[hpsdr] Type of kits forthcoming?...

[w3sz]

Hi, Lyle et al,

Thanks for asking!  As an interested user of SDR stuff and a small-time  
builder of same, but definitely NOT as a guru or designer of same,

I would very strongly prefer:

*****
c) all components pre mounted (assembled board).  AND TESTED.
*****

My reasons:

1.  Given how valuable and scarce time is, even if 'c' cost several times  
what 'a' or 'b' costs it would still be a bargain for me.  I have very  
limited time, and want to spend it playing with these things and not  
figuring out which of the 5,000 solder connections I made is bad, or which  
of the innumerable components I soldered in place happens to be bad.   
Putting a $$$ number on what time is worth to me makes this an easy  
decision.

2.  While it was fun and a challenge to build the first large-scale [for  
me] SMT project with relatively fine pitch components [DSP-10], doing such  
work now is just tedious.  That is why I have two uncompleted DSP-10 kits  
sitting in my basement.  Ditto for building yet another large-scale  
thru-hole project.  I would derive much more joy and personal growth from  
the time spent USING these HPSDR boards than from time spent building them.

3.  I am also getting older and this means poorer eyesight and more tremor  
which makes doing the fine pitch stuff a pain and more likely problematic,  
and also makes troubleshooting more difficult, even with bright lights and  
magnification.

4.  [The above are driven by my personal 'values' and 'experience' and are  
thus 100% correct [for me]].  This one is conjecture and could certainly  
be wrong.  It would seem that option 'c' might take less TAPR 'people'  
resources, as there would not be a need to collate the parts for 200 units  
into 200 individual sets to be sent to 200 different postal addresses if  
the building were contracted out.  But maybe the work ends up being the  
same in the end for the different options.


Would it be helpful to tally the votes [or perhaps instead tally  
'relatively firm commitments to buy'] in a more formal fashion to more  
accurately guide TAPR in deciding what to do before making a final  
decision?  I would be willing to commit to "c" even with no knowledge of  
price.

Thanks again, all, and

73,

Roger Rehr
W3SZ

On Fri, 21 Jul 2006 10:05:13 -0400, Lyle Johnson <kk7p at wavecable.com>  
wrote:

> ***** High Performance Software Defined Radio Discussion List *****
>
>> Was a decision ever reached on how the kits (e.g. Janus & Ozy) will be
>> offered in terms of:
>>
>> a) board and components (full kit) or
>> b) board and chips mounted + remaining components (partial kit) or
>> c) all components pre mounted (assembled board)
>
> Still working on it, but we need some information from all of you who
> purchased ATLAS boards.
>
> a) easy to buy, but hard to kit.  Some of the parts have a lot of leads
> which bend easily, so repackaging for kitting is labor intensive  
> (costly).
>
> b) By remaining components do you mean the through-hole parts, such as
> connectors?  This is fairly easy to package, and minimizes the assembly
> labor.  Unless a special test fixture is created (unlikely), it means
> the partially assembled boards will not have been tested.
>
> Or do you mean that the buyer also attaches the SMT resistors and
> capacitors?  Resistor networks?
>
> c) The most expensive option, due to the different manufacturing process
> required for attaching the through-hole parts.  I can;t tel youoffhand
> how much more this would add, but it is probably between $10 and 415 to
> the purchase price.
>
> This also makes it easiest to test, if a simple test regime were created
> (possible, even practical, not sure how likely).
>
> Given the three options above, which type would you prefer to see, and  
> why?
>
> 73,
>
> Lyle KK7P

> For example, let's say Ozy (or Janus)  might cost:
> a) $80 as a PCB + parts kit
> b) $100 as a partially assembled PCB (you do the through hole, but all
> of the SMT is done for you)
> c) $110 as a fully assembled board.
> If only option were available, which would you want?


>
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-- 
Roger Rehr
W3SZ
http://www.nitehawk.com/w3sz/

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