After a few ultimately futile attempts to resurrect my Freshroast SR500, I finally bit the bullet and ordered a Gene Cafe. They are normally stupid expensive here in Canada, but one site had them listed for considerably less than most Canadian vendors, plus they had one discounted further due to a damaged box. After confirming the unit was complete and undamaged, that the warranty was the same, etc., I finally pulled the trigger. So hopefully my involuntary hiatus from roasting will come to an end soon.
Can't wait!
BTW, for anyone looking to try roasting or thinking of moving up from a hot air popper, I can't say enough good things about the Fresh Roast. I had many (5, 6, 7?? can't recall) years of great service from that little thing, and it only died due to a freak soaking thanks to a roofing issue. Damn bad luck on that one... That thing was well worth every penny, and it owes me nothing.
EDIT: I bought the Gene here: https://www.pre-umber.ca/products/ge...coffee-roaster They list it nearly $100 less than most other Canadian sites I've seen.
