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Guys, I'm not going to leave the remaining folks totally out in the cold.  I still have a quantity of parts for the thru-hole version from when I was going to hand build them.  That was before the quantities skyrocketed out of control and I realized that I could never build that many by hand in any reasonable time!  When I went to surface mount, I had to also start over with most of the components for obvious reasons.

My plan, after I get through this crush of shipping all of these, is to offer a kit of parts, including the PCB and parts.  It will have the same functionality as the assembled version, and obviously will cost less since you get to do a lot of the work.  We'll discuss the exact options once I get done with this run.  One of the issues are whether to offer the enclosure that has been prepped for the board, etc.  I mention this as I already have a drilling technique and the tools to cut the slots.  Since the little boxes are a few bucks, it's best not to have to use three or four getting all the holes and slots in the right place.

I will start a separate thread for the kit version, we can sort out the details of the offering at that time.

GRJ,

I agree with MartyE above, thank you for your perseverance and determination to see this through! I know it's certainly been a lot of work for you to get to this point (and especially with a move in the middle of it all). I'm guessing you must be quite relieved the order was finally placed and the end is possibly in sight. 

Offering the kits after the initial BTO is definitely going above and beyond the call too, IMO! I'm sure many folks will definitely appreciate this very kind offering on your part as well. 

Thanks!!! We do really appreciate all that you do for us around here.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

ALERT:  Last change to get in on the build, orders are closed Saturday!

Once orders are closed, we'll submit the final quantity to the assembly house for board fabrication and assembly.  After that, there will be no more assembled units.

An important note:  You don't have a registered order unless you've submitted the initial $50 deposit, that's what I'm using to buy all the parts!  It's not sufficient to be added to the "I want one" list.

Off topic but just wondering the name if your board and assembly house. I’m thinking of making a simple board for a Ham Radio project just for fun.

Thanks,

Chuck,  I've used two houses, ALLPCB and PCBWAY.  I've gotten quotes that are pretty close from UltimatePCB as well, but I haven't actually used them.  If you want ten fairly small PC boards for cheap, try SEEED Studio, they have a special deal, only for quantity ten.

Here's one that's roughly 3" x 3", total price with shipping is $12.69 for ten pieces.  The downside is it takes about a month to get them, this one came on July 20th.  On the up side, it's a fraction of the price that OSH Park would charge just for three of them, and OSH Park isn't exactly speedy, it takes about 2 weeks typically.

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AGHRMatt posted:
gunrunnerjohn posted:

Right now the ballpark price is $140/unit with $20/unit going to the American Cancer Society in Dale's name...

Jeff ordered one for AGHR, but I wanted to tell you that the donation to the American Cancer Society in Dale's name is great. You're a class act, John.

Well, ACS should get a nice hit, I have 100 already spoken for, and more people want them.  I'll be working on a smaller run that will be kits and/or hand assembled after this mess is done.

Folks.  For people that are in dire need of one of these, do I have a deal for you.   I have three prototypes that are available for immediate delivery.  These are identical in circuit and function as the upcoming "factory" units.  At this point, I only need one prototype in hand to verify function when I'm working on the large order, so there's no sense sitting on these if someone can use them.  They will include all the same power supply and earth ground tether as the production units, and are in the same form-factor case.

If anyone is experiencing TMCC/Legacy issues now that the buffer should address, now's your chance to pick up one of these immediately.

Interested parties should contact me using my user profile email address.

Hi John, Just sent you an email requesting to purchase one of your kits for this product. I am ordering this for a friend that has many "PITA" issues. I do hope that I am not too late to order one of these kits. Just let me know what the deposit is and I will send it to you.

Thanks for everything you do to improve our hobby.

A milestone is reached, we're getting closer.   Just received the boards back from China, and completed the final assembly of a few for some testing.  All the surface mount components are machine placed and soldered at the assembly house, I finish with the thru-hole stuff like LED's, connectors, and the heatsink and buffer.  I also received the additional blank thru-hole boards with the latest layout that will be the basis of the kits to be offered after the first order is shipped.  Again, these will have identical functionality as the original production, the only difference is they use different form-factor parts.  All five boards shown tested OK, a good sign that the rest of the production run is most likely good as well.

Still waiting on a few components and hardware to complete the full order, but the big stuff is already in and I'm starting to put stuff together.

The little board in the foreground is a test board that plugs into the six position connector block for final test.  It allows me easy connection and also puts a load on the buffer to insure it's capable of driving a load.

TMCC Buffer Production Boards

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Last edited by gunrunnerjohn

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