Faulty Power Bases

2839 Views 25 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Ghost, Jan 7, 2005

fladda

Discussion Starter · Jan 3, 2005

Apologies in advance, if dead power bases are already being discussed elsewhere on this forum.

I've just got back from a week's holiday on a remote Scottish island in the Hebrides, and we had two sets of the new digital Scalextrics to play with

So we had a spare power base, plus 4 cars etc.

A good time was had by all, until...

We blew the first power base up after about 4 hours running.

Our second (spare) power base lasted a few days, before it too went faulty :-(

Then we spent two days lamenting the loss of our dear departed Scalextrics.

Power bases appeared to 'die' during some sort of transient overload condition,. Perhaps where the power base's micro-processor was not quick enough to detect a short circuit ??

In the 'dead' mode the screen of the power base can be seen to illuminate briefly for a few micorseconds, when a power converter is initially plugged in. Then screen goes totally blank and there is no voltage on the output rails. Seems that the power bases are presenting a short circuit to the switched mode power supplies, and these power supplies are (correctly) shutting down. Looks like a blown up chip in both faulty power bases to me.

We had two 12VDC supplies plugged in to the power bases when they blew.

Mate who'd brought the Scalextric sets took them both back today for a full refund.

Looks like Hornby have got a serious problem with this revision of the power bases.

Ralph

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Wankel Ickx

· #4 · Jan 4, 2005

QUOTE Mate who'd brought the Scalextric sets took them both back today for a full refund.

That's the bit the retailers don't want. Two sets given some running, now gone poof and back for a refund.

Can't blame the punters, can't help but feel sorry for the retailer. Reminds me of when I worked at Dixons as a Saturday boy, we sold stuff, expensive camera gear, to folks we knew where only having it for the weekend to go to some wedding or other. You could tell, sure enough, back it would come next week with some lame excuse and back into stock it would go.

Moral of story - don't ever accept a box that looks like it's been resealed.

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Wankel Ickx

· #6 · Jan 4, 2005

Um? I'm not complaining.

Er, um? I'm not imagining problems - these guys took there toys back because they clearly were not of satisfactory quality or durability.

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Wankel Ickx

· #9 · Jan 4, 2005

Lord knows I hate to be argumentative but...

QUOTE That's the bit the retailers don't want.

They don't do they? I mean, their profit lies in the stuff staying sold. Taking back the goods that you put some effort into selling in the first place - having maybe taken some time to sell someone up to the extra features and ticket price of a digital set - and then having something that in law is now secondhand and can't be sold as brand new even once the thing is fixed (and how long will that take?) equates to wasted time.

I guess I am imagining that retailers don't want to do refunds.

Ten years I ran my own retail outlet. When I took back a defective camera, with maybe missing instructions or with a damaged box, I knew that any sniff of profit on that one was long gone. I'd have to wait for it to come back from the importers having been fixed up and then sell it secondhand at maybe cost price plus VAT to get shot.

Christmas - more sales for retailers, more returns afterwards. I feel sorry for any of them trying to flog a complicated product.

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Wankel Ickx

· #11 · Jan 4, 2005 (Edited by Moderator)

I think I hate being argumentative more than you but...

QUOTE Part of the justification for 100% price markup from trade to retail is dealing with returns (yes - stock and overheads too).

Let me disabuse you of this notion - I will eat my Parma throttle if Scaley are giving markups anywhere near approaching that on any digital product, or indeed, anything in their catalogue.

Better yet, I'll go back into retail because that is excellent margin and well worth riding any flack of returns.

I do not believe they get markups like that at all. More like 30-40% markup, if they are lucky would be my guess.

[Edited]

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Wankel Ickx

· #12 · Jan 4, 2005 (Edited by Moderator)

Darainbow, where did you pick up the 90 days rule? I don't think that would hold up in a UK court and certainly doesn't suggest the maker is overly confident.

[Edit]
Where'd your post go, darainbow?

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Wankel Ickx

· #16 · Jan 4, 2005

Darainbow, I think your post bit the dust too and since I'm a mod I'm assuming I did it - though I don't know how

Apologies.

US rules and regs would certainly be different. Still sounds like a waste of ink.

100% Markup, sheesh!

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Wankel Ickx

· #18 · Jan 4, 2005

Um, I don't think there was a genuine question in the first post. There's a rhetorical one in there, mind.

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Wankel Ickx

· #20 · Jan 5, 2005

QUOTE The point is, after have burnt out two bases, perhaps it's time to not try to get new ones, but to get the existing ones to work, right?

Yep, but whose job do you think that is, Ghost? Personally, I think it incumbant upon the manufacturers to get their products to market in a servicable condition, having fully tested them in real world conditions.

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