Hardware SFANS has changed their backers design into a dock without asking!

[Jayro]

Why would people go for the sfans in the first place? You can get the same thing on Amazon for $20-$30. I got one for $21

I think everyone already beat FSANS to the market, so I'd just pull out too and buy one similar on Amazon.

Me personally, I just bought a dock shell for my real dock's PCB to fit inside of.

 

[Thunder Hawk]

Alright, it seems that some backers got this. A backer by the name of Alan Reid uploaded pictures of the unit to his Dropbox.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/...tch-truly-portable-games-videogames#/comments

This was the initial design:

This is what you could have gotten:

...and this is what you got:

Spoiler: Final Product

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q8dtgg5lqvt22c1/AACt5y3TqiHxUhPe7yfTnkKLa?dl=0
Embedded images removed for being stupid.

 

[Bladexdsl]

blank images is what he got?

 

[Thunder Hawk]

blank images is what he got?

Removed them. Blame Dropbox.

 

[Bladexdsl]

that's a BAD design...one bump and boom the switch is going to get knocked out of that VERY EASILY.

 

[silvershadow]

Ur lucky, u got it? I still didn't even get mine...

 

[driverdis]

Epic Fail, the SFANS looks like a cheap 3D printed shell for the CForce with some modifications to make it into a dock. If I were a backer, I would be furious.

 

[the_randomizer]

Looks like utter crap XD

 

[TheCyberQuake]

Alright, it seems that some backers got this. A backer by the name of Alan Reid uploaded pictures of the unit to his Dropbox.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/...tch-truly-portable-games-videogames#/comments

This was the initial design:

This is what you could have gotten:

...and this is what you got:

Spoiler: Final Product

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q8dtgg5lqvt22c1/AACt5y3TqiHxUhPe7yfTnkKLa?dl=0
Embedded images removed for being stupid.

I wasnt against them before, but that final product looks awful. Cheap looking plastic with no design at all, the entire thing is one cheap looking color. Yeah now I would definitely say this campaign has gone down the crapper. I purchased a dongle from China way after the campaign ended, and received that months ago, and at a much cheaper price. The fact that the quality is visibly much lower than the review samples is unacceptable. If it seemed decent quality it wouldn't be as bad, but wow that is unacceptable.

 

[ThisIsDaAccount]

Its a good thing they switched to a dock design, if you look a few pages back in this thread one person explains that not having the switch standing vertically in dock mode can kill it, because of heating issues (similar to the original Xbox 360s). Most people would've have their switches lying flat with the dongle, which would've been very bad for them and would've probably killed them if the dongle was used regularly like this.

However, they've been super unprofessional. They charged a lot when this could have been made a lot cheaper, and they took a lot of time with zero communication to their backers. That just sucks.

I just got a dongle off of Amazon that had good (and seemingly authentic reviews), then 3d printed some pegs to keep my switch standing vertically while using the dongle. That's a much quicker solution for half the price.

 

[APartOfMe]

Its a good thing they switched to a dock design, if you look a few pages back in this thread one person explains that not having the switch standing vertically in dock mode can kill it, because of heating issues (similar to the original Xbox 360s). Most people would've have their switches lying flat with the dongle, which would've been very bad for them and would've probably killed them if the dongle was used regularly like this.

However, they've been super unprofessional. They charged a lot when this could have been made a lot cheaper, and they took a lot of time with zero communication to their backers. That just sucks.

I just got a dongle off of Amazon that had good (and seemingly authentic reviews), then 3d printed some pegs to keep my switch standing vertically while using the dongle. That's a much quicker solution for half the price.

I use the dongle regularly, for hours on end. Someone on YouTube tried to get the switch to overheat by using the dongle, but couldn't. The switch also warns you if it's overheating, so there's no way for you to not know

 

[ThisIsDaAccount]

I use the dongle regularly, for hours on end. Someone on YouTube tried to get the switch to overheat by using the dongle, but couldn't. The switch also warns you if it's overheating, so there's no way for you to not know

Fair enough, that all sounds reasonable. Could you please drop us a link to that YouTube video?

 

[Cyan]

Most people would've have their switches lying flat with the dongle, which would've been very bad for them and would've probably killed them if the dongle was used regularly like this.

I use my official dock flat too, because it would be in front of my tv and mask part of it.
I don't know if it's bad for the heat, but I'm sure the Sfan's first design was better for air flow than me putting the nintendo's dock flat, because you could put the switch ON their dock to let the air flow below it. Nintendo's one is blocking the air...

 

[Kioku]

I use my official dock flat too, because it would be in front of my tv and mask part of it.
I don't know if it's bad for the heat, but I'm sure the Sfan's first design was better for air flow than me putting the nintendo's dock flat, because you could put the switch ON their dock to let the air flow below it. Nintendo's one is blocking the air...

The idea is that you're blocking the vents on the back of the system. Using your official dock this way wouldn't necessarily block the vents, but I feel you'd have to worry about the C connector sooner than later.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I'm a backer. I actually prefer the dock, since it's much more compact than the adapter and a stand, which would have been the alternative, and a far less convenient option at that.
Can't say I'm very happy about how the dock ended up looking though. I was actually starting to think I would never receive my SFANS, since they haven't updated their page in months (and they promised to update it once a week) and everyone in the comments section is pissed off.
But seeing as some people have received theirs, there's still hope.
I guess they were running low on money and went with a simpler design to save money.
Well, it's still functional, and it's not like it's any uglier than the official dock, I just hope I receive it at all.

I use my official dock flat too, because it would be in front of my tv and mask part of it.
I don't know if it's bad for the heat, but I'm sure the Sfan's first design was better for air flow than me putting the nintendo's dock flat, because you could put the switch ON their dock to let the air flow below it. Nintendo's one is blocking the air...

If you open the back door, there's actually an air hole there for air to get through. I assume fresh air would still come in through the hole for the cables even if the door is closed, although it won't be optimal air flow. I still worry about my Switch getting hot while docked, it's already bent and I don't want it to get worse.

 

[Deleted-355425]

I'm a backer. I actually prefer the dock, since it's much more compact than the adapter and a stand, which would have been the alternative, and a far less convenient option at that.
Can't say I'm very happy about how the dock ended up looking though. I was actually starting to think I would never receive my SFANS, since they haven't updated their page in months (and they promised to update it once a week) and everyone in the comments section is pissed off.
But seeing as some people have received theirs, there's still hope.
I guess they were running low on money and went with a simpler design to save money.
Well, it's still functional, and it's not like it's any uglier than the official dock, I just hope I receive it at all.

If you open the back door, there's actually an air hole there for air to get through. I assume fresh air would still come in through the hole for the cables even if the door is closed, although it won't be optimal air flow. I still worry about my Switch getting hot while docked, it's already bent and I don't want it to get worse.

Mine turned up even though i cancelled it lol, its a rancid grey colour with no paint or detail and the shell is marked and looks like it was kicked around before being used.... no way i trust this shit with my switch.

 

[APartOfMe]

Fair enough, that all sounds reasonable. Could you please drop us a link to that YouTube video?

My laptop has a fan on the bottom, but it hasn't ever overheated

Here's a link to the video

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

You don't need to be hitting tjunction max before you can start doing actual damage to components, again, especially your battery. Heat rising isn't a 'theory'. You can do whatever you want but just know that there is always an ideal way to arrange the majority of electronics especially a Switch console while in docked mode, and anything otherwise, your Switch isn't going to last as long as others.

 

[ThisIsDaAccount]

My laptop has a fan on the bottom, but it hasn't ever overheated

Here's a link to the video

The one thing I'll say in response to the video is that he never compared the temperature to when the switch was upright. He notes that the Switch doesn't reach anywhere near it's maximum temperature when lying face down, but he never actually took measurements to when it was upright to compare. The point I was trying to make wasn't thst the switch would overheat at any individual time, but that the temperature would be higher when lying face down vs when upright, and that this will cause damage over prolonged periods. I was hopen to be proven wrong by the video, but I wasn't (but I wasn't proven right either).

As it stands, I'll stick to my argument but I understand if you think I'm crazy or something. I don't actually know a lot about physical hardware, but I do think the point stands

 

[TheCyberQuake]

The one thing I'll say in response to the video is that he never compared the temperature to when the switch was upright. He notes that the Switch doesn't reach anywhere near it's maximum temperature when lying face down, but he never actually took measurements to when it was upright to compare. The point I was trying to make wasn't thst the switch would overheat at any individual time, but that the temperature would be higher when lying face down vs when upright, and that this will cause damage over prolonged periods. I was hopen to be proven wrong by the video, but I wasn't (but I wasn't proven right either).

As it stands, I'll stick to my argument but I understand if you think I'm crazy or something. I don't actually know a lot about physical hardware, but I do think the point stands

While it will increase heat, it won't necessarily cause harm over time. Unless you see excessive temp gain or go above normal operating temps, any actual damage will be negligible, if any.