Van's Air Force
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rst engineering
- Thread starter wigmore
- Start date
AMURRAY
Well Known Member
8 weeks
I ordered an audio panel kit from RST. On the web site it says 4 to 6 weeks before shipment to put together the kit. I didn't have high expectations to receive the audio panel quick nor did I need it right away. After 8 weeks I sent a friendly email and it was shipped the next day. Looks like a nice product. I still haven't assembled it.
I ordered an audio panel kit from RST. On the web site it says 4 to 6 weeks before shipment to put together the kit. I didn't have high expectations to receive the audio panel quick nor did I need it right away. After 8 weeks I sent a friendly email and it was shipped the next day. Looks like a nice product. I still haven't assembled it.
RST engineering problems
Hello!
Let me give you the story. In October of 2007 I ordered a Audio panel with remote Marker beacon, a headset and a push to talk switch. I finally got a package with the audio panel minus the face plate, minus the Marker Beacon, minus the push to talk switch. Back order. Soldered the audio panel together, it was fun. played with the headset, one resistor missing. Called RST answer: we will send you a resistor, do not buy it from radio shack. Face plate will take a little longer. I finally received the face plate in April. The push to talk switch was there too, no Marker beacon receiver. Was told it would follow in 10 days.
Now it is June. I called him up again and told him that I would like to have my money back. He said, sure I will refund you the money for the Marker beacon.
I told him no, he can have all of his stuff back. His answer, you do not need the MB, the audio panel works on its own. I wrote an e-mail saying that I ordered a package which included the MB and that is what I expected but since I bought a different Audio panel ( I am trying to build an airplane and do not have 8 month time to wait for a audio panel kit) I do not need his any more. His excuse is that the vendor does not supply the MB. The excuse is beside the point. you do not let someone wait for that long. He had my money the next day.
I do not need that kind of customer service. Don't care how good he is.
I would never buy anything from him again.
Hello!
Let me give you the story. In October of 2007 I ordered a Audio panel with remote Marker beacon, a headset and a push to talk switch. I finally got a package with the audio panel minus the face plate, minus the Marker Beacon, minus the push to talk switch. Back order. Soldered the audio panel together, it was fun. played with the headset, one resistor missing. Called RST answer: we will send you a resistor, do not buy it from radio shack. Face plate will take a little longer. I finally received the face plate in April. The push to talk switch was there too, no Marker beacon receiver. Was told it would follow in 10 days.
Now it is June. I called him up again and told him that I would like to have my money back. He said, sure I will refund you the money for the Marker beacon.
I told him no, he can have all of his stuff back. His answer, you do not need the MB, the audio panel works on its own. I wrote an e-mail saying that I ordered a package which included the MB and that is what I expected but since I bought a different Audio panel ( I am trying to build an airplane and do not have 8 month time to wait for a audio panel kit) I do not need his any more. His excuse is that the vendor does not supply the MB. The excuse is beside the point. you do not let someone wait for that long. He had my money the next day.
I do not need that kind of customer service. Don't care how good he is.
I would never buy anything from him again.
tcoldenhoff
Member
Cool audio panel - if it only worked
I bought the audio panel and marker beacon combo back around mid-2003. I do not recall having any issues with delivery times back then. The kit is very nice and well documented. I would note however, that the boards are very densely populated, and I would hesitate to recommend the kit to someone with limited soldering experience.
I assembled both units and they passed all of the tests as outlined in the manuals. Unfortunately when I installed it in the plane, I had some nasty audio feedback when I keyed the mic. In addition, there was quite a bit of "crosstalk" between the audio channels. I initially thought this was an RF problem, however I reproduced the audio squeal problem with the unit on the bench outside of any RF influence.
After a few technical email exchanges with RST, I was told that there were a small number of units in the field that exhibit similar problems, and that he did not know what the exact cause was. By this time however, I had decided not to add a second radio, and wired up my SL-30 to use its internal intercom. At this point, I put the audio panel and MB in a box to collect dust, and they sit on a shelf to this day.
I think if you were lucky and got a "non-squealer" unit, or were savvy enough to debug one, you might have a pretty nifty audio panel. Heck, I might even try to resurrect mine someday. If you are looking for minimum hassle however, I would not recommend RST based on my experience.
I bought the audio panel and marker beacon combo back around mid-2003. I do not recall having any issues with delivery times back then. The kit is very nice and well documented. I would note however, that the boards are very densely populated, and I would hesitate to recommend the kit to someone with limited soldering experience.
I assembled both units and they passed all of the tests as outlined in the manuals. Unfortunately when I installed it in the plane, I had some nasty audio feedback when I keyed the mic. In addition, there was quite a bit of "crosstalk" between the audio channels. I initially thought this was an RF problem, however I reproduced the audio squeal problem with the unit on the bench outside of any RF influence.
After a few technical email exchanges with RST, I was told that there were a small number of units in the field that exhibit similar problems, and that he did not know what the exact cause was. By this time however, I had decided not to add a second radio, and wired up my SL-30 to use its internal intercom. At this point, I put the audio panel and MB in a box to collect dust, and they sit on a shelf to this day.
I think if you were lucky and got a "non-squealer" unit, or were savvy enough to debug one, you might have a pretty nifty audio panel. Heck, I might even try to resurrect mine someday. If you are looking for minimum hassle however, I would not recommend RST based on my experience.
Doug Rodrigues
Active Member
RST used to be a one man operation that functioned more as a hobby than a businss. (Inside information source) From what I read on this thread, I'm not alone with a past problem . What happened to me was I got an incomplete kit, and then apparently was forgotten. Three e-mails got no replies. After 58 days when I stopped payment on the credit card, well that got his attention. The owner sent me a threatening e-mail to assign a bad credit rating on my record and said that he had only one past experience with someone "cheating him." The gist of his letter was that I simply should have waited for the parts without complaint because he was an honest guy known in aviation circles. I replied that to me, he was just another internet seller who didn't know how to run a business. My missing parts arrived three days later. I returned his money for the kit, but I'll never buy anything from him again.
Harold Lanfear
Well Known Member
One more
I bought an RST MB kit about three years ago to assemble in the winter when it was to cold to work on the -8. I had the same problems; rude and (a couple) missing parts. I have had it, assembled and using as a paperweight on my desk since. I had a couple of questions on testing that I could never get answered.
the MB is a neat little package that I would like to use, but I never will as there is no likelyhood of getting any factory assistance should it be needed. I would never buy anything from them again and would definitely not recommend them.
I bought an RST MB kit about three years ago to assemble in the winter when it was to cold to work on the -8. I had the same problems; rude and (a couple) missing parts. I have had it, assembled and using as a paperweight on my desk since. I had a couple of questions on testing that I could never get answered.
the MB is a neat little package that I would like to use, but I never will as there is no likelyhood of getting any factory assistance should it be needed. I would never buy anything from them again and would definitely not recommend them.
The lack of social skills matches with my experience - except mine happened BEFORE I bought.
I wrote him with a question, and his response was both arrogant and ignorant, implying that I was an idiot for not having searched every page in his ill-designed site and read his entire biography to dig out the answer. Clearly, this person does not care about customer support.
In this sense he seems to match a negative stereo for "engineer" - his response to any suggestion or question is that the users are "obviously stupid" (it couldn't possibly be that his communication skills are lacking)...
There are only three vendors in the entire world on my "never purchase from" list. This is one of them. Caveat Emptor.
