Model B availability

[uxc]

When B+ launched Foundation was ensuring us that Model B will still be on sale. However I have now official confirmation from Farnell that they will no longer stock Model B. As we are using Model B for commercial applications and have long term contracts for delivery of high quantites of casings and PCBs which are not compatible with B+ we cannot just switch overnight to B+.

How do you exactly plan to ensure the availability of Model B when your primary distributors do not want to sell it? Will we be allowed to buy it directly from you? What we should do now?

Another thing is that I fear that you will launch A+ any day now and totally destroy our product line. Should we expect such move?

Edit: I have now also confirmed with RS Components that they will no longer sell "Model B". This leaves us without any source for Model B. Where we should now go to buy "Model B" in industrial quantities and same discounted price as we were buying it from Farnell/RS?

[liz]

Model B is out of stock in some places at the moment, but it IS still in production and we are NOT discontinuing it; as it happens, you're not the first person to have been told this, and I've been on the phone with Farnell about the information some customers have been given this morning.

Claire, who's global head of Raspberry Pi at Farnell, says that there's been a mistake in communications with the global sales team; they're sending out memos to everybody today to make sure that they have up-to-date information and stop telling people it's been discontinued.

Now the bad news: it *may* be that where you live there will be a month or so's delay in getting stock of Model B. This is because demand for B+ has been absolutely enormous, so we've had to *temporarily* switch all of the lines over to just producing B+. But I can absolutely assure you that we will be continuing to make Model B. It would make no sense to stop; there's still plenty of demand for it, especially from industrial customers.

[uxc]

That you for quick response and action. I have just received call from Farnell with apologies, but they say that Model B will be back in October. Including current month (July) this is 3-4 months lack of supply. For industrial clients like us this is very bad news, for small industrial clients relaying on RPI this may be fatal news. I know that you don't really care about us and educational use is much more important for you. I wish all good to RPI as a product and Foundation, I am just upset about your information policy and what happend.

[RaTTuS]

how many do you need from now to Oct

[plugwash]

It sucks but unfortunately such delays are not uncommon in the electronics world. The risk you take by operating on a just in time basis is that stuff will sometimes be too ****ing late.

Things I can suggest

1: place orders with both the main suppliers ASAP. Most suppliers work on a first in first out basis so the sooner you get your order in the sooner you are likely to get product.
2: don't read too much into suppliers estimates on delivery times (in either direction).
3: there is still some stock of the model B floating arround at resellers. Obviously prices will be higher but depending on how many you need and how large your margins are it may get you over the gap.

[fruitoftheloom]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Raspberry-Pi-Mo ... spberry+pi

[RaTTuS]

there is also taobao - all depends how many you want and how fast and how much you want to pay

[bbodin]

I just checked the availability of the B model at MCM Electronics. It's on back order with an estimated ship date of August 22. Microcenter has some stock with a discount price of $29.99. If you are in the US and need the B, you can grab it at Microcenter or wait for 3 weeks until MCM restocks.

A lead time of 12-16 weeks is quite common. You just have to plan and deal with it.

[uxc]

Lead time of 12 weeks is okay if the manufacturer or distributor is informing about it in proper way. In this case I still do not know if or when I will get RPI model B units.

What is worse, the model B has been repleaced by model B+ in "just one day". There were no stock of model B at Farnell and RS and then B+ has been announced.

I have been told today by Farnell that they will not accept my new order for Raspberry Pi model B, and they will not stock Raspberry Pi model B anymore. Rollercoaster.

I am still stocked with hundreds of pieces of equipment made for RPI model B and I prefer model B because of ports alignment. It is much better suited for DIN cases with power on top and Ethernet on the bottom.

This is bitterly funny that chinese IoT boards makers are more open and reliable suppliers than UK based Foundation.

What is current information? Will Raspberry Pi model B be still produced and if yes who will it be distributed by?

[fruitoftheloom]

Lead time of 12 weeks is okay if the manufacturer or distributor is informing about it in proper way. In this case I still do not know if or when I will get RPI model B units.

What is worse, the model B has been repleaced by model B+ in "just one day". There were no stock of model B at Farnell and RS and then B+ has been announced.

I have been told today by Farnell that they will not accept my new order for Raspberry Pi model B, and they will not stock Raspberry Pi model B anymore. Rollercoaster.

I am still stocked with hundreds of pieces of equipment made for RPI model B and I prefer model B because of ports alignment. It is much better suited for DIN cases with power on top and Ethernet on the bottom.

This is bitterly funny that chinese IoT boards makers are more open and reliable suppliers than UK based Foundation.

What is current information? Will Raspberry Pi model B be still produced and if yes who will it be distributed by?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Raspberry-Pi-Mo ... spberry+pi

http://www.amazon.com/RASPBERRY-MODEL-7 ... berry+pi+b

[jamesh]

Lead time of 12 weeks is okay if the manufacturer or distributor is informing about it in proper way. In this case I still do not know if or when I will get RPI model B units.

What is worse, the model B has been repleaced by model B+ in "just one day". There were no stock of model B at Farnell and RS and then B+ has been announced.

I have been told today by Farnell that they will not accept my new order for Raspberry Pi model B, and they will not stock Raspberry Pi model B anymore. Rollercoaster.

I am still stocked with hundreds of pieces of equipment made for RPI model B and I prefer model B because of ports alignment. It is much better suited for DIN cases with power on top and Ethernet on the bottom.

This is bitterly funny that chinese IoT boards makers are more open and reliable suppliers than UK based Foundation.

What is current information? Will Raspberry Pi model B be still produced and if yes who will it be distributed by?

Worthwhile noting that the Foundation is NOT a supplier or manufacturer of the board itself. Also worthwhile noting that they are an educational charity, so their work is based around that premise.

Good luck with those Chinese suppliers, I think your statement might be wishful thinking.

AFAIK, the B WILL be produced, but I also understand the B+ has been very popular, more than expected. Stocks of B's were run down before the B+ release, because the HUGE majority of people now want B+'s.

For future proofing and industrial product, best to use the compute module.

All that said, I will flag this up the Eben/Liz when they get back from holiday.

[uxc]

Regarding Amazon sources - I know that there are some Model B units left here and there, I have bought around 500 units since Farnell and RS stopped selling them. But I need reliable supplier with good payment terms (60-90 days) like Farnell was.

I never had such problems with chinese boards based on Allwinner SoCs. By "such problems" I mean product stops being available overnight and no solid information when it will be available again.

I hope that it is only matter of crappy Farnell client support. One week they tell me the Model Bs will be available "some day in October", other week (today) they tell me they won't take my order for model Bs and will not sell them anymore.

Aside from this availability and information issues I am still huge fan of Raspberry PI. We are currently using Model A, Model B, and work on products which will use Model B+. Altough I think Model B is best fit for products we make and I know other companies which think the same.

[Jessie]

Lead time of 12 weeks is okay if the manufacturer or distributor is informing about it in proper way. In this case I still do not know if or when I will get RPI model B units.

What is worse, the model B has been repleaced by model B+ in "just one day". There were no stock of model B at Farnell and RS and then B+ has been announced.

I have been told today by Farnell that they will not accept my new order for Raspberry Pi model B, and they will not stock Raspberry Pi model B anymore. Rollercoaster.

I am still stocked with hundreds of pieces of equipment made for RPI model B and I prefer model B because of ports alignment. It is much better suited for DIN cases with power on top and Ethernet on the bottom.

This is bitterly funny that chinese IoT boards makers are more open and reliable suppliers than UK based Foundation.

What is current information? Will Raspberry Pi model B be still produced and if yes who will it be distributed by?

Worthwhile noting that the Foundation is NOT a supplier or manufacturer of the board itself. Also worthwhile noting that they are an educational charity, so their work is based around that premise.

Good luck with those Chinese suppliers, I think your statement might be wishful thinking.

AFAIK, the B WILL be produced, but I also understand the B+ has been very popular, more than expected. Stocks of B's were run down before the B+ release, because the HUGE majority of people now want B+'s.

For future proofing and industrial product, best to use the compute module.

All that said, I will flag this up the Eben/Liz when they get back from holiday.

The B+ is very nice, and the sales to follow should be expected. You did a bang up job on it James.

[pbisiac]

Hi all,

Our company is starting a new embedded project and I wish to use new Compute module with a custom made baseboard. We are not new to this approach as we want and need to have our form factor, I/O devices and power supply.

Now we need to have some guarantees about mid- and long-term availability of this CPU (or of a pin to pin compatibile upgraded one) In industrial field this quite normal (5-10 years guarantee) and is very appreciated

So, as Compute module is quite perfect for our application, the last thing we need to be sure of, before starting over with this platform, is some formal commitment to long term availability, and possibly some info on maximum delivery time.

Thanks in advance

Paolo

Model B is out of stock in some places at the moment, but it IS still in production and we are NOT discontinuing it; as it happens, you're not the first person to have been told this, and I've been on the phone with Farnell about the information some customers have been given this morning.

Claire, who's global head of Raspberry Pi at Farnell, says that there's been a mistake in communications with the global sales team; they're sending out memos to everybody today to make sure that they have up-to-date information and stop telling people it's been discontinued.

Now the bad news: it *may* be that where you live there will be a month or so's delay in getting stock of Model B. This is because demand for B+ has been absolutely enormous, so we've had to *temporarily* switch all of the lines over to just producing B+. But I can absolutely assure you that we will be continuing to make Model B. It would make no sense to stop; there's still plenty of demand for it, especially from industrial customers.

[fruitoftheloom]

Hi all,

Our company is starting a new embedded project and I wish to use new Compute module with a custom made baseboard. We are not new to this approach as we want and need to have our form factor, I/O devices and power supply.

Now we need to have some guarantees about mid- and long-term availability of this CPU (or of a pin to pin compatibile upgraded one) In industrial field this quite normal (5-10 years guarantee) and is very appreciated

So, as Compute module is quite perfect for our application, the last thing we need to be sure of, before starting over with this platform, is some formal commitment to long term availability, and possibly some info on maximum delivery time.

Thanks in advance

Paolo

There is a forum for the Compute Module questions, where you question has been answered in another post http://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=98

[jamesh]

Lead time of 12 weeks is okay if the manufacturer or distributor is informing about it in proper way. In this case I still do not know if or when I will get RPI model B units.

What is worse, the model B has been repleaced by model B+ in "just one day". There were no stock of model B at Farnell and RS and then B+ has been announced.

I have been told today by Farnell that they will not accept my new order for Raspberry Pi model B, and they will not stock Raspberry Pi model B anymore. Rollercoaster.

I am still stocked with hundreds of pieces of equipment made for RPI model B and I prefer model B because of ports alignment. It is much better suited for DIN cases with power on top and Ethernet on the bottom.

This is bitterly funny that chinese IoT boards makers are more open and reliable suppliers than UK based Foundation.

What is current information? Will Raspberry Pi model B be still produced and if yes who will it be distributed by?

Worthwhile noting that the Foundation is NOT a supplier or manufacturer of the board itself. Also worthwhile noting that they are an educational charity, so their work is based around that premise.

Good luck with those Chinese suppliers, I think your statement might be wishful thinking.

AFAIK, the B WILL be produced, but I also understand the B+ has been very popular, more than expected. Stocks of B's were run down before the B+ release, because the HUGE majority of people now want B+'s.

For future proofing and industrial product, best to use the compute module.

All that said, I will flag this up the Eben/Liz when they get back from holiday.

The B+ is very nice, and the sales to follow should be expected. You did a bang up job on it James.

Nothing to do with me, but yes, it's a great job. (Do you mean James Adams? He was the guy who designed it)

The sales were higher even than the optimistic figures...I think the total Pi's now exceeds 4M or is pretty close.

[iinnovations]

Any update on this? The B is getting harder and harder to find and I need a bunch.

C

[rpdom]

Any update on this?

Well, new model Bs have been in production for over a week now and should be shipping. There is a backlog of orders that need to be cleared though.

http://www.raspberrypi.org/fresh-model- ... roduction/

[iinnovations]

Super.

Thanks.
C