OpenPCR's Thermocycler - Is is reliable?

Hello everyone,

I am a biotechnology hobbiest located in Oregon, and I have always
loved biology and genetics. I was granted the amazing opportunity two
years ago to go to the medical school OHSU in Portland, Oregon, to
sequence a section of my own DNA. It was there that I learned to run a
thermocycler, do PCR, and load a gel tray. Ever since then, I have
been wishing I could get more into the field, but alas, I am still
just a lowly high school junior, so it may be a while. Or so I
thought.
I found out about OpenPCR a month ago, and I have been frantically
gathering funds since then to purchase one of their thermocyclers,
which is the first ever that is in my price range. I was very excited
to buy one, and surprisingly even more excited to trudge through their
60-some page instruction book to figure out how to put the damn thing
together, until a friend brought up a point I shrugged off at first,
but now it really concerns me. "What if it doesn't actually work?"
Seeing as I am sinking over $600 into this machine along, not to
mention all the other costs associated such as reagents and pipettes,
I would like to know if any of you here have had experiences wit the
device, and how it worked for you. From what I can tell, and the
videos that show the device, it seems like it's a very robust and well-
made device. But even so, I'd like to how well it is working for any
of you who may have one. Is it reliable? Are the parts robust? Is the
cycling precise? Any kinks, flaws, or extra hacks I should know
about?

Thank you!
--Jacob

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