What a fantastic review! Had me grinning from ear to ear reading it. Thanks so much... and the fun isn't over yet... Wait till you see what is around the corner. :)

Hi Alec. Glad you got the TEC-1G eventually running. As with Bob (the other reviewer above) there are many ways to get in touch with me if you have any problems, including on Tindie. (As you did for the switch.) But yes, it would have been difficult to diagnose the reversed diode problem in any case. Glad you found it.

On the topic of documentation... That's a fair call. The documentation is not complete by any stretch of the imagination and that is because it was a rush to get the PCB made, then everyone wanted kits, and then everyone wants the add-on boards (RTC and SD Card) and then there are other boards to make (new one coming soon) and what always suffers is the documentation. It doesn't help that the majority of users of the TEC-1G are old hands at the TEC-1 from 40 years ago, so they are used to how they generally run and work on minimal documentation. But that is no excuse and I apologize for any frustration. BTW, the schematic has a few notes on it that could be helpful, too. I'm starting to make a video series on assembling the 1G and hopefully that will be of help, and yes, I will get onto the documentation as well. Promise. :)

First review and overall a negative one. Ouch! :(
Well let me address your concerns and comments, some of which I unashamedly agree with.

> Title: Needs More Polish...

Well sure... But polish takes either time or money, which would add to the cost or affect availability. I am not a corporation or even a small company. I am but a user of the original TEC-1 some 40 years ago that has updated it to be a little more capable. I could have left it at releasing just the PCB and be done with it. Instead, the kit is put together at the lowest cost to the user possible. I have thankfully had help along the way, again from pure volunteering of people's time to make the Monitor software and the diagnostics. The GitHub, used largely for documentation, is written 99% by me. All this while holding down a normal 9-5 job. The "polish" will improve in terms of the documentation, but I won't be spending money on fancy boxes with pretty foam cutouts which is what I have seen from some of the pre-made kits. I think this one is on a par with a few of the RC2014 kits or will get there soon.

> If you are a beginner to Z80 and microprocessor trainers, or are a beginner building kits, this is not the kit for you.

I'd like to know what Z80 kit out there IS aimed at the pure beginner? The RC2014? I don't think so. The Agon Lite? Hardly. The Z80 Retro? Getting close but I think with the minimal of complex parts in this kit, I don't think it gets much simpler in design than the TEC-1G. Right out of the gate you have a display on the board (2 types) that lend themselves to being standalone, rather than needing serial communications and being tethered to a PC. No, this is not an absolute beginners kit, with over 250 parts to solder in. But neither is it a complex Z80 build. Sometimes to learn, you have to push your limits.

> Listed Pros

Thank you... At least there is SOMETHING good about the kit! ;)

> The group has chosen Facebook as their primary communications channel. Guys/gals, please consider other options in addition to Facebook.

I'm pretty sure you are the most recent member in our group and you yourself listed the issues with all the other forums out there. And we started on Facebook many years ago and have the membership numbers there, meaning if anyone has a problem, I doubt it goes unanswered for long than about 5 minutes. But as I said to you, there is also a sub-Reddit for the TEC-1 (https://www.reddit.com/r/TEC1/) that I started 2 years ago and have had not a single person join it! (You yourself said Reddit has gone to pot.) Not sure if you can respond (or better, Edit) your review and this reply, but I would love your feedback on your Facebook experience, now that we have the non-spam rules relaxed and all your posts approved. Oh and feel free to suggest what other options are there? I'm sure every one of them will be met with derision from some other user.

> Kit installation manual is incomplete.

Yes. Yes it is... It is a work in progress. And I am about to launch a YouTube channel with build info and new product releases. I can only say it will come better with time. I wanted to get the new TEC-1G out before 2023 was over as that was the 40th anniversary of the original TEC-1. And yes, as such the documentation is being made AFTER the release of the product. Not ideal, I know. But then the target market was our existing TEC-1 users that are quite comfortable with building one of these up without much more than a schematic.

> It is important to read the errata sheet before building the kit.

Not sure how that is a Con

> Some of the changes in the errata had been made to the board but not all.

I would have thought that would be a Pro, not a Con. Go figure. And no I can't do the last part of the bodge wire, because that can only be done AFTER all the rest of the soldering is done. And that's not a part of the service, sorry.

> The 2 switches for selecting the monitor don't fit properly without having to reshape the pins.

Yes, they were originally made to be just jumpers, but I threw some switches that are not quite slim enough. Next edition of the board will fix this.

> The large oscillator switch can obstruct the key caps.

I honestly didn't think so, but noted. I'll see if I can move it a bit further "north" on the next version of the board.

> The power switch is flaky.

Not going to argue there. And it was a PITA finding that switch! The next version of the board will lose the USB-B connector which is the reason we had to go to DPDT. So that means we will be able to use a single pole switch; a right angled version of the speed switch which is way more robust.

> The 5 volt linear reg runs hot but is not out of spec. I would recommend using a modern regulator instead.

Not arguing with that... But again, not sure how that is a Con. If I put in an expensive Bucky, the cost of the kit would have been $5 more, and a lot of people are quite price sensitive.

> My kit briefly had issues with missing characters on the LCD but has not been seen since. I am not the only person to observe this.

Yes, we think we have found the source of the problem and it seems to be the actual LCD display. I'll be making a video about it.

> The magazine examples at the Github page do not work with Mon3

The magazine examples are from the original TEC-1 and if you boot the ROM into the MON-1B, those examples do indeed work. We have thankfully a really kind TECian that has only just recently spent the time on this "2 Star Kit" to convert all the programs for use with MON3. And that's the kind of nice people the TEC-1 brings into the fold, willing to dedicate their time and give back to the community for the benefit of all, because this "sub-standard" little computer is so lovable and easily accessible. (Checks notes...) Oh wait... That was you?? Well, thank you, good sir! :) And thanks for letting us add them all to the GitHub. Will do that shortly. I want to attribute the effort to you, but I'm not sure what to call you; By your name on Tindie or your name in Facebook? Let me know. :)

> The magazine examples are poorly commented

Mmm... They may be poorly commented in the Assembly listing, but you have to remember they came from listings of Code written up in magazines printed 40 years ago. And as such there ARE explanations of the code in those magazines. You have to remember these were created BEFORE the advent of assemblers or even connecting the TEC-1 to a computer for serial download. Everything was entered "on the metal" in raw Hex assembly code. Doesn't get any more real than that, brother. :)

> Expansion board/TEC deck options are limited.

Really?? I have FOUR extra kits available and listed in my shop for the TEC-1G, and I'll note you didn't buy any of them. I think they cover a pretty good range but sure, there is always more that could be made... But that's the beauty of this platform; NOT everything is already designed, meaning there is scope for YOU to design something and add to the ecosystem! (Didn't you mention you were going to make a Z80Bus to RCBus adapter? There you go!) Not up to designing hardware? Well feel free to jump onto the Facebook (or Reddit) group and suggest something you would like to see. Maybe another user might take up the challenge, or I might put it on the list of things I will make. In fact there is a new add-on about to be released that I think everyone will really love: the 8x8 LED Matrix display. Keep an eye out for it.

Well, I hope I have addressed all your concerns Fred/Gary. Bit of a harsh review considering you're already contributing to the ecosystem which speaks higher than the 2 Stars you have given it. It hurts, man... Cuts deep! :(