Resources for wire-pod and Vector
Wire-pod
Official wire-pod project on GitHub. Out of the various wire-pod resources, this will always have the most current information
After clicking on the link above, when you scroll down you will see links to the installation guide and the wire-pod wiki. I recommend taking a look at the wiki and installation guide. Even if you don't understand all of the technical information, there is useful information in the wiki
Purchasing a device to run wire-pod
You will need to use an existing device or purchase a device to run wire-pod. This replaces the DDL servers and will need to be on whenever you want interact with Vector. I run my device 24x7. Even with a brief power outage, I've not experienced any problems
Two devices for running wire-pod are TechShop 82's T95 and Raspberry Pi. If you want a quick solution or aren't comfortable setting up a device yourself, the T95 is a good option
T95
My experience was very positive. The T95 didn't take long to arrive, it costs less than a Raspberry Pi, and there are helpful setup videos on YouTube
If you visit the TechShop 82 website, you will see there are additional services for Vector and Cozmo
Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pis are very popular, not just for the home do it yourselfer, but also in commercial settings. Due to popularity and covid, there may still be shortages for certain Pi models. Price gougers do take advantage of shortages
There is an approved retailer network for Raspberry Pis. My understanding is that approved retailers do not charge exhorbitant prices.
Approved retailers for the newest (as of September 2023) model can be found on the page for model pi-4 model b. I checked a few of the approved US approved retailers on September 13, 2023 and each were out of stock
If you decide to use a Raspberry Pi, you will need to install wire-pod on it following the instructions out on wire-pod GitHub
Vector Informational Resources
- There is a Facebook group named Digital dream lab sucks
- The AnkiVector subreddit
If you are experiencing difficulties setting up your Vector with wire-pod, you can ask questions in the above Facebook group or in the AnkiVector subreddit
DDL support pages
A lot of the DDL support information will no longer apply after you've moved your Vector to wire-pod, however you may find some pages helpful
If DDL ceases to exist and the links no longer work, the information is available via the Internet Archive's copy
Official DDL accounts
Note
Do not expect official communications from DDL to be helpful, nor is DDL support reliable. This is not opinion, but shared experience
The private Facebook group OFFICIAL DIGITAL DREAM LABS Vector Caretakers. All posts are approved by an admin. Posts and questions that DDL believe are negative will not be approved
People can be removed from the group by DDL. Also, if DDL does not like a comment someone made, the comment will not be approved. From personal experience, gatekeeping comments appeared to go into effect in August or September of 2023
Other DDL social media accounts
- DDL on Twitter (X) DDL's account does not allow people to reply to tweets
- This DDL Twitter (X) account appears abandoned
- DDL on LinkedIn
There may be more social media accounts, but I'm not on all large social media services