Anyone have recent contact with Damage Control?

[km6xz]

I have a Womanizer on my bench which someone bought on eBay as working. Of course it does not work.
I've traced the problem to the z8 processor being intermittent, heat and cold sensitive. It is custom programmed so the original parts needs to be replaced.
Damage Control in SoCal has not responded to any emails, and phone calls are not answered by humans, and messages do not get returned. Has anyone had contact with them? If so, were they able to get parts, or any service data? They have a message on their web site that all their models under that name have been discontinued and are out of stock.
Apparently they merged with another small stomp box maker and are only selling the products from Strymon which are all digital effects boxes.

This is one reason "vintage" digital will never have value, they are depended on parts that were single source so virtually impossible to keep running if the maker is small or does not support older products.

[dodona]

they stopped business and changed to another. No chance, dude

[km6xz]

From what I understood they merged with Strymon so were still around. They did respond to the owner of the unit a week ago saying they would repair it for $85 but shipping from here and back would be a total of $200 plus change.
I've reverse engineers most of it and can if need be, get it all working without the processor. But that is a lot of work for such a device. Much of the processors function is driving a weird Magic Eye LED matrix, but it also controls switching for the bypass relay and gain boost apparently.
Thanks for the response

[J M Fahey]

*Maybe*, considering your particular situation, being in a Gulag behind the Iron Curtain , they might send you a pre-flashed chip for you to replace or something equivalent.
Just thinking aloud while sipping some boiling hot black tea; in a glass, of course.

[km6xz]

The last time I played the sympathy card with a supplier they said they would charge me twice just for punishment for keeping most of the hot chicks on this side of the "Curtain". That's OK, I really did not need the parts that badly;>)

I built up a little 4013 D-Flip-Flop to act as the momentary switch to latching function that was done in the processor and the thing sound pretty good for a box that just lays on the floor. Talking to the owner, a young kid who has plans for buying a ton of these effects, some costing as much as a good tube practice amp, so he can reproduce the old tones he hears on 60-70s records. For the money he is expecting to pay he could buy a pretty good vintage amp. He picked them out based on hearing demos on Youtube!
I just got home from a walk around in the evening and dropping by a little club that had a blues band playing. Darn if they did not sound good, not esoteric tone but just a solid band with junk SS equipment, that had the place rocking which is better then magic tone and no feel any day. Most were up-tempo versions of old blues classic as their interpretation. I would rather listen to bad tone but great performances and connection with the audience any time. I find that a lot of the guys who are forever messing with their gear searching for the perfect tone, seldom play anything worth listening to. Playing that only their GFs and mothers appreciate. This guitar player never overplayed, and left just the right number of notes out to be really expressive. The harp and lead on Stormy Monday, in slightly slower tempo than tradition, had a few tears flowing from the 80% girl audience, really lovely. No one complained that they were using small H&K amps and a small Hartke bass combo.

[Jazz P Bass]

80% girl audience??
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Count me in.
I love the blues.

[J M Fahey]

H&K is far from junk SS equipment.
They usually do their homework

[km6xz]

It seems that most of the clubs, pubs, coffee shops and sushi cafes have a definite young female clientele. The guys are home watching videos, or surfing the web, or so I am told.
The strong tendency is slim, attractive, smart, sane and well dressed, it is nothing like going out to a pub or bar in the US. The place was packed but 3 girls had a table and invited me to join them, they bought me a flaming B-52 also. Yep, I sure like living here. When I go to a dance club, quite often I am the only guy dancing for the first 2-3 hours, among 10-50 girls on the dance floor. I am older than their mothers but it does not seem to make any difference, I am accepted as a peer. By now I am pretty well known and never have problems with face control or getting a table when all are reserved. They either know me from music, photography or just that crazy old guy who dances for hours.

[J M Fahey]

Poor old USA!!!
First Japan>Korea>China sucked all of its Industry, now it looks like St. Petersburg girls are going to magnetically attract all manpower left.
As we say in Argentina: "the last one to leave, please turn the light off !!"

[km6xz]

Actually there are only a few Americans here in St Petersburg, but in Moscow there are about 50,000. There are a lot more EU citizens here, plus about 12.5 million illegal aliens who came for work.
Not many people used to being able to live life using drive through services would like it here. People actually walk, which might be one reason the legs are soooo fine here, ladies walking a few km everyday in 10 cm heels does magnificent things for leg muscle tone and shape. Most people in the US think I am crazy for wanting to be someplace that is cold(it really isn't much), with bears in the streets and mafia controlling everything, and the gulag. That they believe that is fine, it keeps it more authentic but when politicians make policies on those myths no one benefits.
In reality there are lots of benefits if someone is flexible and adaptive. One being having friends like these:
Nikonians Photo Galleries - Friends
These were of my hang out buddies. I have not added any photos to that gallery for a year, I suppose I should but it might cause some heart attacks;>)

[Steve Conner]

Yes, walking places is the norm outside of North America.

I was once in Whistler. It was pretty cold and I saw bears in the street, but that didn't seem to stop it being a popular holiday destination.

[km6xz]

It is really strange how people spend $600 a month for health clubs, to which if they just walked and turned around without going in would be the real exercise they need. It is the only physical movement attempted each week. When I am back in California on periodic visit, other than in downtown San Francisco, the sidewalks are empty, everywhere. I often stay with my mother near Sacramento and walk a bit there and people treat me like I am homeless, lock their car doors if driving slowly by someone who does not have a car. I've had people ask me if my car was broken down on the road since they saw me walking. They claim the out of control obesity is due to fast food but that is forgetting the most important reason, they are eating large portions, far beyond body needs to refuel based on the energy expended.
45 minute workouts once or twice a week does not replace having an active daily life with stairs, walking, non-riding mowers, not driving in circles for 30 minutes trying to find a parking place within 30 feet of the door of a store, etc. One issue is that food is too cheap in the US, portions are too big for the nutritional needs of anyone and the notion that everything on the plate needs to be eaten even when full. No magic diets are needed, just leading a manually operated life results in much lower cost of living, healthier living and more time to do what is important. By not having a car here I calculated that I save $2000 a month, per car, and a lot more if I had payments on a car to make, plus 2.8 hours more free time per day to socialize and have fun. The total cost of ownership of a car is a complex calculation so I left our some elements that would add to the savings. I know I had a number of car and toys which I had so little time to actually use after taking care of them. After living more directly as here, I see with amazement how terribly inefficient the American lifestyle is and it is making people insecure, angry and poor. The number of free hours per day I have now for any sort of personal pursuit of interest would surprise people who work all the time to pay for and take care of things they have no time to use. How much real vacation time do Americans use? How many times a year is real socializing be done, or exploring new fields and interests? I sense that people are so angry because they work all the time and still have no life and see people in Europe or South America using their time for personal enjoyment. That is why Americans are so critical of Europeans and their governments..."why are they getting it so easy, when I have to feel guilty for taking 2 days off for sick leave and skip another year's vacation?" I doubt if I could ever plug back into that rat-race nor would want to.

[Steve Conner]

I've heard that some posh health clubs have several floors, and you can literally take the escalator to get to the Stair Master machines. If you just climb the stairs instead of joining the health club, that is too advanced a concept for many people to grasp.

I don't have a car either. My last one was a beater, it failed the annual inspection 4 years ago, and it needed $500 worth of repairs, and once fixed it would be worth maybe $250. I never liked it that much anyway, so off to the scrap heap it went. I live in the city about 4 miles from my workplace, so it was really a luxury anyway. Like most European cities, or Manhattan for that matter, Glasgow was built well before cars were invented and is a traffic nightmare.

I guess in Russia, you have those enormous boulevards for parading the missile launchers, and that must ease the traffic a bit.

[km6xz]

Actually, streets are a mess, 5,000,000 cars sold in the last few yes and most ended up in Moscow or St Petersburg. Moscow does have a very side streets that were wide even before motor vehicles.
Being raised in Califorina, cars are part of the blood. I really liked driving, collecting and restoring sports cars and always had at least 1 since 15 years old. I gave away all my cars when I moved here except one which is in storage back in California. It is the last of my collection of classic GTs from the 60s and 70s by Maserati. It is a 4.92 L 4 cam V-8 Bora mid-engine. When I go back I polish it up, take it off the blocks and drive it a little. It was my everyday driver before moving. I should have sold the others, they were worth a lot. At one time I had 13 Maserati's including a complete disassembly 72 Ghibli SS 4.9 restoration that was a frequent show winner and another 4.7 that was being restored, a Khamsin that was the 3rd one built. Those had high pressure hydraulics systems(1800psi) that controlled everything from headlights to seat position and power brakes that were pressure sensitive, not peddle travel sensitive, and a variable steering ratio that went from 90 degrees for full lock when at rest to slow ratio over 200km/hr. It was the most responsive car ever which would almost jump sideways with a flick of the wrist. No one got to drive that until they got some serious practice in a large vacant parking lot. Oh well, I still like cars but hate them in the city or for general transportation. After having cheap fast subways, buses, trams and trolley's everywhere driving is a headache in a large city. I like how much more connection there is to the community when people walk, you see so much more of what is really going on.

[Jazz P Bass]

Poor old USA!!!
First Japan>Korea>China sucked all of its Industry, now it looks like St. Petersburg girls are going to magnetically attract all manpower left.
As we say in Argentina: "the last one to leave, please turn the light off !!"

"Last one to leave, bring the flag"