[hpsdr] Atlas Update - From whence we have come

[Philip Covington]

Hi Alex,

On 5/8/06, Alex <harvilchuck at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Not to throw a wet blanket on the enthusiasm, but why order the boards for
> ATLAS when there isn't a reviewed and baselined design for the JANUS and
> OZYMANDIAS cards? The better thing to do would be order the three board set
> at once.

Better for who?  One think you need to consider is who is going to
foot the bill for the pcb orders for all those boards at once?  If you
have a solution then I would be ecstatic to hear it...

> What if a date is sat to complete design reviews on  OZYMANDIAS v1.0 and
> JANUS v1.0? How about June 8th?
> If the date is met, then shoot for board ordering in mid-june.

Please remember that this project is being done by a group of
volunteers.  If it becomes too much like work, I will personally drop
it like a hot potato.  Besides the XYL and my supervisor at OSU, I
don't need another Boss... ;-)  What I get out of it is that I get to
work loosely with a great bunch of talented individuals on a very
interesting hobby type project.   The suggestions, review, and
comments by them on the proposed designs are extremely helpful and
educational to me personally.

> Personally, I'm thinking of ordering a couple, but I'd like to see that
> there is a working system, not just a passive backplane.

There will not be just a passive backplane.  The JANUS and OZY are on the way...

> I've read that the ATLAS is using standard PC case spacing between cards.
> Are the actual cards going to have a physical size of a full-height,
> half-length PCI card (so as to effectively use the PC-case)?

I doubt if this has been completely work out by anyone.

> What is being done is good, but just like building Eagle, there has to be a
> little order and structure and documentation.

Doesn't have to be, but it would certainly be nice.  We need
volunteers for this...

> I'm willing to contribute with the documentation and coordination, because
> this is one of the "skunkworks" of amateur radio.
>
> Alex, N3NP

Sounds like a volunteer!  Welcome aboard!  How can I help you with the
documentation?

73 de Phil N8VB

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