots to show. Below we're talking the MECHANICAL and ELECTRONICS. 

MECHANICAL

Our friend here, Manny, is wearing the first 'uncoloured' silicone "off-tool sample". 

In summary, the "off-tool sample" is working great - but it still needs some finessing and a lot of pre production testing! (Don't worry about the rough look around the edges of the lens - that's not how it will look). We were able to gain some valuable insights around the mechanical engineering that will improve the product - which, as you'll know, is the whole point of a Research & Development! These insights and actions include:

• BUTTONS: moving the buttons to the top, not front, does make the button experience much more comfortable and easier, as you're not putting the pressure on your forehead. Also, the buttons have a nice feel - good tactile feedback.
• USB CLIP: we've made an update to the USB clip so it is even more secure (thank you for your comments around this - it was a real focus for us). See video below and turn sound on.
• SILICONE DURO: we had three prototypes made of different silicone "hardnesses" - or "Duro" - so we could assess comfort and ease of use. We are picking the middle of those three, which is exactly the result we were after. 
• STRAP: We understood there were concerns from some of our backers, about the revised strap fixtures. So we've spent significant time redesigning / testing / 3D printing and then redesigning this feature again. We're stoked with the result! We have incorporated an over-moulded plastic fastener at each end of the strap - and after testing on many various heads, have incorporated a larger 'return' to ensure they stay securely in place. Again, thanks for your focus on this point - it really encouraged us to scrutinise these to the finest degree.

[turn on your sound for the video^]

ELECTRONICS

Our electronics team have been in the mix at the factory... testing, reiterating, perfecting the electronics and the software for the Modemaker function. It's been a big few weeks and we are now really happy we'll be getting you top of the range functionality. Here are some geeky-arty pics!

TIMING UPDATE

We're afraid that we haven't been able to pull the timeline back so shipping will still be from Dec. As we said before, we'll keep you updated if anything changes.

Righto, we'll get back to it, and look forward to your comments.

Knog.

The "Band" in Bandicoot
over 5 years ago – Thu, Aug 30, 2018 at 01:41:07 AM

Hi Backers. 

It’s been a while since we’ve updated you because we’ve been deep in the mix with both design updates and production planning.  

1. DESIGN UPDATE:  

A Problem: As you’ll remember, we had a system for fitting the headlamp where you pulled to tighten, and pulled to loosen, in one smooth motion. Whilst elegant and easy in one sense, there were two slight issues with this. Firstly, one of our competitors flagged that it might infringe upon a patent that they had. But, at the same time as assessing whether that was the case, we realised that there was a small risk that over time this system may not provide the performance we expected. i.e. there is a chance that after a sustained period of regular use, the band may slide and therefore become slightly loose. We – and you – of course, don’t want that risk, no matter how small.

.

The Solution: We have introduced an adjustable but secure band with snap buttons. A similar idea to the back of a baseball cap. Both sides are still adjustable, and there is no risk of slippage. The big advantage of this improvement is once you’ve found your size, you can set and forget. No need to adjust every time you need to put it on...

 2. TIMING UPDATE.  

The current timing says shipping in November. This redesign has meant we’ll now be shipping in December. “Shipping December” means that the process will take place from December. With Christmas being a particularly busy time, and 6000 shipments to get shipped, it is very hard for us to predict exactly when - exactly - each of you will receive your Bandicoot, but we hope our logistics partners and postal services will complete the majority of deliveries by end January. (You will all get a tracking number so you can be sure it’s on its way).  

Hoping to get Bandicoot for xmas? For any of you who have bought these as xmas presents, we’re sorry we can’t be more exact or definitive. What we will do nearer the time is create a QR code (or augmented reality graphic TBC) that you can print out to put inside a Xmas card. The recipient can use their smart-phone to view the Bandicoot video (or 3D image if we use AR).  

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Hope all this has been helpful. Sorry there’s a delay but we’re confident the product is now better for the update, and without too much impact to timing.

Cheers,

Sam from Knog.

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