A lesson learned?

[brian day]

You spend a good wad of cash, half a months wages, perhaps more, for a little blue plastic box that will tell you everything as you fly. You expect years of service, a life long companion, a record of your best effort to defy gravity and become a hero of our little world.
But don't get too excited when you part with your well earned cash.
If only Apple would do one!
You need to download the instructions.
You need to download the new firmwear
You need to download a program to talk to your little box
You need to go to specsave to read the crap display
And,,,,,,'when you've done it all,,,,why doesn't it work forever?
Well, I've had problems with mobile phone interference, battery failure and now,,,,,,flying within 400m of a radio mast!
Loss of the end of a flight
Loss of a vario on that flight which cost me 20 km
I'm not bitter!!!
But this weekend the inaccurate recording of 2 flights and the loss of another is taking the piss just a little!!!!
Now, they were only good flights, not great flights, I could repeat them easily on any good weekend with the right conditions which will probably happen again this year. But imagine the frustration if it had been a great flight!
Ok, I've tried a firmwear download, a software replacement and now things seem to work,,,,,,but will they?
Why are we paying big money for,,,,,,,,well I have to say it,,,,,,,crappy displays,,,,,unstable hardware,,,,,,,unstable software???
What do you use to make sure you're best efforts are kept for safe and secure?

[AngusB]

Sounds like they're all out to get you Brian.
I know a little of how you feel, I've just bought a second hand Brauniger vario & it might as well have a Chinese instruction manual.
I'd love to help but all I can do is sympathise.