45 replies to this topic

[travis_w]

Hey everyone,

I've long been a lurker, reading lots of nootropics posts and using them to make my own purchases. I just got an email this morning because I was on the mailing list of the foc.us TDCS. They are shipping the units in July and have a limited supply (5k units worldwide).

I just wanted to give something back so I thought I'd post finally and let you guys know they are up for purchase so you could reserve one before they all get taken Just search for foc.us tdcs on google and you'll find the site (can't post a link yet).

Also, if you purchase one and send emails/links to people you can get a possible discount on your purchase, and a huge discount if they buy one. If anyone plans on buying one (I already did) please send me a message with your email so I can send the link to you. I think that you can send 3 links and get a 50 US dollar reduction for each link you send that makes a purchase. If I get more than three people responding I will forward email addresses to some of the people that respond so they can use those emails to send their own links.

Thanks guys I hope the tdcs works. I'm glad a non-DIY version is finally available.

Travis

[soulfiremage]

It's $90 per referred purchase, at least it was last night. I ordered mine last night as well and have spoken via mail to Micheal.

[formergenius]

Oh noo! Word's spreading! Now I really need to get €250, before they run out of devices!
I'll PM you once I round up the cash.

[travis_w]

soulfiremage, can you submit more than three email referrals? On my little purchase page it has three slots for emails you have submitted with a title "You have submitted the following X emails". I was afraid to send emails out to people if I am not sure they are buying.

Also, for the record, one person has purchased from my referral, so if soulfiremage is correct then I only need one more purchase from referral to reach the max of $150 reduction and I will start forwarding email addresses to others so I can help reduce the prices of yours too.

[lostfalco]

soulfiremage, can you submit more than three email referrals? On my little purchase page it has three slots for emails you have submitted with a title "You have submitted the following X emails". I was afraid to send emails out to people if I am not sure they are buying.

Also, for the record, one person has purchased from my referral, so if soulfiremage is correct then I only need one more purchase from referral to reach the max of $150 reduction and I will start forwarding email addresses to others so I can help reduce the prices of yours too.

You guys are awesome. I bought mine last night per your reminder. Been on this mailing list since last June. It said i was like 208 or something. Please forward some email addresses my way if you have extras. I'd really appreciate it.

[travis_w]

Okay, will do as long as I get more responses

Yeah I bought mine this morning and it said I was #133. Odd that you got yours last night and it said 208 lol.

[travis_w]

Someone messaged me and pointed out the fact that if you just google foc.us and click the site you end up on a front page with an email input form. If you go to order.foc.us you can order one and see more details. I guess they are hiding the order page from the mainstream for the time being :P

Edit: The model they are using to advertise is so hilarious.

Edited by travis_w, 16 May 2013 - 12:04 AM.

[kylehere]

I'm looking to buy one of these things if someone needs an email address.

How's the waiting list in terms of people waiting on referrals for the discount?

Edited by kylehere, 16 May 2013 - 12:43 AM.

[travis_w]

I've only had one person other than you contact me about being sure they are buying one, but this is only the first day this post has been up and they don't release until July. You can always go back to the page and submit more emails so as soon as I get three people I'll start forwarding any new emails (responses to this post) to the people who purchased from my links

[kylehere]

I've just ordered from your refferal, travis, did it go through?

I'm order #228, so it looks like these are going fast.

Also, if anyone who posted above me has superfluous emails to share, please do

[travis_w]

It hasn't really gone through yet. Did you register for the email list? All I see on the page is "Not registered yet." next to your email address. It might not happen instantly, though, and we can probably email them if we have problems. I'll give it some time and send an email.

Edit: Actually I'll just send an email right now to make sure we are doing it right and post on here when I figure it out so everyone can benefit.

Edited by travis_w, 16 May 2013 - 01:08 AM.

[kylehere]

OH, I think I found the problem. I used the link in the email and it went straight to the payment process, and used a different one.. what the..

Yeah, I'll email them too, and I'll email you the other email address so you can email them as well?

[Absent]

Sorry to say this but anyone who spends money on a TDCS device isn't too smart. Most of them cost $200+ and you can build an effective one for no more than $20, and you don't really need to know that much about circuits to do it.

If saving ~$180 isn't worth 10-20 minutes of your time to learning how to build one, then you need to rethink your financial choices...

Honestly a lot of people seem to show very little results from TDCS.... so if that happens to be you(any of you), in that case, you can either walk away with some basic circuit knowledge at a loss of $20, or you can walk away with a $200 hole in your pocket.

Edited by Siro, 16 May 2013 - 01:29 AM.

[travis_w]

Sure it would take only an hour or so to "learn to build one" but it would take hours more of research learning how they work, what exactly to do with each part, and you'd have to wonder if you were doing it right.

A commercially developed item is good because everything is handled for you, just do what the direction booklet says. I can rest assured that someone else did the research and work making this a quality item before mass producing it. I fell upon TDCS threads a long time ago and have been waiting for a commercial version to come out because I didn't want to put together a shoddy circuit board and wrap gauze around my head with sponges under it.

Edit: I was an electrical engineer for four years, I designed power plants and distribution grids, and I still would rather not build one.

Edited by travis_w, 16 May 2013 - 01:35 AM.

[Absent]

The only thing the instruction booklet is gonna tell you to do is the different spots you can place it on your head, assuming it is adjustable. You don't need to spend $200 to know what each brain region will do if stimulated. People can purchase whatever they want, but I just feel it's not worth it.

TDCS has been hyped up a whole lot more significant than it is, which is the main reason I advise against spending hundreds of dollars on devices... but shit, if you're rich, go for it.

[travis_w]

I've spent a lot more than 200 dollars on nootropics and I'm sure I'm not the only one. This is basically another nootropic with good research backing it. I'm excited, hope it works.

[Dashwolf]

Included in every focus box is:

• 1 focus headset
• 1 focus case
• 8 resuable sponges
• 1 micro-USB cable
• Manual and warranty booklet.

Optional extras pack includes:
1 anodal electrode cable, 1 cathodal electrode cable, 1 dual electrode cable, 8 reusable electrode pads, 8 extra sponges, 1 display stand, plus enhanced tdcs modes including wave, sinus, noise and sham.

So, we also need to buy the extras pack? Because it seems like we would be missing cables and pads in order to use it.

[DamnedOwl]

Other than it being operated via a Bluetooth 4.0 enabled device, this is just a normal tDCS device like any other, right?

It's just that it seems to pitched at gamers. Now, other than them wanting to appeal to what they perhaps feel is their largest target market, is there any other reason why this is only going to be used by those playing games?

[renfr]

What? I was registered to the mail list and din't receive anything!

[Godof Smallthings]

Other than it being operated via a Bluetooth 4.0 enabled device, this is just a normal tDCS device like any other, right?

It's just that it seems to pitched at gamers. Now, other than them wanting to appeal to what they perhaps feel is their largest target market, is there any other reason why this is only going to be used by those playing games?

My take is that you can not market it as a medical device, as that requires FDA approval, which is costly and not so easy to get. So they found another angle instead.

[DamnedOwl]

Okay. That would make sense.

[travis_w]

Just to let everyone know, you can only submit three emails, not more. I've submitted three already and the email entry boxes disappear afterward.

lourdaud, kylehere, and cATsE were the members who gave me their email addresses, if you plan on buying one please send one of them a message with your email so they can get a discount too. You can also send me a message and I'll forward it to one of them.

[travis_w]

It seems to me that the extra cables and pads probably extend the capability of it by giving you more options to place electrodes. It probably works just fine without them.

BUT, one thing I'm worried about (I've sent an email about this, awaiting response) is that it appears to only do one thing in "default" mode and requires an iPhone to get more out of it. I don't have an iPhone or want one. It also doesn't have an Android app yet because Android doesn't support the Bluetooth version they use. Android is rumored to support that version in 4.3, which comes out somewhere around August-ish, but I don't want to have to buy a new phone or wait until they push 4.3 software to my phone to be able to use this.

I hope the limited language they use on the single page of information they provide is just not comprehensive. It could be that they didn't expect a response like this and pushed a basic website out to get the product going. I am excited about it, but I hope that they clear some of this stuff up. I'll post whatever they respond from emails.

[DamnedOwl]

You could perhaps get a Bluetooth 4.0 USB adapter and use it with a PC. That was what I was thinking anyway, since similar to you I don't have an iPhone, and although my wife has an iPod Touch, it's only the Gen.2 version which doesn't support Bluetooth 4.0 either.

Having said that, it's just occurred to me that I bet they don't have any kind of software developed for the PC, so perhaps that'll be a non-starter also.

[travis_w]

Along those lines you could just run an iPhone emulator on a pc with a bluetooth adapter. Seems like a lot of pain in the ass to make it work, though. If I have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get this thing to work I'll just withdraw my order before it ships.

Lets hope that either we are just uninformed or that they plan on having a way for any user to use all features by the time it releases. To be honest, it would be kind of silly to release something of this scale for iPhone only. It happens all the time with Apps, but with 3rd party hardware?

[soulfiremage]

I spoke to Michael, the description page isn't quite accurate about the features. It's does anodal/cathodal as we'd expect.

Siro, you miss the point I think. The foc.us I can wear at work, in public etc. no way can I do that from a DIY jobbie.

Secondly, if you are not used to fiddling with electronics then its not ten minutes and It IS my brain.

Thirdly, it says nothing about being smart if you choose to build or buy.

Have to confess I would like to learn how to make hd electrodes.

[lourdaud]

Do you think there are any benefits with any other devices currently available, compared to this one? And are there any cheaper alternatives, except for creating your own device?

[kylehere]

AFAIK, your options are goflow (not yet released), or bigger more expensive kits like soterix. I think the price of this is reasonable if you manage to get the discount from the referral system

[travis_w]

A reply from Michael to one of the emails I sent:

Hi Travis,

We are targeting gamers because the location of our electrodes is good for working memory and vigilance, both used whilst gaming.

Currently the touch sensor cannot change the modes, current or duration but I recognise your concerns. Let me speak to my engineers and see if we can enable current and mode changes using the touch sensor. I am sure it is possible, we will just need to find a way that is not too complicated.

The unit is fully functional without the extras pack. The external electrodes in the extras pack are for those who want total freedom of electrode placement.

Thanks
Michael

[soulfiremage]

I think Michael's pitch is a good one and avoids "medical" questions nicely. After it's a business, that wouldn't have been cheap to setup.

If he hadn't done it, I have considered it but I have less resources - it would be a kickstarter project.

I shall keep a running review on here when my unit arrives, I've ordered the accessory pack as I want to do bilateral parietal stimulation; I'm hoping I can .

Really I should be using 4x1 electrodes for this, but that will come, in time.