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SiriusHardware · 4th Jul 2020, 3:06 pm

Recently another forum member and I placed an order with 'Littlediode' and ordered some bipolar PROMs, which can only ever be programmed once, can not be erased and then reprogrammed and are therefore useless if already programmed.

When the three PROMs turned up, they had labels on them (image #1), a sure sign that they were already programmed. I read them and found that they were indeed programmed.

We informed Littlediode of this problem and explained, in case they really did not know, that devices of this type can not be reprogrammed and re-used. They offered to replace the three devices with three which were not labelled. When they turned up, they didn't have labels on them but it was blindingly obvious that they had had labels on them (image #2). These also proved to have been programmed with the same code as the original three.

This left us with no option but to return the three original devices and the three substitute devices as per their returns procedure along with a polite note explaining why the three original and three substitute devices were being returned.

To our amazement, the other party then only received a refund for one of the three devices because 'that was all he had asked for'. Really, three devices sent back with a cover note explaining why, and they thought we only wanted a refund for one? At that point he ran out of patience and asked Paypal to intervene and pull back the remaining amount.

After this experience I did what I should have done in the first place, hunted around for evidence of other people who had had a bad experience with the company. It wasn't hard to find, but then it has to be said that virtually every company in the world has a few unhappy customers who are always louder than the happy ones.

I've also 'spoken' to two other people who have bought parts from them several times and did receive what they actually thought they were buying - not PROMs, but other types of device.

On the basis of our experience, however, I definitely would not recommend them for bipolar PROMs.

4th Jul 2020, 3:06 pm	#1
SiriusHardware Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 11,556	Littlediode Recently another forum member and I placed an order with 'Littlediode' and ordered some bipolar PROMs, which can only ever be programmed once, can not be erased and then reprogrammed and are therefore useless if already programmed. When the three PROMs turned up, they had labels on them (image #1), a sure sign that they were already programmed. I read them and found that they were indeed programmed. We informed Littlediode of this problem and explained, in case they really did not know, that devices of this type can not be reprogrammed and re-used. They offered to replace the three devices with three which were not labelled. When they turned up, they didn't have labels on them but it was blindingly obvious that they had had labels on them (image #2). These also proved to have been programmed with the same code as the original three. This left us with no option but to return the three original devices and the three substitute devices as per their returns procedure along with a polite note explaining why the three original and three substitute devices were being returned. To our amazement, the other party then only received a refund for one of the three devices because 'that was all he had asked for'. Really, three devices sent back with a cover note explaining why, and they thought we only wanted a refund for one? At that point he ran out of patience and asked Paypal to intervene and pull back the remaining amount. After this experience I did what I should have done in the first place, hunted around for evidence of other people who had had a bad experience with the company. It wasn't hard to find, but then it has to be said that virtually every company in the world has a few unhappy customers who are always louder than the happy ones. I've also 'spoken' to two other people who have bought parts from them several times and did receive what they actually thought they were buying - not PROMs, but other types of device. On the basis of our experience, however, I definitely would not recommend them for bipolar PROMs. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by SiriusHardware; 4th Jul 2020 at 3:19 pm.