PSIcle sensor: Measure tire pressure with your phone!

2 month update
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 11:42:16 PM

Hello everyone!  We've made a lot of progress in the past month, but we're taking a meticulous approach to maximize the quality of the end product.  We are testing things out gradually, and moving cautiously rather than spending a whole bunch of money trying to move fast.P

We revised the extension design based kn feedback from our molder, and we ordered and received revised anodized aluminum extensions.  Note that the extensions are finally anodized black, and the molding will be black, so we'll have all black sensors in production.

Sample sensor circuit boards are off to the vendor, along with the preproduction extensions.  The vendor is looking at if the mold quote needs any revision since this is the first time they've been able to see production-ready parts.  After they revise the quote, we'll pay for the mold, and 21 days later we should see some early prototypes that we can thoroughly test to ensure they're meeting our expectations before we build more.  Its lookkng like we will see those first parts around the end of September.  We want to thoroughly test the preproduction units before we ship the early bird units, so we may push the early bird shipments into October.  We will keep you all updated on status.

Please complete those surveys!
almost 3 years ago – Thu, Jul 22, 2021 at 10:15:54 PM

Hello everyone!  First off, we just wanted to remind those of you who have not completed the surveys sent by Backerkit to do so as soon as possible.  The surveys enable us to get the counts on the HP/LP variants for manufacturing, which we need to be able to do to place orders.  If you've lost your survey link you can recover it here. 

Now for a few updates on how we're progressing.  We have been working with the suppliers to refine the design into something they feel that they can produce with the best yields while still maintaining the design intent.  In order to achieve appropriate manufacturing yield, our supplier requested that we increase the aluminum extension to 35 mm from 30 mm, so we've done that.  We've also added PSIcle and roverdev.us branding to the front, and the sensor type (HP/LP) and a date code (the large circle) on the back.  Fundamentally, these won't change the weight or use of the sensors.  Note that the sensors will be black aluminum and black rubber, and not the color in the images below.

We're trying to be cautious about spending the funds wisely, so we're taking it a little slow in terms of ordering parts.  We just ordered a small number of aluminum extensions and we will send these and some circuit boards to the molding vendor so they can test out the process on some samples.  We will QA and field test these finished sensors to ensure they are standing up to our expectations and then we'll build the larger numbers of sensors.  We expect these first trial sensors to come off the mold in late August.

We'll keep you posted on how the mold trials go, but between now and then, please finish those surveys!

Thanks to all our supporters!

Thank you!
almost 3 years ago – Sat, Jun 26, 2021 at 12:45:29 AM

Thanks to all of our backers, we've made the campaign goal!  We are thrilled to finish our work on the builds of the sensors and to ship sensors to all of you.  

We will be sending a Backerkit survey in about 14 days to ask what type of sensors you would like for your pledge.  Note that although we originally only said the low pressure sensor would go from 0 to 40 psi, we determined that it's suitable for 0-50 psi instead.  This means you can have the incredible accuracy of the LP sensor all the way up to 50 psi.

More to follow, and we'll keep working in the background before the survey goes out!

Almost there with time to spare!
almost 3 years ago – Thu, Jun 24, 2021 at 06:10:44 AM

Hello everyone,

Our campaign goal is well within reach and it looks like we should reach it by Wednesday.  We have had a fantastic couple days recently, largely because we partnered with Jellop for advertising.  We had previously seen that nearly 5% of visitors to our campaign ended up purchasing, which is an extremely high number.  However, we hadn't done a single bit of advertising!  We quickly realized that with such a high purchase rate, we could afford some advertising, and we saw immediate results when we started advertising.

Now that we know that the goal will be met, it's a great time to refer your friends or up your pledge.  If you'd like to refer people, ask us for a referral link.  We'll associate that link with your backer ID so that when your friends use the link to pledge, you get 10% of their order deducted from your order.

We're also starting to work through the details of the build with our suppliers.  We'll keep you posted on the status of those conversation in the weeks ahead.

So thanks again to everyone.  It's been a fun journey so far and we're not over yet.  The fulfillment will be a lot of fun and we're looking forward to sharing the details with you!

Thanks,

Chris

New referral reward program for backers!
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Jun 13, 2021 at 05:53:34 PM

We had an excellent day of pledges yesterday and it's thanks to the referrals of backers.  Since this went so well, we wanted to start a reward program to recognize these referrals.  

For every referral each backer sends to our campaign that pledges, we'll give YOU 10% of their pledge level as a discount against your order (does not include shipping cost).  This means if the person you refer pledges at the $56 level, we'll give you $5.60 off your order.  If 10 of your referrals pledge at the same level as you, your order is free!  Your maximum discount will be the total cost of your pledge, in accordance with Kickstarter rules.  However, if you manage to get 100% of your pledge covered, just increase your pledge to get even more discounts!

To record the referral against your pledge, just ask the people you refer to send us your name and backer number in a message on Kickstarter and say that you referred them.  We will also accept referrals who have already backed, so if your friends supported the campaign already, have them send us your info.

In order to avoid issues, we will only apply the referral rewards after your referrals have paid at the end of the campaign.