My entire point was : Guys with my "RMA experience is" ... make sure you have a unit not running in the same condition as me before sending it for an RMA.
My entire unhappiness is about the two options on the table.
1. 200$ for getting your unit back as is.
2. Pay 500$ for 2 new blades plus 200$.
so you shipped the entire unit for the RMA? IMO/IME, basic home diagnostics are usually required related to bitcoin miners. If it was a single bad board, shipping just that board for repair/replacement without having to ship the rest of the unit would allow you to continue mining with 1/2 the SP20 and drastically reduce shipping weight/cost
I did that way back when a Bitmain S1 stopped hashing on one board. pulled just the board off the frame, mailed it to them, got back a brand new hashboard that i pasted and re-installed.
Bitcoin isnt mainstream enough that the RMA/DOA process is smooth - being able to do modular components and repairs is crucial. (I look forwards to the SP100 having boards that can be removed with no more difficulty than in the SP20 or antminer S2 - it would make RMA simpler)
----> on a related note, i have a few SP3x units in various states of 'angst', and when looking under the hood its pretty clear that the SP3x series is not easily repaired - there are a LOT of different components and screws that lock the hashing boards in place, and thus make RMA of a single bad board nearly impossible (same with trying to frankenstein a pair of half-working units into a singular 100% unit)