Thomas,
I understand. <G> (And it's not just the first time you do it<G>)
I've had to "slip" the 500buck pcb drill/mill a few weeks for just
the reasons you've mentioned here... Stuff IS trickling in; This week
I'll get the 210 stepper motors for the first batch...
Still 500 bucks to those in THIS group, who express interest before
month's end. And you WILL "see it" before month's end.
Re that "Kilobuck" inthe subject heading: The "list" price is going
to be 995USD. (I'm lining up a distributor who will likely knock that
back to the 800 I'd mentioned awhile back)
Ballendo
P.S. BTW, what you've read about the crimped connectors is EXACTLY
right. Do NOT solder a crimped connector, thinking you'll "improve"
the connection. All you'll really do is increase the chance, and
decrease the time, to failure. (this assumes you have proper crimping
tools. You "may" get better results from soldering than from POOR
crimping. But you're still most likely better off with crimped only,
UNLESS the connector is designed FOR soldering.)
>"Thomas P. Gootee" <tomg@f...> wrote:
>Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
<snip> where they were saying/claiming that crimp-type connectors for
>discrete wires are one of the most-reliable types (which includes
>wires with crimped-on pins that are then inserted/mounted into multi-
>connection sockets or plugs). They also claimed that soldering, in
>addition to crimping, is not necessary, and should probably even be
>avoided, since it might do some harm to the connector, or the
>wire/insulation, if not done perfectly.<snip>
>So, ∗eventually∗, I thought to myself, "Hey! OTHER people might like
>to have one of these, TOO!". Of course, when a hobbyist designs and
>builds a piece of electronic equipment, especially if it's
>essentially the first time they've done a large self-designed
>project, then when it's all "finished", and works "perfectly",
>they've still maybe done only about ∗∗5%∗∗ of the work that's needed
>to make it into an actual "commercial product".
>
>Mine's also available in KIT form, which makes it even MORE work, in
>some ways, since I have to produce (AND keep ∗updated∗) all of the
>construction diagrams, for component placement, wiring, mechanical
>stuff, etc, and assembly and alignment instructions, plus complete
>schematics, detailed parts lists, instrument-panels' artwork, etc
>etc. (all in "presentable" forms). And I have to do all of the
>sourcing and supplier stuff, keep a large parts and supplies
>inventory, make circuit boards, make apply-able instrument panel
>artwork, count parts and supplies into nice little multi-
>compartmented plastic kit-boxes, market and sell them, pack and ship
>them, support them, etc etc etc. I'm also working on a "real"
>ops/service manual, which, eventually, is intended to be as good as
>the legendary older Tektronix manuals. (Hmmm... Maybe I ∗AM∗
>crazy... Hehe...)
>
>And I still have MANY, many things that I'd like to add, and change,
>in the Curve Tracer product. But, first, I want to "clean up" the
>current version, especially since I may eventually have it (or parts
>of it) mass-produced, maybe by a third party. I've also got some
>other great electronic products "in the pipeline". But I think that
>I need to "get to the next level", first, so I can hire some people,
>to hopefully allow ME to spend my time on things where I can
>contribute the most, i.e. where any specialized abilities that I
>have might make the most difference, instead of on things that
>almost anyone could be doing. I've been trying to "bootstrap" this
>business, starting with not much capital. But I may end up having to
>take on some investors, to be able to get where I want to be
>(quickly-enough, anyway).
<snip>
>And I am sorry that I blathered-on, for so long, ∗AGAIN∗. (This
>business has basically "taken over my life", as you can probably
>tell, hehe. But it IS ∗quite∗ enjoyable...)