Regarding European Shipments + Mercury 1000 Presale
Hello friends,
I would like to start by expressing my continued apologies to our international and especially European customers. I assure you, this is purely the result of well documented legislation and our ongoing quest to operate within the laws established by each and every country we ship to.
Regarding the recent Mercury 1000 Presale, that product is not available for international sales at the moment. Here is a full explanation:
It unfortunately boils down to the fact that I had to completely redesign the high voltage AC->DC power supply because the manufacturer of the part we used to use discontinued the part, and the alternative supplier we cannot use as they are on a government embargo list within the US. The brand name enjoyers out there will be pleased to note that I have switched the design to use a Mean-Well and compatible power supply, but this required re-engineering the entire power delivery to the unit, as well as the output control, while maintaining and testing safe isolation for the low voltage side. This was not a small change, and so the product was off the market for a long time. For that, you have my apologies.
Regarding why we are not shipping this product outside the US right now, it boils down to 2 temporary reasons:
1) North America has a special power grid operating at a different voltage and frequency as the remainder of the world. While I designed the device specifically to operate universally, I have only concluded testing for 120VAC / 60Hz systems, and 240/50 is pending. Additionally, while I have exhaustively tested this device on the Venus I have in the shop, I am aware that there have been multiple revisions to the Venus throughout its history, and so the goal of this testing is to ensure my present design is compatible with other units and that its self-calibration succeeds even on devices that are not my own.
2) I value providing electronics that comply with all legislation so that customers receive exactly the quality goods that their region's laws were designed to protect. European customers are protected by several laws which regulate the import of electronics products, to ensure safe operation. In order to sell to you, I must send my product to the lab for testing, and complete lengthy paperwork. I am glad to do so, and will only ever sell safe, tested, compliant products with your laws, but this takes time, and money to do, and so you must wait.
The reason the power supply redesign is significant is that this change voided any prior testing which was done on the Mercury device, and so from an import perspective this unit cannot benefit from the previous design's work and must be fully re-certified.
Once I receive back reviews that the device is functional on a variety of Venus units within the US, I will be confident in the final design and submit it for testing for European regulation compliance as well. We will have a similar, European-only testing window when that time comes about.
I wish I can build and ship electronics to all who want them, but there are real laws with real penalties in place, and I prioritize safety and compliance above all. If you feel like your legislation has been impacting small businesses and prohibiting you from getting goods from companies that cannot easily perform all the testing, documentation, and Authorized Representative contracting required to enter into your country, please petition your government to permit exceptions or accelerator programs for small businesses abroad.
As for my end, I have reached out to local, state, and federal assistance programs for small business in the US, and though we have been barred from federal assistance of any form due to the erotic nature of our devices, we have some hope for state level assistance with regards to the legally obligated translations of our packaging, which is not much, but it is a small step toward meeting our compliance obligations in your country.
Please note that this is not, at all, a personal attack or slight toward Europeans, and I am not up to anything nefarious. I am still one engineer attempting to navigate and provide goods to you, and my desk is currently a mountain of work that I must finish before I get that cherished and long-awaited CE certification on our product. It will not be cheap and it has consumed all my remaining time, both at work and at home, but the paperwork is moving to the best of my ability, and I try my best to understand the laws of your country, and every other country around the globe, so that you can have this product one day.
What I will not do is risk my company, my customers, and myself, by attempting to circumvent or bypass your country's import regulations. You have your consumer protection laws for a reason, and it is my obligation to ensure all the documents are filed to prove our compliance.
Thank you for your understanding,
-- Mau