POA Pack - Hands-Free GoPro Shooting System (previously the GoHawk)
Created by POA Labs
The first GoPro Hero 4 expansion pack designed specifically for action POV shooting, the POA Pack adds a remote shutter switch, remote LED indicator, and USB power jack to your Hero4 camera.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Your pledges are on the way!
over 7 years ago
– Sat, Mar 25, 2017 at 05:11:15 PM
Hello Backers!
We started shipping out pledges last week, and the last of the packages are going out Monday. Apparel was shipped separately from POA Pack orders, so if you pledged for both you can expect two separate packages.
If you're in the US, your order should arrive next week! If you're outside the US you can expect ~2 weeks ship time, depending on the country.
Thanks again for all of your support. We hope to see you on the trails, in the sky, and on the water.
BackerKit surveys are coming!
over 7 years ago
– Tue, Feb 14, 2017 at 07:38:52 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
GoHawk Update - Current Status and Delays
almost 8 years ago
– Sat, Dec 17, 2016 at 08:18:00 PM
Hello Backers,
First off, Happy Holidays!
We apologize for the lack of communication. We've been pushing hard to get parts in hand so we can start shipping to our backers. Unfortunately we've had a few setbacks in our timeline, but this is the reality of bringing quality physical products through the production process. We've outlined some of our setbacks below to give you a full glimpse into why things have taken longer than expected.
We've received our first articles for the injection molded housings (shown below), but we rejected them because certain critical dimensions were out of spec, and the parts didn't meet our aesthetic requirements. We also had to change our logo and branding at the last moment, which caused a delay with the printing on the housings. But we've moved past these issues and should be receiving the newly-fixed housings with the new logo in the next 1-2 weeks. If these pass inspection (which we expect them to), the remaining quantity of production housings will then be molded and shipped in the following few weeks.
A few weeks after our kickstarter campaign completed, when we were ready to order everything, our vendor for the LED indicators changed their minimum order quantity from 1k to 5k units, which we simply didn't have budget for. This was after 10 months of working with them for an order of 1k units. In this way our (now ex-) vendor created a breach of trust that forced us to go back to square one with our manufacturing vendor search. This involved countless emails to vendors trying to find one that could meet our needs. We quickly found a replacement vendor, and have been working with them to adapt our designs to their manufacturing processes. We're in the late stages now, nearly ready to order, but this process has taken time.
We made one final revision to the firmware because we discovered a minor issue (more annoyance than malfunction) that could occur with the newly released GoPro firmware update. So we've implemented those changes and are now just waiting on the final production circuit boards to arrive.
Legal drama. You would not believe the headache and time sink that has come from GoPro's legal team approaching us to change our name. That's all resolved and in the past now, but it delayed the product graphics and printing on the housings as they had to be redone.
First batch of injection molded housings
Right now we're on track to start shipping in mid/late January. The LED indicators are the longest lead-time item. We've also been sourcing some inexpensive GoPro accessories (mounts, adapters, etc) that we plan to offer backers in the final backer survey, and have been evaluating the sample quantities that we received. We've been waiting on sending out our final backer surveys until we've finalized our accessory offerings.
So, that's it. No excuses, but those are the reasons that delivery has been delayed. If we'd had a larger launch and more funds, we could have thrown money at some of these problems by increasing our minimum order quantities and utilizing more expensive quick-turn vendors. But because we only just barely met our funding goal, we had to make due with what we had. And we've had to face the unexpected challenges that have popped up as best we could.
We're still working hard to get products shipped as soon as possible, but we're not taking shortcuts to get there. We immensely appreciate the support we've received from our backers and again apologize for the unexpected delays.
Cheers,
The POA Labs Team
Our new logo for the POA Pack, previously the GoHawk
GoHawk Update - Where We're At
about 8 years ago
– Fri, Oct 07, 2016 at 09:07:59 PM
Hello Backers!
Fall is finally here, and the long summer days are starting to wane. The skies aren't quite so blue, and the mountains are getting ready for first snow.
Since our successful campaign completion, we've been working hard to get the GoHawk into production and into your hands. Some minor details have taken slightly longer than expected and slightly pushed out our delivery schedule, but have no fear, your GoHawk will be on the way soon!
Except for one thing we should probably mention: we're changing the name! The GoHawk has become the POA Pack. We're changing the product name because a) we absolutely adore alliteration, b) Poa the Dog prefers the new name, and c) it makes the GoPro folks feel less litigious.
New name, same cool product.
Now, with that said, here's where we're at with manufacturing:
All of the POA Pack injection molds and production circuit boards have been ordered and will be arriving in the next 5 weeks. We're incredibly excited to receive the production parts, and we'll be doing all final assembly and testing ourselves before shipping units. Right now we're on track to start shipping to backers in mid November.
Injection mold tooling - Woohoo!
In the next few days we'll be sending out surveys to all of our backers to confirm shipping addresses, apparel sizing, and other details.
We're also offering a second T-shirt design option, giving backers the opportunity to choose their favorite design!
Action Math
Action Poa
There's one more thing we want to mention: We've run into a minor snag with the manufacturer of our LED indicator, but we're working closely with them to get everything resolved as quickly as possible. We are in constant communication to ensure that nothing is delayed any further. We're pushing hard to get our first batch of production LED indicators by the time the first POA Packs are arriving.
We apologize for the delay - sometimes things don't go perfectly according to plan. We want to ensure that we ship a polished final product, rather than rushing and shipping something that's less than perfect - we promise it'll be worth the wait.
Thank you all for your support!
This couldn't have happened without you!
Cheers,
The POA Labs Team
1 Day Left and We're Already Funded!
about 8 years ago
– Mon, Aug 22, 2016 at 04:08:06 AM
Over the last few days we've had a whirlwind of backers, and thanks to your support we've finally met our goal of $20k!
There's still a bit more than 24 hours left in the campaign so it's not too late to tell your friends or grab an extra GoHawk, apparel, or shutter switch.
Over the last few months we've made tremendous progress with our production manufacturing vendors. We recently received some pre-production samples of the LED indicator and WOW do they look good!
(Left to right) Two early LED prototypes, and a pre-production sample
Our production LED indicators will be made using a really neat and innovative process. First, an opaque silicone rubber is cast around the cable, LED's, and bendable wire. Then, a high powered laser etches out the clear window that you see in the picture above, turning the opaque silicone clear so the LED's are easily visible. The result is a slick, low-profile, bendable LED indicator that won't feel bulky in your helmet or wrapped around your handlebars.
We'd like to give a special shout out to Kevin Rieschel for being the backer that pushed us over the final hump to our goal, and to Chris Herrera from PNW Skydiving for helping us test the GoHawk over the last six months working as a skydiving videographer (and he's a helluva male model too).
Thank you all for your support, we couldn't have made it this far without your help!
