Idle moment en route, couldn’t help checking in… thanks for everyone’s concern!
I did not mean to suggest what anyone else should do/buy/not buy; nor do I think anyone else actually means to advise me how to invest my time (!?)
Re: cutting losses and returning the unit, imminent travel’s a red herring. Saeilig is a highly reputable firm; they would certainly honor return of a defective product under any reasonable circumstances. (Yes, they covered return shipping.)
We all underestimate the value of our time. For example, I put all of my free time over about 3 days into this subject. That’s about ~0.05% of my probable remaining lifespan. Unless it’s the very thing that gives you pleasure, set a time limit and stick to it.
I mentioned cultural norms of our epoch. Clearly, manufacturers do now expect customers to beta test their products for free (actually, to pay for the privilege!). Some understandable reasons; products more capable and complex, short product life cycles compress development, low margins. Expectations surely must differ between instruments that cost the annual salary of the end user, and ones that cost a few bags of groceries.
OTOH, think about the moral hazard. Accepting any product unfit for use reinforces corporate disregard for quality; if they can make a profit that way, of course they will. As hinted above, it may not be just firmware that’s neglected. Sure, future buyers may benefit incrementally if we all peck away randomly to debug the product (without benefit of design documentation!), AND if the company eventually responds. But it will never be as good as if the makers actually took pride in their work.
So please, for the _true_ benefit of future generations: if you’re unfortunate enough to buy a shoddy half-baked term project dressed up as a test instrument, send it right back. Doing otherwise reinforces the message that zero quality is a good business plan.
And, as you point out, we're all reaping the reward.
Again I thank Zike for his feedback but I'm disappointed he didn't give them the chance to remedy any problems.
I hope he can find a product that is as well featured for a similar price point that has NO bugs so shortly after release. Everything else newly released mentioned on the forum seems to have problems too.