Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > Lighting, Filtration & Other Equipment
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 01/28/2015, 08:03 AM   #51
n2585722
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Cedar Park, Tx
Posts: 1,072
The last I heard there was a hold up regarding the PB4's and PB8's. It was posted by someone that contacted Amy at DA in sales yesterday.


n2585722 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/28/2015, 08:24 AM   #52
shellsea
Registered Member
 
shellsea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Destin, Fl.
Posts: 479
I appreciate that but I told Amy I only wanted the head unit. Amy??? Eric???? Are you out there????


__________________
Jack "Shellsea" 120 mixed reef, Reef Breeder Photon 48, Apex and a proud owner of a Lifereef Skimmer
shellsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/28/2015, 03:49 PM   #53
skripo
Registered Member
 
skripo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Montreal
Posts: 81
I just got off the phone with Amy and she confirmed they have the head unit and they are working great. The hold up is the new power bar.

I ordered the basic package and those will ship next week. I don't know why they won't ship just the head units alone.

I understand everyone wants their Archons but this is not a life or death item, it is a hobby accessory. That being said, I am as excited as the rest of you and can't wait to get it.


skripo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/03/2015, 07:12 PM   #54
janes_mw
Registered Member
 
janes_mw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Largo, FL
Posts: 1,526
Quote:
Originally Posted by skripo View Post
I just got off the phone with Amy and she confirmed they have the head unit and they are working great. The hold up is the new power bar.

I ordered the basic package and those will ship next week. I don't know why they won't ship just the head units alone.

I understand everyone wants their Archons but this is not a life or death item, it is a hobby accessory. That being said, I am as excited as the rest of you and can't wait to get it.
Ya, I understand it also, BUT, not to communicate with folks and keep dragging this out is beyond my belief. I am just about to throw in the towel like alot of others ..... basically because of how crappy their customer service is. Trust me, I have had Reef Keeper stuff for a long while and stuck with them, even pre-ordered Archon. They don't even have the courtesy to pick up the phone, return emails, or return voice mails. What would you expect?


__________________
300G 96x24x30, BK250 Skimmer with Avast Swabbie, LED/T5, Geo CaRx with Masterflex effluent cntl, Zeovite User - Avast Marine Tumbler, Archon control, Vortech MP60,Tunze 6125, & Jebao RW20 making waves
janes_mw is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/04/2015, 10:17 AM   #55
shellsea
Registered Member
 
shellsea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Destin, Fl.
Posts: 479
Quote:
Originally Posted by janes_mw View Post
Ya, I understand it also, BUT, not to communicate with folks and keep dragging this out is beyond my belief. I am just about to throw in the towel like alot of others ..... basically because of how crappy their customer service is. Trust me, I have had Reef Keeper stuff for a long while and stuck with them, even pre-ordered Archon. They don't even have the courtesy to pick up the phone, return emails, or return voice mails. What would you expect?
A BIG PLUS ONE ON THAT!!!!!!!
Communication is the key to customer satisfaction/retention and the key to a business owners long term success.


__________________
Jack "Shellsea" 120 mixed reef, Reef Breeder Photon 48, Apex and a proud owner of a Lifereef Skimmer
shellsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/05/2015, 08:34 AM   #56
shellsea
Registered Member
 
shellsea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Destin, Fl.
Posts: 479
I got an e-mail!!!!! They are ready to ship my order which was head unit only.
The curve ball........Amy said to pay with stripe. No link, no button to click, nothing other than "pay with stripe". I did not ever hear of stripe. Seems to be a pay service like paypal but no info on their site as to how to pay a vender. I put a new order in through DA Web store and paid via visa. Hope and pray I don't kicked to the back of the list. I went from order #44 to #106. If you are waiting look into stripe so you can pay for your order.


__________________
Jack "Shellsea" 120 mixed reef, Reef Breeder Photon 48, Apex and a proud owner of a Lifereef Skimmer
shellsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/05/2015, 03:58 PM   #57
blrrobinson21
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Lake of the Ozarks
Posts: 201
So I'm on the fence about controllers right now and was leaning towards an RKE due to the fact that I have NO internet at my house, right now I don't even have a computer there. I have heard a few stories about customer service with DA which bothers me a little so I decided to call and see if anyone answered. Sure enough one of the programmers "cant remember his name" picked up. Spent about 5 minutes on the phone with him asking questions, "I' controller stupid". He was very helpful and told me all about the Archon, seems awesome and they are shipping today. I think Ill try them out. Without internet where Im going to have the tank it seems like the way to go.


blrrobinson21 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/06/2015, 09:53 AM   #58
shellsea
Registered Member
 
shellsea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Destin, Fl.
Posts: 479
Thumbs up

I got the notice of shipment of my Archon yesterday. it's on the way!!
I have been using DA for about 5 years and happy with the equipment. Yes, service sometimes can be slow but they have pulled through for me eventually.
For those that have the Archon, I downloaded the user guide from DA web site, (nice it is on there already) I saw that the pages do not print or view in numerical order. I don't have the skills to convert the layout so I cut the pages in half and scanned so I have a book in numerical order. If you would like it PM me. Too large a file to attach here.


__________________
Jack "Shellsea" 120 mixed reef, Reef Breeder Photon 48, Apex and a proud owner of a Lifereef Skimmer
shellsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/09/2015, 08:31 PM   #59
janes_mw
Registered Member
 
janes_mw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Largo, FL
Posts: 1,526
Quote:
Originally Posted by shellsea View Post
I got the notice of shipment of my Archon yesterday. it's on the way!!
I have been using DA for about 5 years and happy with the equipment. Yes, service sometimes can be slow but they have pulled through for me eventually.
For those that have the Archon, I downloaded the user guide from DA web site, (nice it is on there already) I saw that the pages do not print or view in numerical order. I don't have the skills to convert the layout so I cut the pages in half and scanned so I have a book in numerical order. If you would like it PM me. Too large a file to attach here.
did you actually get a unit? I am really quite intrigued by DA's total lack of responsiveness to the general customer base as a whole. When they tell me my unit is ready to ship, I will tell them to stick it at this point. Even the Beta testers can't figure out why DA can't pick up the phone or communicate to folks. Is it the best "mouse trap" out there? Time will tell, but there is NO company that will survive with this kind of customer interface.


__________________
300G 96x24x30, BK250 Skimmer with Avast Swabbie, LED/T5, Geo CaRx with Masterflex effluent cntl, Zeovite User - Avast Marine Tumbler, Archon control, Vortech MP60,Tunze 6125, & Jebao RW20 making waves
janes_mw is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/10/2015, 08:06 AM   #60
shellsea
Registered Member
 
shellsea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Destin, Fl.
Posts: 479
Quote:
Originally Posted by janes_mw View Post
did you actually get a unit? I am really quite intrigued by DA's total lack of responsiveness to the general customer base as a whole. When they tell me my unit is ready to ship, I will tell them to stick it at this point. Even the Beta testers can't figure out why DA can't pick up the phone or communicate to folks. Is it the best "mouse trap" out there? Time will tell, but there is NO company that will survive with this kind of customer interface.
Tracking ticket says it should arrive Thursday. At this point w/ UPS confirming I would say it is on the way. I actually like the devices I have used for the last few years and look forward to the Archon but I could not agree more w/ the customer service issue. Can't see how they can continue on that route. I'm in the resort business and my business would crumble if we ignored our customers. Any business will. Hope they can pull it together. Hire some reps. Got to spend it to make it.


__________________
Jack "Shellsea" 120 mixed reef, Reef Breeder Photon 48, Apex and a proud owner of a Lifereef Skimmer
shellsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/13/2015, 10:12 AM   #61
shellsea
Registered Member
 
shellsea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Destin, Fl.
Posts: 479
Just to let you all know I DID finally get the Archon. Packed nicely and delivered as promised. I hope to get my RKE disconnected and the Archon up and running this weekend. Taking the opportunity to clean up my wire runs and remount modules. I hope this forum can evolve into a sharing of tips and tricks for programming and tank husbandry solutions.


__________________
Jack "Shellsea" 120 mixed reef, Reef Breeder Photon 48, Apex and a proud owner of a Lifereef Skimmer
shellsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/13/2015, 11:36 AM   #62
blrrobinson21
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Lake of the Ozarks
Posts: 201
That would be great. Im planning on going with the Archon. I have no internet at the house, downside of living in the country. The Archon seems like it will still be fairly user friendly without internet.


blrrobinson21 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/13/2015, 10:51 PM   #63
delmo
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: South FL USA
Posts: 185
I've been a RKE user for 5 years and preordered an Archon setup on Black Friday, wanting a change from the quirkiness of the RKE like:
1) The way the system crashes whenever you disconnect the network cable, or any module. A random Alarm will flash and the friggin lights turn off, only to begin the morning ramp up again! That's frustrating.
2) You have to disconnect any module from the system to update it (see number 1)
3) If you remove a module from the system and never use it again, it remains as a ghost module unless you completely erase all of your programming and reset it ALL over again.
But I have defended them for years because, well, I owned it, and was stuck on the inside, so since I have pretty much 1 of every module in my setup, and 5 PC4s it made financial sense to hopefully get a better brain in this system with the Archon. Well, their backyard garage way of customer service, public relations, (lack of) announcements, lying about release dates/shipping dates, finally has rubbed me the wrong way for the last time. Not to mention their lack of innovation. I have cancelled my order and I have a complete Apex system coming next week!
I truly feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I called Neptune 3 different times and they actually answered the gd phone every time (unlike DA) and they answered my questions! Yeah! So needless to say I'll have a large RKE system for sale soon.
I thank Eric over at DA for being the only person to ever pick up the phone (1 answer for every 10 tries)
I also find it ironic that the only time In the last year that I received a reply to any of my emails, was my email cancelling my order, so thank you for that too.



Last edited by delmo; 02/13/2015 at 11:21 PM.
delmo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/14/2015, 02:06 AM   #64
DaveMorris
VP, SDMAS
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunny San Diego, CA
Posts: 1,309
For those of you that will be or have already received their Archon, check out the thread on the DA support forum that shows some step by step with the screens. It is very easy to program and a couple of the beta testers have already written and uploaded code to their units to modify things on it. This is possible because of the open source that has been used in the process. I think you will be very impressed by what it has to offer.


__________________
Dave
My 130g tank: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2387989

Current Tank Info: 130g build in progress
DaveMorris is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/14/2015, 05:06 AM   #65
janes_mw
Registered Member
 
janes_mw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Largo, FL
Posts: 1,526
Quote:
Originally Posted by delmo View Post
I've been a RKE user for 5 years and preordered an Archon setup on Black Friday, wanting a change from the quirkiness of the RKE like:
1) The way the system crashes whenever you disconnect the network cable, or any module. A random Alarm will flash and the friggin lights turn off, only to begin the morning ramp up again! That's frustrating.
2) You have to disconnect any module from the system to update it (see number 1)
3) If you remove a module from the system and never use it again, it remains as a ghost module unless you completely erase all of your programming and reset it ALL over again.
But I have defended them for years because, well, I owned it, and was stuck on the inside, so since I have pretty much 1 of every module in my setup, and 5 PC4s it made financial sense to hopefully get a better brain in this system with the Archon. Well, their backyard garage way of customer service, public relations, (lack of) announcements, lying about release dates/shipping dates, finally has rubbed me the wrong way for the last time. Not to mention their lack of innovation. I have cancelled my order and I have a complete Apex system coming next week!
I truly feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I called Neptune 3 different times and they actually answered the gd phone every time (unlike DA) and they answered my questions! Yeah! So needless to say I'll have a large RKE system for sale soon.
I thank Eric over at DA for being the only person to ever pick up the phone (1 answer for every 10 tries)
I also find it ironic that the only time In the last year that I received a reply to any of my emails, was my email cancelling my order, so thank you for that too.
+1 on this comment. Just put my name in place of his and EXACTLY the same story and outcome. I too cancelled my order.

It is sad that Dave is far better in communicating than actual DA employees. Sad Sad state of affairs.

mike


__________________
300G 96x24x30, BK250 Skimmer with Avast Swabbie, LED/T5, Geo CaRx with Masterflex effluent cntl, Zeovite User - Avast Marine Tumbler, Archon control, Vortech MP60,Tunze 6125, & Jebao RW20 making waves
janes_mw is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 12:30 AM   #66
cidbozek
Registered Member
 
cidbozek's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 274
The manual writer guy states "you can graph anything". Can I graph my cal,alk,mag? Can I change colors on the screens?


__________________
Cid

Current Tank Info: 90 Mixed reef,Radion xp30w pro,RO Diablo,MP40,MP10s,Sump with fuge,40 breeder frag tank
cidbozek is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 01:35 AM   #67
DaveMorris
VP, SDMAS
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunny San Diego, CA
Posts: 1,309
Quote:
Originally Posted by cidbozek View Post
The manual writer guy states "you can graph anything". Can I graph my cal,alk,mag? Can I change colors on the screens?
That would be referencing "anything" that the Archon is monitoring or controlling. As far as screen colors, if you know how to write code there is a way to load your own into the system since it is open source compatible. (I'm not a programmer so if that reference doesn't make sense I apologize)


__________________
Dave
My 130g tank: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2387989

Current Tank Info: 130g build in progress
DaveMorris is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 01:42 AM   #68
DaveMorris
VP, SDMAS
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunny San Diego, CA
Posts: 1,309
Quote:
Originally Posted by janes_mw View Post
It is sad that Dave is far better in communicating than actual DA employees. Sad Sad state of affairs.

mike
Well thank you for the compliment, but I realize that it comes out of frustration. I can say that one of the original reasons for Team DA to exist was to help communicate things to the online world. Several of us try our best to help folks with questions and bring up new info as much as possible. I have no idea why the Company has such a bad track record for "officially" releasing information. All I can say is several of us have conveyed our concerns along this regard and we leave it up to DA to handle business the way they want. I'm mostly happy that they are moving forward in developing new hardware such as the Archon. It is a great unit and there is a lot of beta support for it. The online manual for it is very well written and is continuously being updated as new features are being written into the Archon. That is a huge step forward for DA. The RKE and RKL manuals leave quite a bit to be desired. The Archon manual is much, much better.


__________________
Dave
My 130g tank: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2387989

Current Tank Info: 130g build in progress
DaveMorris is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 08:09 AM   #69
blrrobinson21
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Lake of the Ozarks
Posts: 201
I've been out of the game for a while and these controllers are kinda new but I'm curious. With the Archon and the fact that it doesn't have a handheld controller and everything is done by wifi on another device, when you're looking at your tank or see your tank for the first time for the day how do you check temperature pH and other items quickly at a glance.


blrrobinson21 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 08:38 AM   #70
n2585722
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Cedar Park, Tx
Posts: 1,072
I use my iPad to check up on the tank.


n2585722 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 12:41 PM   #71
DaveMorris
VP, SDMAS
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunny San Diego, CA
Posts: 1,309
iPhone will work very easily as well.


__________________
Dave
My 130g tank: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2387989

Current Tank Info: 130g build in progress
DaveMorris is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 02:12 PM   #72
blrrobinson21
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Lake of the Ozarks
Posts: 201
I guess it syncs up really quick when your near the tank without have to open an app and wait for it to download? I just figured it would be nice to have something with a display that had the common info for a quick visual check.


blrrobinson21 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 04:13 PM   #73
delmo
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: South FL USA
Posts: 185
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveMorris View Post
A little update in regards to the DA support forum here on RC going away. As I suspected, it is merely a billing issue and will be resolved as soon as the accounting folks at DA can get a hold of accounting folks here at RC. I am sure it will be resolved in a few days.
That's odd, I still don't see them listed.


delmo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 09:31 PM   #74
DaveMorris
VP, SDMAS
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunny San Diego, CA
Posts: 1,309
Quote:
Originally Posted by delmo View Post
That's odd, I still don't see them listed.
Yeah, I haven't talked to anyone at DA recently about it so I have no idea whats up with it at this point. Maybe they felt it was a waste of money since they have their own support forum already. Who knows...


__________________
Dave
My 130g tank: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2387989

Current Tank Info: 130g build in progress
DaveMorris is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/16/2015, 02:55 PM   #75
n2585722
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Cedar Park, Tx
Posts: 1,072
Shellsea how is it going with the Archon? Any questions?


n2585722 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:19 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.