...just can't understand how someone could design something like this.
It's easy to have a bad design when there is no practical specifications or product plan to follow. If they had a product objective and proper procedures and tests to ensure they meet those, then a bad design should never happen. If they did have a good product objective, then someone made the call to allow it on the market with this defect.
Like I said the little device has so much potential but with no range it potential will go unrealized.
So true, and hopefully someday they will listen to all of our posted issues and improve the product or build a better one. Sometimes it's better to start over than to continuously supply bandaid solutions.