[hpsdr] Penelope Update

[Alfred Green]

Lyle Johnson wrote:

> Hello Alf!
>
>> Any ball-park estimates of cost yet?
>
>
> Raw parts cost in single qty is about $170 plus the PCB.  I have no 
> idea what the labor will be, por how the design -- and cost -- will 
> evolve.
>
Thanks for the data point. I suspect there will be plenty of interest so 
that 'single qty' does not apply. This sounds vaguely familiar to the 
early estimates for Janus, which ended up coming in at way below the 
expected price. It doesn't look like a particularly difficult board for 
auto-placement.
If it ends up at less than $300 out the door, I'd call it a bloody 
bargain, bearing in mind the flexibility with the architecture.

I saw some earlier estimates for Mercury at the $350 area. Add that to 
the Atlas-Janus-Ozy [1] combo and you have a radio for a bit over a 
grand that can knock the spots off anything out there. OK, you need to 
get some power, but with all the stuff on e__y, doesn't everyone have a 
bucketfull of MRF150s?

>> I see that TAPR is featured on the board; is there an agreement with 
>> them to support this?
>
>
> Yes, TAPR (and AMSAT) have been very supportive of the HPSDR effort. 
> They have funded development when asked, and are workignn hard to make 
> the results of that development available to anyone who wants it.
>
>> I hope so, I've been a TAPR member ever since they got involved with 
>> HPSDR and it looks like a good match.
>
>
> Thank you for supporting TAPR as they support HPSDR!
>
I never quite understood the whole packet-radio thing; even though I 
have a KPC-3 somewhere in my shed. I took a bit more interest with TAC 
but then the Z3801 flurry killed that one. My shack has a higher 
accuracy frequency reference than anything I had thought possible. 
Thanks, GPS!  TAPR was a marginal interest until they announced their 
backing for HPSDR. I have already thrown a bunch of money at them for 
the initial boards, and will continue to do so as the new ones come to 
life.

Keep up the good works!

GL & 73   Alf  NU8I


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