Treskat

Programs great!

Support and his personality SUCK!!!

Unless you are into pain and suffering, look around.

I went over to Blackhawk.

Newnsie

I used it on my laptop. And it did work excellent. Suggestion is : READ and FOLLOW all the info that comes with the program verbatim, and you should not have any problems. I do suggest not running it on newer operating systems. It seemed to do fine with windows 3.11. But I do not know if its been tested/used on any updated versions. I had my laptop set to boot to DOS 6.22 and auto run CodeMaster via the batch file. If I needed windows

3.11, I just exited Codemaster and typed 'win' to start windows. PS.. the laptop I had was pretty old.. 386 based.

You might not be looking for flames about Ray but every time I see anything posted with his name, I will always reply because I think he is a sorry excuse for a human being. That being said, Don't let just the price of any program influence your decision. The whole ball of wax is what your purchasing.

I would suggest Genericode.

g'day

I think all things considered if I could justify the money I would go for Genericode from the screen shots. But frankly, I can't see what I am getting that is worth $550 more? I can buy a lot of key blanks for $550 not to mention that is 1/3 of a brand new Framon2 or about 1/2 of a used one. CodeSource seems to be free if I buy an HPC, unless I buy a used one. And they all seem to have around $100 /year or better maintenance.

As for Ray and his tech support, that might give me reason to be concerned, except for the fact that I regard the program as a "toaster." What he has written is not rocket science, but rather simple data processing of a proprietary database. It is essentially a database lookup. I am a software engineer and have been programming and using computers since before 1990, so I pretty much know what the internals of the program most likely look like. I say all this merely to say even if I didn't like him, I can't imagine any reason to have any need for much technical support unless there was some sort of installation problem, or issue over moving to a newly purchased computer etc. as the day to day operations of the program don't have many "moving-parts" right?

I respect your dislike for him and therefore his product, however, it seems to be the only "codes-on-disk" solution in the no-nonsense price range. It seems to me that the pricing for what is out there is generally obscene. I can understand the cost of the books, because they take setups and trees and such to produce. But the cost of the software is ridiculous. I assume that when it first came out, they said well lockies are paying "X" for the books anyway, so they can afford to pay "Y" for the software. I personally don't agree with that pricing scheme. I understand market economics as well, and locksmithign being as small an industry as it is, everything "locksmith specific" is "over costed" merely by virtue of the laws of low demand. Why else would a mechanical key machine, which is essentially a bench grinder and a precision slide table, or a high security machine which is basically a miniature end mill cost what they cost.

I don't see a correction for the cost problems, but I can see reason to purchase something that does what it needs to do for lower cost if that might support someone continuing to produce that product. I am not sure what the "whole ball of wax" is in this case unless you are talking about specific "features" missing. I assume that I may want a "fill" or "reverse lookup" type of application and they may cost more as addons but I don't need them now, and can probably add them later for whatever he charges $69 or $100 or whatever, but in this case I don't have to buy them until I need them. Meanwhile I can afford the $150 and have a code program.

But please, and I mean this sincerely, show me another quality, cost effective option?.

Granted there is CodesOnLine with Blackhawk, but without a WAP phone, and spotty cellular coverage in my area, I could be stuck without being able to either lookup a code or call back to the shop for one.

--Absinthe

Ok, so what is blackhawk, and where can I find out more about it???????? I have an internet phone, but have never heard of blackhawk.

Jack Allied Lock & Security Atlanta, GA

I don't know anything about his customer support, I've nver used it. I do know that all of the download links on his site have been broken for some time, so all of the "Free" stuff he offers (updates, demos) are unavailable.

I agree with you about the cost of the other available programs, but they're continuing to develop them, where Treskat appears to be just adding info to his.

You're a software engineer, you must know that this stuff doesn't stand still. I'm a hardware engineer. The schematic/PCB/simulation tools I once paid $200 for now cost $8000. They keep adding stuff and upping the price. Is Treskat's stuff worth the price? Probably. Is all of the high priced equipment worth the price? It depends on how much work you do.

I'm building my own N/C key cutter, because I have the skills, parts and time, and I can't afford even the manual code cutters (beyond the Curtis 14,15 and FB machine I've got now) that are available.

Heck, it cost me $100 for a precision micrometer positioned X/Y table to bolt onto the Foley Belsaw machine, why would I buy a Framon?

>

that seems to be the problem.. IF I remember right, NEVER defrag the HD once installed... NEVER... it erases the 'key' then, you got to talk to him.

--Shiva--

there was some

newly purchased

don't have many

defrag

talking to ole Ray is what going to wake him up, as it did the hundreds before him. in this case, looks like Absinthe is determoned to get what he pays for :-)

---snip---

guess your determined to (get what you pay for). be sure to give a follow-up in about six months or so. would really like to know if your satisfied with every aspect of "trashcrap".

good luck maybe you'll be one of the few satisfied customers ?

Problem is, it's a toaster with amateur homebrew copyprotection, with the hazards that this implies for modern environments.

He's priced low because his reputation doesn't permit him to price higher.

"Quality, Service, Price. Pick any two."

If you need the tool, it's worth it, and it pays for itself. If you don't, it isn't. If you only need it occasionally and don't require as much portability, the rental-rather-than-purchase solution (Blackhawk) may be a good one.

Welcome to economics 101. Cost of production doesn't go down much when demand goes down, and has to be distributed across the smaller number of people so price goes up.

Or are you offering to lower _your_ prices to what folks want to pay rather than trying to recover your own investments and make a decent living wage? (I know some idealists who do so. I'm impressed by their public spirit, but I don't feel inclined to follow their example right now.)

Seriously: For a professional tool, this is an investment rather than a purchase, and the cost difference isn't _that_ much when amortized over the life of the product and the number of service calls you'll use it in.

If you want to go for Treskat, I won't tell you not to. But be aware that you're gambling.

Before you buy, you might want to check whether some of the other products still offer competative upgrades (discounts if you're buying them to replace someone else's package). If so, that could substantially improve the odds on the gamble by giving you a fallback plan which doesn't involve throwing away your entire investment.

Treskat software works in any version of Windows including XP, 2000, NT, ME,

98, 95 and 3.1. It also works in any version of DOS. Usually it is those who simply will not read and follow instructions that have difficulty. These are the last people to listen to for a recommendation.

So what you are saying is that you can't download from the Treskat website. Yet each time I try I don't have a problem. Maybe the problem is at your end.

if you DO decide to, then contact Steve Young... LOT easier to deal with.

--Shiva--

You get what you pay for. If you're serious about becoming an automotive mobile locksmith then invest in one of the best programs available.

Don't worry about saving a few dollars buying a program that comes with a built in asshole to deal with.

I would say most other programs that cost more would be a better bargain in the long run. I hear you can only install the program a few times and it locks you out. Can't defrag? Whats up with that?

I use HPC CodeSource. It works great. There support isn't that great but they are a lot more diplomatic over the phone than Ray.

Why do you think his program is so cheap? If he knew how to handle up on his affairs then he'd be getting 695.00 for his too LOL!

You seem like you've got your act together and are smart. Don't waste your time half-stepping. Jump into the locksmith gig with both feet, buy the best quality tools and software, and go make some money.

Another good option to look at is Instacode.. It offers a lot more than codes.. Can print HPC card, partial bitting versus code with a cutting tree to try all possible.. And I see the latest has a lot of Automotive info with it also.. That may be a good choice if you dont have much info on bittings/blanks/space/depth/parts/service instructions.. and etc..

I have used the 2000 version of Instacode and it is a good tool, but dont try to use it on an old, slow, low memory laptop.. Some features just dont like to work on that type of laptop.

Really? Since I've set up several web sites myself, including writing the entire shopping cart apps, I think I'm more than qualified when I say that you don't know what you're talking about.

After all, it's *his* end that says the files aren't there. It has nothing to do with anything on my end. I click on the link *he* provides, and his site says the filename, provided by his site, is not there.

And when did you last try to download the demo? Go there now and try it. I tried it this morning. Not that I expect that you'll come back and tell the truth.

Also, given your responses to this topic, I'd say that you either are this guy, or are connected to him. You certainly aren't impartial, and you sound like the kind of jerk everyone accuses him of being. All I did was observe that the links don't work, and he's(you're?) still using DOS software 5+ years after DOS was discontinued.

RipVanW> So what you are saying is that you can't download from the Treskat website.