Second GC Quad Bricked in less than a month

[Snipe]

My first GC Quad bricked in under a week. After weeks of waiting, my second has now bricked in less than a month.

The units were not taken outside, not exposed to elements - they didn't even move from their positions.

This time around the unit got stuck on the boot screen, and just kept flickering. Eventually it turned off and will not turn on again.

I'll reiterate my concerns about the build quality and longevity of the current GC Quad units they're putting out. Either there's a major QC issue or I'm the unluckiest customer in the world.

[sinkingputts]

Hmmm wondering what the company is telling you?

[delaloi]

Huh. I've had mine for 5 years and it's never had a blip of any kind, even once. The thing seems like a tank.

The GC2 has always looked a little more flimsy to me but I know people who are still using those at age 10+ with no problems.

I've always thought Foresight's hardware was absolutely first rate. Not sure what to make of your bad luck - sorry to hear it.

[Snipe]

Unfortunately this happened over the long holiday weekend, so I haven't heard back from them yet. My suspicion is that either due to covid, or acquisition, they've made changes to their manufacturing. Whether that means moving production to a new plant, updating the BOM to reduce cost, changing components due to shortages, etc. - these are all things that I've seen cause unexpected failures.

Their customer service was awful the first time around as they wouldn't commit to replacing my unit or how long it would take (eventually they did, and it took ~1 mo.). They refused to talk to me, refused to let me talk to a supervisor, and eventually gave me $300 of software credit for my trouble.

I'm going to ask for a refund this time around as I have zero confidence in the longevity of the product or their willingness to do right by their customers. That said, I seriously doubt they'll ever give money back given my experience thus far.

[Baller]

Yeah, ditto what delaloi says. I've never had any issues...other than my own swing!

I hope they haven't done something in their manufacturing to make this more common and hoping that it's just covid related and your bad luck, but hope you get it resolved satisfactorily!

[Tom Howarth]

I have had mine for two months and (fingers crossed) no issues. It's great. I'm sure it is from a recent batch.

[jasonreg]

2 years and going strong without a hiccup! Sorry to hear you are having issues.

[chicub15]

Did you charge the Quads prior to turning on? Were they on battery power solely or plugged into an outlet during startup? Wondering if you have a voltage/ground issue. I've owned 2 Quads over the course of the last 3 years and haven't had a single issue- they've been bulletproof for me.

[Snipe]

Did you charge the Quads prior to turning on? Were they on battery power solely or plugged into an outlet during startup? Wondering if you have a voltage/ground issue. I've owned 2 Quads over the course of the last 3 years and haven't had a single issue- they've been bulletproof for me.

So both Quads live in the same spot in my garage hitting bay plugged in. Both turned on briefly before dying.

The first one powered on and I went to fire up the PC. When I turned around it was dead and would not power up again.
The second one powered on and got stuck on the boot screen "computers" dot - and just kept flickering trying to boot. Eventually it powered down and will not turn on again.

The thing I find odd is that they both die on boot. It's not like there was a surge and they died in their sleep (there is also a protector in place). Both started and then fatally crashed. That doesn't SEEM like what I would expect from bad power - but idk. I also haven't run into the issue with any other electronics (including a SkyTrak which lived in the same spot)

Thoughts?

[Celeras]

When I bought my last house, there was a mini-split in the garage. It was the builder's model so they used that space as their "office" for showing the entire block. When I bought it the inspector made them remove the mini-split because the garage wasn't allowed to be a finished space.

Well... when they removed the unit outside, they converted the electrical to a regular outlet. It was NOT a regular outlet. 220V I think? Anyway, I fried a power washer using that outlet (thinking it died just like you) and a contractor later fried back-to-back drills before we figured out what the problem was.

Your story reminded me of that. I don't know if a multimeter would be the correct tool to test for that kind of thing, but they're pretty cheap at home depot. Probably not as extreme a scenario in your case, but there definitely could be a fault popping up at times.

[bubbtubbs]

Probably not that, but an intermittent neutral connection can fry electronic devices pretty fast, even with surge protection.

[Baller]

regardless of how sure you are of the electrical, you should be using a surge protector imo.

[Tom Howarth]

Or just charge the battery when needed and not plug it in. The battery holds a long charge.

[Baller]

I do the opposite. I don't use the battery at home and been that way for almost 5 years. Battery stays charged in the pack and ready for the range, which is rare.

[Ronsc1985]

So both Quads live in the same spot in my garage hitting bay plugged in. Both turned on briefly before dying.

The first one powered on and I went to fire up the PC. When I turned around it was dead and would not power up again.
The second one powered on and got stuck on the boot screen "computers" dot - and just kept flickering trying to boot. Eventually it powered down and will not turn on again.

The thing I find odd is that they both die on boot. It's not like there was a surge and they died in their sleep (there is also a protector in place). Both started and then fatally crashed. That doesn't SEEM like what I would expect from bad power - but idk. I also haven't run into the issue with any other electronics (including a SkyTrak which lived in the same spot)

Thoughts?

Most likely something is rewriting or dropping bits in the EEROM of your units. It's possible the IC's were at least partially defective from the manufacturer.

Do you have any high intensity electric or magnetic field generators in the vicinity.like welders. plasma cutters etc or high powered rf transmitters like the 1000w CB units.

[Snipe]

Most likely something is rewriting or dropping bits in the EEROM of your units. It's possible the IC's were at least partially defective from the manufacturer.

Do you have any high intensity electric or magnetic field generators in the vicinity.like welders. plasma cutters etc or high powered rf transmitters like the 1000w CB units.

No. I live in a residential neighborhood with no magnetic field hazards that I can think of. Certainly none in my garage.

Baller I always use a surge protector and APC Line-R 1200 power conditioners on almost everything as I've had. Highly recommended.

[Baller]

That's just weird then. It has to be something and I hope it's not the units. Maybe you have a strong magnetic personality?