Replacement flash circuit board

[andygg1986]

I first want to thank Tretee from the other forum for his help troubleshooting and everyone who has worked on ways to refurbish GC2 flashes. When I saw that the superflash price was way more than I would want to pay when my flash eventually burns out, I went ahead and designed my own circuit board since I didn't have a spare. I followed goatbarn instructions for taking apart the housing which are here.

http://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/foresight-sports/76016-flash-tube-repair/page3

Once you get the case apart once, it is easy to swap out circuit boards as many times as you want. I'm not sure how long my circuit board assembly will last, but I have the 3.5.1 firmware with the flash counter so I can at least track it. I played a round this evening and did not have a single missed shot. To be totally upfront, I'm not trying to claim that this is as good as the superflash. I am using the same $6 tube ($13 for shipping it) that is referenced in the thread above, plus a trigger coil off aliexpress. All I am claiming is that the performance should be comparable to refurbishing one of your old flashes according to the tutorial and that this would be easier if you don't feel comfortable soldering.

Is a circuit board assembly like this something that other people here would be interested in? Replacing it still has some DIY element of getting the case apart, but at least you wouldn't have to wait several weeks for the xenon tubes to come from overseas or do any soldering. If there is enough interest, I would go ahead and get a run of circuit boards made and order a larger batch of components to save on shipping costs. A pricing structure that I was thinking of would be something like this.

Assembled replacement circuit board: one for $40, two for $75, three for $100 (including shipping to the US)
Opening old flash case: You pay for shipping it to me plus $10 fee for opening it

So if you didn't want to do anything, you would send me your burnt out flash and $50 and I would open the case and replace the circuit board.

It took about 3 weeks last time for me to get the flash tubes, so these could potentially be ready to ship in about a month.

[mobyman98]

Not in a hurry, but I do need a backup. Send me payment details when the order round of 23 is ready. Thank you.

[tkotts]

AndyGG - i'm in for 3! Let me know how I can pay and provide shipping.

[andygg1986]

The first 7 boards have all been sold. I will update this thread when more are available.

[richdmb]

I'm up for 2

[erikh5014]

Im in for 2 thank you

[docsmilez]

Received mine, but won't be using it for a while. For those who are using one, please update how long they are lasting / flash counts.

[Bloodredshadows]

I'd love to buy a couple.
thanks

[jjkoolman]

I'd be in for 2 from the next batch.

[andygg1986]

I haven't heard any feedback about the first batch of 7 (good or bad) yet, so I went ahead and assembled another 11 boards (only 10 in the pic). I now have parts to build an additional 13 which can be done in another couple days if there is demand. If you would like to order some, here is the pricing again which includes USPS priority mail shipping within the US with a tracking number.
1 board: $40 USD
2 boards: $75 USD
3 boards: $100 USD

I have had a couple of questions about shipping to Canada or Europe. I can do USPS first class to Canada for the same price, but it won't have tracking. For Europe, I can also do USPS first class without tracking but please add $5. If you really want the tracking information or faster shipping, please PM me and we can work that out with you covering the cost difference.

I will update this post when there are no more boards.

I would appreciate if you could try and keep a rough track of how many shots you have taken as well and let us know when it dies, as well as whether the tube or trigger seemed to fail first. Please be aware that I am not making any claims that this will last as long as the original Foresight ones, and I am not offering any sort of shot count guarantee. If it arrives DOA I will replace it but that's about as far as I can go. This is really meant to be more of a crowdsourced longevity test at this point, so please manage your expectations accordingly.

I have also received questions about when a version 2 will be available. I certainly want to improve the design over time, but I will not be ordering more boards until I start to get feedback on these. I don't want to keep selling the same thing until I feel confident that it works well enough to be a good value, and I don't want to make any design changes until I have some data to justify them. Getting parts is taking between 2 weeks and a month, so if there is a version 2, it will be about a month after enough feedback has been received to determine a path forward.

Again, as a reminder, you need to take apart the old case according to goatbarn's instructions in this thread. I will include a printout with the shipment as well.

http://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/foresight-sports/76016-flash-tube-repair/page3

Once your case is apart, you do not need to re-glue it together, so subsequent board replacements are much simpler.

If you are still reading and interested, you can send money via Paypal to gc2flash@gmail.com. Please include your shipping address and forum username in the Paypal notes.

If you have any questions you can post them here or PM me and I will do my best to answer them.

[FaultyClubs]

Is Tretee using the same flash tube? I see he posted on the other board that his first tube lasted an estimated 10k-15k shots. But his second only lasted 500 shots. Given that variability maybe worthwhile to include an extra tube with each board?

[andygg1986]

Yes it looks like he is using the same one. I figured that most people who would be interested in buying these probably aren't interested in soldering them, otherwise they would just re-use the board already in their GC2.

If somebody does order them and wants a spare tube, they can add on an extra $7, which is my cost per tube including shipping when buying them 20 at at time.

My main objective right now is to get a larger data set of how long the boards last and what fails first. If there really is a large variability in tube life, I will look at redesigning the board in a way that just the tube can be replaced without soldering. Right now, Tretee's post on the other board is the only time I have heard of the tube failing quickly though. I think a decent number of people have used these tubes when refurbishing their Foresight board and I haven't seen any of them saying that the new tube stopped working quickly. Maybe I have missed something though.

[DFDubb]

Sent payment for 1.

[andygg1986]

Thanks! I sent your tracking number in a PM

[docsmilez]

I probably won't have anything to report for a (hopefully) long time. I actually don't even know if I have a superflash or not, as I got mine from golfsmith and they tend to send their GC2s in for a lot of work. So it is possible that I have one with a Superflash. Is there any way of telling? IF it is a superflash, could this part work for the superflash as well? Just curious

[FaultyClubs]

Speaking of the Super Flash. Does anyone know what tube it uses? If we are putting effort into an alternative then better to base it off the Super Flash?

[DFDubb]

Got 1 delivered today, but won't use it until my current burns out unfortunately. It's a really nice part. If you were to put side by side with the foresight part, most would think this is the OEM part. It infuriates me that FS can develop such a nice product in the gc2, but resorts to trying to rip off it's own customers on parts and software. 500 bucks for a flash is an insult. I think most of us would rather support them if they priced things reasonably, but I will try my hardest to never give them another cent under their current strategy. Props to the OP for this.

[geneazevedo]

I got one of the replacement boards from the first batch...finally got a chance to put mine in today. It took me about 15 minutes from the time I was unscrewing the original flash unit to the time I was back up and running. I used a hair dryer and a utility knife to break the glue bond...it was not a difficult process at all. A printed instruction sheet was included, and it was very easy to follow. I'll keep a log to estimate how long it lasts. Thanks Andy!

[docsmilez]

If your GC2 gives you a swing count, please note the swing count now and when it burns out if possible

[andygg1986]

Also if you only use TGC you should be able to use the shot recording to count how many shots you hit. Just note the date that you installed the flash and then add up tournament and non tournament shots

[geneazevedo]

Haha...I never knew what shot recording was for, but I'll look up how to turn it on to keep the swing count. I just got a piece of paper and my son and I are logging our shots the old fashioned way. Not super precise, but close enough. Of course, if the computer can track it, that's the way to go!

[Iron Brandon]

Just purchased a used GC2 this week and it did not come with a spare flash. Does anyone have a blown one they willing to part with? I just need an extra case housing.

Andygg1986 - are you still taking orders?? I would like to get a couple of boards.

Thanks!

[Iron Brandon]

Hey andygg1986 - Thanks for the great info! Not sure if mine is a super flash or not. Can you check it out for me? (SEE PIC) Also I have serial #3901

[andygg1986]

That is the regular flash so the replacement boards should work for you

[Iron Brandon]

Payment sent! Thanks