I think
everyone is on the countdown for Christmas now and it’s a busy time for all, whether you have a shopping list as long as your arm to complete or
you are trying to get as much of your work done before everywhere closes down
for the Christmas holidays, not forgetting the odd Christmas party to attend.
Along with the Christmas festivities December inevitably brings with it a
flurry of illness. It seems that there are several bugs doing the rounds at the
moment and this week we've suffered a number of staff shortages thanks to the
winter germs and viruses. Unfortunately as a business director it’s something
to be expected, but not something you can prepare for, as it can strike at any
time. One thing we are proud of at 3D Group is our team of incredibly hard
working staff and when the company experiences staff shortages everyone pulls
together and works twice as hard to cover the extra workload without moaning.
As always we have another new 3D Group own brand product in the pipeline and it’s getting close to being ready for launch. This particular product is our own remote testing machine. Today I have finalised some artwork for it.The new remote tester will come with a 2.8 Inch touchscreen, have RF and IR testing functions that automatically work out the frequency and it will also allow you to test specific RF ranges. This remote tester has an accuracy of measurement +/- 10 kHz and also provides a dB graph on screen.This remote tester should be on sale before Christmas! Why not add it to your Christmas wish list or treat yourself to an early Christmas present?!
I am sure that we have mentioned before that 3D Group will not release a product before thoroughly testing it ourselves first. One such product that we have been testing over the last few weeks is the SKP 900 adapter. Our support team has been putting it through its paces on real life auto locksmith jobs and familiarising themselves with the product so that they can confidently offer support should the product be released for sale. The adapter claims to be able to read a vast array of chips as well as being able to write them when connected to a PC. It states it can copy chips, unlock them and create special chips amongst other uses. Several customers have been asking when we will be selling it and we are aware that some of our competitors already are, however the results of our testing process haven’t quite been up to scratch so I’ll let our Head of Support Martyn explain why 3D Group will not be stocking the SKP-900 adapter just yet.
The Positives
- There is certainly potential for this machine in the future as it could be used for pre-coding.
- It is not required to be connected to a PC in order to work, simply connect it to the SKP.
- The ability to read transponder chips and some proximity remotes is a good function to have.
- The idea to include PC software to write and edit chips is a good addition.
- The key maker function does have the potential to use it for EEPROM work but it’s not quite there yet..
- The unlock function is useful to be able to reuse transponder chips.
- The copy function is helpful for the ability to clone a key from a working key.
The Negatives
- All of the functions mentioned above show great potential but in reality their current usability is poor.
- The PC software is inadequate as it comes with no instructions, and looks part finished in poor English.
- The key maker function comes without instruction so it is all guess work. It doesn’t currently come with an application list and therefore I wouldn’t trust this machine for EEPROM work.
- The copy function cloned fixed transponders with no trouble, however it wouldn't clone an ID46, and again there are no instructions and the onscreen English translations leave something to be desired. It did manage to Clone an ID60 after 4 attempts though.
Martyn's Verdict
"Although the
SKP900 adapter has great potential, it really isn’t in a state where we can
support and sell it with confidence without doing a lot more work with the
manufacturers. Unfortunately 3D Group would not work in that way with Super OBD
because of their distribution policies, which is a shame because there is a lot
of potential in some of their products. We hope that small improvements over
time will enhance the product so that we can reassess its viability in the near
future. - Martyn"
We know that unlike many industries and services the auto locksmith trade doesn’t shut down over the Christmas period. In fact many of you will experience a busy couple of weeks with the increased risk of people losing their keys whilst out shopping and partying and the cold weather causing your customers all kinds of issues. To help make Christmas that little bit easier 3D Group will be open as much as possible over the Christmas period. Here are our festive opening times;
But we didn’t
want to stop there, we would also like to offer all of our customers 10% off
all purchases made online. 10% discount will be applied to all orders over the
value of £150 + VAT placed via the 3D Group trade website between 2am 24th
December 2014 and 3pm 31st December 2014. 10% Discount will be applied to all
products purchased within the order as long as the total spend is above £150
before VAT or delivery is added.*
How to get
your discount...
Place an
order as usual on-line. You will not be able to see the discount on screen.
Checkout as usual and when our sales staff process your payment they will
deduct 10% should the order qualify.
*The 10%
discount offered is valid between 24/12/14 - 31/12/14 inclusive. Discount is
available on all products available from 3dgroupuk.com excluding the Silca
Futura (MS63) Offers are subject to availability and are at the 3D Group
Managers’ discretion. 3D Group reserve the right to retract offers from the
public at any point. No voucher or code necessary.
We wish you
all a great Christmas and a very prosperous new year!
Dean
