GRJ.....Five bare boards and a BOM plus the written notes you mentioned earlier would be fine to start. Gerber file would be a plus.
Richard
John,
If you were to get enough preorders for a factory build run of 100, what would the unit price be?
@Ron_S posted:John,
If you sold the PCB and published the BOM, for me that would work. Between Digikey and other suppliers, the components would be grouped individually, which would allow me to sort and install in order so I didn't get lost."
This would probably work for me as well John. I have a Hakko station with a fine tip head and .020 solder. Plus a magnifier light fixture, can't recall its power though. Would I need anything other than this do you think? It's the steadiness of the hands that is likely to be the big issue I think, lol. 
Rod
I'm in for a few bare boards when available.
I'm in for a half dozen kits.
@prrhorseshoecurve posted:For me it would be like your lighting and YLB kits of just "plug and play". Catering to the 10's that may have a soldering station and soldering skills is foolish.
Maybe so, but to get these assembled it would require me investing several thousand dollars minimum with no guarantee of recouping my investment. I can't really afford to take that gamble. It's simply not cost effective to get something like this built unless you commit to at least 100 units or more. I'd much rather go the fully assembled route if it were possible. I just don't see the demand for something specialized like this MB as for stuff like lighting and battery replacements.
@Ron_S posted:If you were to get enough preorders for a factory build run of 100, what would the unit price be?
I'd guess in the $40-45 ballpark, I haven't checked on assembly of this particular design. I just go on what other projects with a similar parts count have cost. It might be more if I get snagged again with the Trump tariffs, last couple of builds I paid 25% more than expected!
I’ll commit to 5 boards no matter how you end up doing it.
John,
I want 5 boards for sure with a bom and diagram so I make sure have the components properly placed. Like Rod my only doubt is my hands shaking but this looks intriguing to build. Maybe one every few weeks.
If enough interest is there I would be in for 1-2 boards assembled.
I would vastly prefer to do an assembled version, but I'd need to get commitments for at least half of the run in order to shoot the dice and order 100 boards. I know I'll be using some as time goes by, I can see using this and the ERR Cruise Commander M for some really nice feature laden diesel upgrades. Rule-17 lighting, cab light control, functional ditch lights, etc.
I envision it working well in the Williams and proto 1 diesels I make TMCC, making the entire upgrade much better.
I envision using them in several older Weaver SD-40's and pre-TMCC Lionel diesels, just as Ron plans. So I would commit to minimum of 6 assembled boards, and likely 5 more after I get the first batch installed. These should also work well with your sound board, right John? I would need to get you to Fedex them, if possible, just to avoid the whole cross-border mail thing.
I would also take perhaps 5 bare boards for minimalist installations, without all the functionality.
Rod
I think what we need is to start a list of folks that will commit to a specific quantity of the full up boards and see if we reach critical mass. I think I might take a deposit on those like I did with the TMCC buffers to cover some of the costs. If we get enough commitments, I'll go for an overseas build.
I will take 2 built boards for now John if in the $40-$45 range.
John how much for the empty boards ? j
In looking at the overall picture, I don't see this making it to enough firm orders to do an assembly run. That being the case, I'm going to simply offer the blank boards I have for $3/ea.
I have posted all the current build data in the first post of this thread. The schematic, BOM, and assembly drawing all reflect the current board. The Gerber files are also there if you want to make your own boards.
Hi John, I have been out of the loop on this project, and just curious where it stands. I assume a production run is still unrealistic? Have you recieved your order for the final boards, and are they working as expected?
I wish there was some easy way for you to mail me a few bare boards, but cross border mailing is a mess still. That being the case I may have to just order a few boards from Osh Park. How do you feel about sending me a few of your boards via Fedex or UPS?
Rod
Yep, I assembled one of my "final" boards, and all went well. It all functions as designed. I only got a couple people that actually bought the blanks, so I'm glad I didn't shoot the dice and actually get them built, I'd have a lifetime supply and a big hole in my bank account. Any future projects like this that I think about getting assembled will be on a BTO basis, I think talk is cheap when it comes to things like this, but then reality bites.
As for shipping them to Canada, I suspect you could take the Gerber files and send them to JLCPCB and get these made cheaper than I can send them. I suspect that Chinese shipping to Canada is a lot cheaper than US shipping to Canada.
John, do you have any more blank boards? If so, I would like to get a few.
I'll need one someday. I have the perfect project for it but it wont be anytime soon.
