iRobot Scooba experience

[tekster]

Hi, i'm new to this forum, Was looking at irobot and samsung navibot. anybody has any recommendation. Thought of getting my friend to help to buy from US. but we are afriad that the voltage might be a problem and also no warranty as well...

Jubooo, you are selling the models that SG is selling or you even include US models like 610? do you have waranty for your set?

he's been tinkering around with the irobot. so he will probably warranty the set himself. heh...

you can get him to do the voltage conversion.

 

[Jubooo]

Hi, i'm new to this forum, Was looking at irobot and samsung navibot. anybody has any recommendation. Thought of getting my friend to help to buy from US. but we are afriad that the voltage might be a problem and also no warranty as well...

Jubooo, you are selling the models that SG is selling or you even include US models like 610? do you have waranty for your set?

Hi June, I am selling the US models and the charger will be modified for local voltage use. I do guarantee my equipment. Please do not hesitate to contact me at 81254240 should you need more information.

 

[Jubooo]

he's been tinkering around with the irobot. so he will probably warranty the set himself. heh...

you can get him to do the voltage conversion.

Hey Bro how is your battery doing?

 

[chickemon]

Hi,

Anyone here tried buying a refurbished irobot roomba 560 from ebay? Its seems like all the reputable seller only ship to US address only. So I tried to use comgateway service but since my ebay account states that I am in Singapore, I am not able to bid/buy from the seller. So I am left with using the "BuyForMe" option in comgateway which incur extra service charge. My credit card is also a local card. Would that be a problem too?

Please share your experience.

Many Thanks!

 

[tekster]

Hi,

Anyone here tried buying a refurbished irobot roomba 560 from ebay? Its seems like all the reputable seller only ship to US address only. So I tried to use comgateway service but since my ebay account states that I am in Singapore, I am not able to bid/buy from the seller. So I am left with using the "BuyForMe" option in comgateway which incur extra service charge. My credit card is also a local card. Would that be a problem too?

Please share your experience.

Many Thanks!

yea, i purchased via newegg using borderlinx. not sure how much you're gonna pay for on ebay, newegg sells for USD249.

probably you can let your ebay seller know that you won't be shipping it out of USA or you're gonna use a freight forwarder.

btw, borderlinx concierge service (aka buy for me), got no extra charges above USD50.

 

[chickemon]

Hi tekster,

Thanks for your advice. A number of sellers are selling refurb roomba 560 for only US$229.

So anyone had experience buying a unit from ebay via borderlinx or comgateway? Mind sharing how its done? Still quite new to this conceige thingy

Thnaks!

 

[ah_beng]

The stumbling tassels aside, the intelligent mapping seems pretty impressive. The bot gets close to the edge and the cleaning pattern is efficient.

Wow, I thought Navibot is very intelligent, this Neato XV-11 looks even more impressive.
Full report by the author:
goto: //singularityhub.com/2010/07/19/neatos-robot-vacuum-cleaned-my-home-yours-could-be-next-video/

 

[tekster]

Hi tekster,

Thanks for your advice. A number of sellers are selling refurb roomba 560 for only US$229.

So anyone had experience buying a unit from ebay via borderlinx or comgateway? Mind sharing how its done? Still quite new to this conceige thingy

Thnaks!

the conceirge service is quite straight forward. i suggest you order a small priced item (eg memory card) view newegg and see how it works.

 

[ah_beng]

Went to find out more on the reason why Neato and Navibot are "smarter" than irobot and the irobot clones, they are using something called the Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology.

Here are 2 interesting clips demonstrating their SLAM technology

Neato Robotics SLAM Demonstration using laser range finder
youtube.com/watch?v=zodC8EFvh7g


Samsung's CV-SLAM (Ceiling-Vision using its on board camera)
forummers may have seen this before, posting for the sake of newcomers
youtube.com/watch?v=bq5HZzGF3vQ&NR=1

 

[georgecheng]

Anyone interested to convert their irobot 17062 transformer from 110v to 220v, I still have remaining IC Chips can sell to those who interested to DIY. Brought extra the other time as afraid, when i DIY, damage to the chip and still need go back to store buy.

 

[android]

Anyone interested to convert their irobot 17062 transformer from 110v to 220v, I still have remaining IC Chips can sell to those who interested to DIY. Brought extra the other time as afraid, when i DIY, damage to the chip and still need go back to store buy.

Convert need to change ic meh?

 

[Jubooo]

Checkout today's Life section and see the reviews betweeen all the Robovac. Seems that Roomba still get the heads up.

Samsung Navibot Navigation review: Poor. It kept taking the same route over & over and would not venture beyond said route unless I picked it up and set it in another direction. Sometimes it would become disoriented after bumping into furniture.

Supervision needed?: Yes. Using the machine was like watching a blind dog navigate a room. It had to be moved often to cover other areas of the room.
Great cleaning abilities but the navigationabilities could be inproved.


Seems that it ain't that smart after all as it relies on your ceiling to navigate. Most of our HDB's ceiling is white piece of wall with cornices and it just take pictures of your blank wall thus getting lost.

iRobot still has it's reasons for selling 5 million units.......

 

[lithiumix]

Repairs

Dear bros, my 560 bought from US is not working well few months ago , looks like the roller brush is not moving and thus not picking up hairs... the vac is still working though... besides going back to local authorized distributor, where can i go for repairs without getting chopped carrot? thanks.

 

[crescent_sf]

Just want to check, does the local distributor take in roomba brought from US for maintenance or repairs ? Will they charge extra for their services ?

 

[uno_bliss]

... besides going back to local authorized distributor, where can i go for repairs without getting chopped carrot? thanks.

lithiumix, I left u a PM, pls check PM inbox.

 

[uno_bliss]

does the local distributor take in roomba brought from US for maintenance or repairs ? Will they charge extra for their services ?

Locally bought w/ expired warranty is $150 or more if part change required. US bought is when the "carrot chopper" comes out.

Just to share: I've had 3 incidents where customer's locally bought unit sent for repair, came back worse.
1) Roomba discovery - after servicing by SG distributor, came back charge 2 cycles, now spoilt. Plug in charger, charger & Roomba light goes off, and charger got hissing sound.
2) Roomba 530 - after servicing by SG distributor for sidebrush module malfunction, came back charge few cycles, now spoilt. Charger got burnt parts.
3) Roomba 415 - one wheel unable to reverse, SG distributor "rectify" by short-circuiting 2 other wheel sensors. "Brilliant" move to bypass original problem.

All in all, I DO NOT think very highly of the SG repair tech. Their repair time is typically 1+ mths also.
Those who need repairs can just Google my user ID.

 

[Jubooo]

Dear bros, my 560 bought from US is not working well few months ago , looks like the roller brush is not moving and thus not picking up hairs... the vac is still working though... besides going back to local authorized distributor, where can i go for repairs without getting chopped carrot? thanks.

I had repaired many roombas from fellow members here. Feel free to contact me at 81254240.

 

[mahjongace]

hihi Jubooo...thanks for the roomba...it's working great...the floor is clean now..some concerns below though.

Anyone care to share on the electricity bill for 560 model if the dock is turned on 24 hours? How is it compared to a normal Miele Vacuum?

If i'm using for like 3-4 times a week without scheduling...can i just turn off the power supply after it's fully charged to save electricity?

 

[Jubooo]

hihi Jubooo...thanks for the roomba...it's working great...the floor is clean now..some concerns below though.

Anyone care to share on the electricity bill for 560 model if the dock is turned on 24 hours? How is it compared to a normal Miele Vacuum?

If i'm using for like 3-4 times a week without scheduling...can i just turn off the power supply after it's fully charged to save electricity?

You're most welcome Why not just let it stay on in the homebase and make use of the scheduler since you're using it so frequently? Trickle charging won't have an impact on your electricity bills.

 

[mahjongace]

trickle charging means ?? turn off when not using and turn on when using?
haha have to find a way to remove some items when it's on schedule especially cords....would the roomba be spoilt if it vacuums toilet rugs (a bit damp at times) ?