Barista Hustle AutoComb 1.0 Early Bird Problems ;'( - Updated description)

So when I first got it, I noticed it rotated smoothly, unfortunately I had sold my 58mm machine so I didn't have one to use this with anymore! :D
Later I got a 58mm machine again, and notice it wasn't rotating as freely.
Still works it's just not so nice / quick / easy to use this way.
So I emailed Barista Hustle company about the issue, they mentioned a few of the first ones had that issue they were discovering, and they were going to send out a replacement part that is easy to swap in. But unfortunately I had to wait.
The company seems alright, afterwards they actually were proactive and seemed to email all their customers informing them of the issue in case they were just going to live with it and hadn't bothered complaining (you know I like to complain! otherwise, how would they know what they need to improve upon!).
There may have also been another issue I hadn't noticed where the needle depth adjustment was not staying secured. But I really haven't used it enough to know if I'm affected... I should maybe test it a bit in the meantime, I might want to do some comparing with the 3D printed one(s) I have.
Some are more like the Weber Moonraker with the planetary gears (downside is it takes a lot more rotations, but may be more effective at not hitting the same areas more than once), others are more like this one with a few rotating segments (faster but can they do the job as well?).
I received the product around the start of October 2023, still waiting as of Jan 09th 2024 for the replacement part(s) to arrive!
I think they SHOULD be arriving shortly. I believe they mentioned something about January in an email or somewhere...
Update: Yep that took even longer than expected. When I got the parts the instructions were basically to take the whole thing apart and rebuild it. They used a cheap bolt that used a supplied cheap (possibly wrongly sized) hex key so I ended up stripping the bolt before I could even get it dis-assembled. I told them I've been waiting like a year to use this thing (when it's properly rotating and working) now I can't install the part. They told me they couldn't give me a refund but offered me a partial refund which I accepted. The thing was about $300 Canadian! They sent me 20USD!? that's like $28! Is that fair?
My friend ended up fixing it for me, with special high quality tools he was able to get the stripped bolt out and install the updated part! (which hopefully won't fail again). But really I wish I didn't have to go through the trouble of taking apart the thing (and getting my friend to work on it), considering the long wait that I thought it was basically going to end up being un-usable (or just annoying/frustrating to use) them offering a $20 'refund' seems like an insult.
I wonder if they knew it had issues but because they had promised it would be free if the product was not shipped within a certain time-frame, they sent it out anyway with the problematic part with plans to deal with it later.
Pros and Cons from my brief usage.
Pro:
Needles raise straight up/down! This is a big pro vs the other rotating WDT tools which as you lift them off, will often leave some enlarged holes because you tilt or rotate it accidentally as your lifting it out of the coffee bed!
Built in stand / needle protection! (most other rotating tools and manual tools need a stand that can be finicky to use. Pro Tip: a small cup of rice works nicely as a holder/cleaner for the manual WDT tools!).
Fast and efficient (when rotating nicely)
Should be consistent when used similarly (same speed and number of rotations) more consistent vs manual WDT tools.
Well built and feels smooth / nice to use (even with my current issue, still smooth.. just harder to rotate).
Neutral:
Requires the portafilter to be held in one hand, and the Autocomb in the other, this is probably moot for a cafe / fast paced environment which is more what this device is for, where you're not sitting the portafilter down on a tamp stand, but I use a tamp stand for my workflow at home usually.
Cons:
Price is HIGH (Still slightly cheaper than the NON Adjustable Weber Moonraker!)
On a budget I recommend a 3d printed 'The peoples WDT' tool with 0.3 or 0.35mm needles, it's good because it has them spaced out, I also leave the middle needle position empty. Keep it in a cup of rice for easy / safe retrieval and self-cleaning!
IF using many different depth baskets, you'll need to re-adjust which is a bit awkward to do. Manual WDT you control how deep or shallow and works with many baskets.
Some baristas have noted they get worse channeling with this than with manual WDT.

[@jeffmattel7867]

Have you received the upgraded parts. I got an email from BH a few weeks ago to verify my shipping address, but I still havent received the parts. It is usable without the upgraded parts, but unfortunately to this day I have not been able to pull a single shot where the extraction looks even from the bottom of a naked portafilter. I get three streams that dont converge with a lot of blank spaces where no coffee comes out of. Sometimes only half the basket has coffee coming out while the other half takes forever for coffee to show. It truly is a disaster of extraction one after the other. The coffees taste extremely bad and unbalanced compared to simply using my sworksdesign WDT. I have tried using IMS, Pullman and VST baskets and every trick BH shows in their how to video. Nothing works.

[@BensCoffeeRants]

I haven't gotten the parts yet. Youve Adjusted it so its close to the bottom of the basket? I haven't used it much but I've heard someone else say they get better results with their manual tool too. My shots with light roasts hardly ever look good but taste is pretty good usually. Now I'm using a Weber basket so it's normal to get multiple streams. Well it's more like a rain. I think I can still tell if its pulling evenly based on how even the rain is.

[@jeffmattel7867]

@@BensCoffeeRants I have tried different needle heights from actually touching the bottom of the basket up to very high. The closer to the basket the worst since it causes a big crater regardless of speed. BH recommends 2mm from bottom of the basket. I have tried different number of rotations and speeds. Weber baskets are a whole different animal. Having multiple streams is the norm with those. VST, IMS, Pullman is what I use and I never get multiple streams with my sworksdesign wdt unless I have done something wrong like knocking the portafilter down on the kitchen counter at an angle or too hard which causes cracks that remain even after tamping. Even then I get some that are drinkable with milk. With the Autocomb I have not been able to make a single drinkable shot since the first week of November when I got it.

[@BensCoffeeRants]

@@jeffmattel7867 do you make sure you lift the needles straight up before twisting it to unlock from your portafilter?
If that's not it maybe try tapping the portafilrre down on a towel or silicon matt if you got one. That's how I do it usually to settle the grinds if they're fluffed up. If you've been doing that try not doing it. Otherwise sounds like it just doesn't work well for you. I've been doing more pour overs lately was planning on testing the autocomb out more when the replacement parts come. Or reselling it since I use manual WDT more often since I switch baskets around.