Hi DS! > Perhaps it would be adequate to update the page at > https://www.freecalypso.org/fcdev3b.html to reflect the availability > of these boards, as well as the price and payment methods?
I was going to make that update once I have the FCDEV3B User's Manual finished. Given the high price of these boards (high relative to what today's spoiled-by-cheap-stuff people are used to paying for hardware), the User's Manual needs to be prominently linked from the availability and pricing page so people can see exactly what they would be getting for their money, to avoid problematic misunderstanding. As I already said in my original announcement, the price for one board with minimal accessories (just the antenna and a connector for making your own power supply cable) will be $500. However, there are two additional extra-cost accessories which at least some people will likely be interested in, and I still need to figure out how much their extra cost will run: * An ultra-compact power supply just like the one you've got. I have a finite stash of these, and while I *can* sell units from this stash, the stash is small enough that if I sell these PSUs, I need to be prepared for the stash running out and needing to get more. I have located what appears to be the original manufacturer of these PSUs: http://www.keic.com.tw/sa06-8%2812%29%2815%29%2818%29s-series-en.html The units I've got are the 8W, 3.6V output version, mechanical form factor type 'V' in the description page above. I need to email the people at the company linked above and find out how much it would cost to make a run of, say, 50 units for us, and if they would be willing to make such a small run. Their answer will determine whether or not I can sell the units from my existing stash, and for how much. * A custom hand-made cable for connecting the two UARTs on the FCDEV3B to an FT2232D adapter board. Anyone can easily buy one of those adapter boards from pldkit.com, but the "standard" way to make the connection between the FCDEV3B and the FT2232D board is to manually connect each wire individually, looking at the pinout chart and manually matching up wire colors. This "standard" way is OK if you are only going to assemble the setup once and leave it stationary on your lab bench afterward, but if you need to be able to take the setup down for transport and quickly reconnect in the field, this approach is unacceptable, at least to me. As an easier-to-use alternative, it is possible to hand-assemble a special cable using Molex crimp terminals and crimp housings. With this approach the result is a cable that consists of a solid ribbon in the middle, a solid 5x2 connector on the FCDEV3B end which you simply mate with the board, and two solid 15x1 connectors on the FT2232D end, which you simply mate with the two rows of pins on the adapter board from PLDkit. So far I have only made one such cable (hand-made it myself), and I use it for all my current FCDEV3B work. However, in the process of hand-making that cable I have discovered how much of a pain it is, despite using the expensive "official and professional" crimper from Molex. A member of my family has expressed an interest in serving as the cable maker, but I have not had a chance yet to show her how that crimper works, thus she has yet to see just how much of a pain it is. Thus I still need to find the time to sit down with my family member in question, show her the crimping process and see if it is something she is still interested in doing, and if so, what she would consider to be a fair price for that labour. M~ _______________________________________________ Community mailing list [email protected] https://www.freecalypso.org/mailman/listinfo/community
