Mindstream

[Joe Rice]

The whole point of Beta testing is to get the Beta testers the latest version. If not what is the point!
Do you honestly expect a company to give the public the latest firmware update before the Beta testers?

Well, it sounds as if they did change the disk production process once they started shipping. That's not a minor change as the disk is really the heart of the product - where the magic happens, so to speak.

As for your assumption of a few successful users, what do you base that on?

I guess I just would expect that if there were a bunch of successful users at least one would be letting folks know about it on R2R or Mindstream's Facebook page or some other forum. Or someone on R2R would, at least, be able to say that they know someone who's using it and is delighted. Do you know of any successful users? Do you think there are a bunch of them out there who are successful but just not interested in telling anyone? You're right, I can't say for sure, but if I had to bet, I'd be willing to wager a fair amount that there are very few happy Mindstream users at the moment.

 

[roberthu526]

Just filed a dispute through my credit card company. Hate to do this after months long wait but I don't see to have other options. I was really counting on this one to free me from manual testing...

 

[robbyg]

Well, it sounds as if they did change the disk production process once they started shipping. That's not a minor change as the disk is really the heart of the product - where the magic happens, so to speak.

So I guess you consider the reagent to be the heart of the Trident?

I guess I just would expect that if there were a bunch of successful users at least one would be letting folks know about it on R2R or Mindstream's Facebook page or some other forum. Or someone on R2R would, at least, be able to say that they know someone who's using it and is delighted. Do you know of any successful users? Do you think there are a bunch of them out there who are successful but just not interested in telling anyone? You're right, I can't say for sure, but if I had to bet, I'd be willing to wager a fair amount that there are very few happy Mindstream users at the moment.

I cannot even post on Facebook since they require my real name and info. I don't know about you but there is no way I am giving Facebook any of my personal info. As for Forums I already told you that most reefers don't post to forums. If you don't know why just look around and you will figure it out.

 

[Joe Rice]

So I guess you consider the reagent to be the heart of the Trident?

Sure, the chemistry is the Trident's big innovation. There's no magic in optical sensors and peristaltic pumps. The magic of the Mindstream is the chemically-sensitive pads that can remain immersed in saltwater for a month and change their optical properties based on the various parameters they want to measure. It's pretty remarkable.

@robbyg, don't get me wrong. It seems they've made some major technological breakthroughs and I really hope they can reap the rewards of doing so. And they've clearly put an enormous effort into software development, plastics tooling, mechanical design, and the chemistry to create the disks.

 

[robbyg]

don't get me wrong. It seems they've made some major technological breakthroughs and I really hope they can reap the rewards of doing so. And they've clearly put an enormous effort into software development, plastics tooling, mechanical design, and the chemistry to create the disks.

Yep and if this fails it might not see daylight for several more years. That is probably what annoys me the most, the fact that these patents could end up in another persons hands and the whole process is either frozen or is put into R&D for several more years. I tell my wife that if we had these same kinds of expectations for instant success with technology back in the 1960's we would have never gotten to the Moon.

Night...

 

[RCeiver]

Yes I did order one but I finally smelled the roses that this thing was never going to ship an ask for a refund lucky that I did get a refund but this was before the bottem fell out.

Even if they managed to ship these, which they didn’t, I have no confidence in them to continue to provide disks and service. If they fold, you have a $1,000 paperweight once your last disk wears out. The worst situation would be that you actually receive a monitor and as soon as your credit card protection runs out, they close up shop. Count your blessings that they made the decision easier.

 

[chicago]

Well i too can’t wait for them to email me back. When you give a company 1000 up front they need to respond. When I called my cc. I had to fight to get them to understand.. past 90 days and credit card company will not automatically refund..

 

[RCeiver]

Well i too can’t wait for them to email me back. When you give a company 1000 up front they need to respond. When I called my cc. I had to fight to get them to understand.. past 90 days and credit card company will not automatically refund..

Had the same problem. I was right at the limit, so I had to dispute the charges that day and file a claim.

 

[Joe Rice]

Yep and if this fails it might not see daylight for several more years. That is probably what annoys me the most, the fact that these patents could end up in another persons hands and the whole process is either frozen or is put into R&D for several more years.

I really wish that Mindstream would have started by developing a version 1 that measured only alkalinity. It seems likely it would have gotten them to market more quickly. If they could have gotten something like that working say, a couple of years ago and for a lower cost, they could have claimed a good chunk of the market, they would have learned a ton about the realities of scaling to production levels, and they would have generated some cash for developing future versions that measured more parameters.

 

[Silver14SS]

Yes, I have quite a bit of experience with this device, but I am a bit depressed about this right now, so I have been staying away from these threads. I was telling someone the other day, that I really am going to miss this thing if the service goes away.

Here's my dashboard from a few minutes ago.

Basically, when this device is running a good disk, it has been the best thing I have owned for my tank. The insights that I have gained over the last three months are unmatched by anything else that I have used. When it has a bad disk, it is less useful, because it may be a little off for a parameter or two. About 1/2 of the time that I have been running my device it has been spot on, while the other half of the time, there has been a parameter issue of some kind.

Here's my speculation regarding what is going on.
Yes, they did have a beta program that was successful. It was easier for them to produce disks on a smaller scale and put them through an extensive QC process. The issue they ran into was when they scaled up production of the disks, and they started dealing with QC issues. They were pushed to launch earlier than they wanted to, but they had a scaled up production process that they had tested and thought was working well enough when they launched. Their new production process ended up producing lots of bad disks. Enough people got bad disks that they had to stop everything and try to fix, and then change their disk production process. I heard rumors of the development of an automated system with a robot, but it seems that didn't get finished. I expect them to make an announcement soon regarding the way forward---whether there is one or not.

Thank you for the detailed response! Have you been getting the replacements discs as scheduled or received any kind of communication about them?

 

[EmdeReef]

I just filed a dispute too... I really wanted to believe these guys, even overlooked some inconsistencies in communicated reasons for delays etc...

Hopefully GHL’s ION Director turns to be a good product.

 

[lexinverts]

Thank you for the detailed response! Have you been getting the replacements discs as scheduled or received any kind of communication about them?

I have 3 weeks left on this disk, so I am not due yet.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

@Daniel@R2R

Mine seems to be working fine. I'm still happy with it.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Here's my readings right now.

Calcium is high, but I know that. Not worried about it. Everything in the tank is happy. The most important thing to me is consistency. I want to see that the device is giving me a track record of what my fluctuation in parameters is and to watch for any crazy deviations. It seems to do that quite well, so I have no complaint.

 

[TARHEEL78]

Here are my mindstream parameters as of today.

Oh yeah, I forgot I cancelled my subscription due to lack of support and now I just have a $1000 paperweight. Here are my Trident parameters though.

 

[Silver14SS]

Here are my mindstream parameters as of today.

Oh yeah, I forgot I cancelled my subscription due to lack of support and now I just have a $1000 paperweight. Here are my Trident parameters though.

Aren’t they still supposed to function without a subscription? I thought the subscription was just to receive replacement discs.
Sell it to robbyg?

 

[TARHEEL78]

Aren’t they still supposed to function without a subscription? I thought the subscription was just to receive replacement discs.
Sell it to robbyg?

Nope, without a sub you can't even get readings. Robbyg doesn't want it, nor should anyone else until they get their act together.

 

[Joe Rice]

Mine seems to be working fine. I'm still happy with it.

That's great to hear and gives me hope for them.

 

[robbyg]

Here are my mindstream parameters as of today.


Oh yeah, I forgot I cancelled my subscription due to lack of support and now I just have a $1000 paperweight. Here are my Trident parameters though.

Did you mean "forgot to renew your subscription"? If mine had been shipped I was planning on just paying for one month first and then after I knew it worked properly I would have done the annual subscription. Did you do annual or just month by month?

I did ask Alex at the start if the subscription was for the disks alone or the cloud system and disks. He did say it was both and then said one without the other would not really work, so they are a bundled pair.

Sorry to hear about this problem. Also worst is the fact that Jim had mentioned during our conversation that most of the disk items could still be read several months after the 30 day period. He said the 30 day expirary was based on the weakest Dye systems on the disk.

 

[TARHEEL78]

Did you mean "forgot to renew your subscription"? If mine had been shipped I was planning on just paying for one month first and then after I knew it worked properly I would have done the annual subscription. Did you do annual or just month by month?

I did ask Alex at the start if the subscription was for the disks alone or the cloud system and disks. He did say it was both and then said one without the other would not really work, so they are a bundled pair.

Sorry to hear about this problem. Also worst is the fact that Jim had mentioned during our conversation that most of the disk items could still be read several months after the 30 day period. He said the 30 day expirary was based on the weakest Dye systems on the disk.

Lol, no I didn't forget to renew. I went in to my account and cancelled. I wanted to make sure it was actually going to work and did month to month until I was ready to sign up for a year. I had several months of fighting it with no resolution from SAI so I cancelled.

Just in case you don't get it, I was being sarcastic about forgetting I cancelled.