MOTM

I was going to stay on the sidelines during all this discussion, but I may as well throw my troubled two cents in. As one of the long time early customers,

--- In motm@yahoogroups.com, "Dave Bradley" <mate.stubb@...> wrote:
> Whatever direction Paul needs to take MOTM, may it give everyone the
> excitement and joy that it has given me over the years!
> 
> Stooge Moe

My thanks for all your help in the past.  I too have slowed down, 
mostly because my synth now has critical mass.  DIY is just getting 
harder.  While I'll miss the panels, there are other alternatives.  
Yes, they cost more, but that is because you, Larry, and others just 
donated your time to help subsidize our hobbies.

Kits are just no longer economically feasible.  Soldering PCBs means 
through hole and that just isn't practical any more.  New parts aren't 
being released in through hole packages and RoHS is reducing 
availability of many existing through hole parts.  Future design will 
be SMT and I'm not going to solder those!  Automated parts placement 
is far, far less expensive than kitting.  Assembled PCBs and the 
incremental manufacturing markup is less expensive than the cost of 
direct labor for kitting.  So, while I like the thrill of building a 
new module, I understand that it just isn't practical any more.  Every 
other major kit manufacturer faced this same issue, only many years 
ago.

I wish MOTM the best and I eagerly await the new modules.  I'm glad 
Paul continues to take the initiative to develop the complex modules 
such as the MOTM-650.

(another) Dave

> Kits are just no longer economically feasible.  Soldering 
> PCBs means through hole and that just isn't practical any 
> more.  New parts aren't being released in through hole 
> packages and RoHS is reducing availability of many existing 
> through hole parts.  Future design will be SMT and I'm not 
> going to solder those! 

No offense intended, but IMNSHO SMT is really not a good reason to give up
on DIY. Have you actually tried it? I have; it's not that hard. It's
actually easier to solder an SMT IC than a through-hole DIP. Yeah, the
resistors and caps are tiny, but if you're doing your own projects you can
buy larger packages than the usual 0603 or 0402.

There is a good introduction to hand-soldered SMT here:
http://www.bdmicro.com/smt/
I built one of his microcontroller boards as my first SMT project. It was
really straightforward, and the board worked the first time I powered it up.

I personally think it's a great time to be doing DIY synth modules. I can
have PCBs made for $15 each (in lots of 5, admittedly), including shipping
to my doorstep, using free software to do the schematic capture and PCB
layout. I can have beautiful CNC-machined one-off 5U panels made for ~$50,
again shipped to my doorstep, using free software. Via the web I have access
to an unprecedented wealth of information--everything from Moog schematics
to the data sheets of not-yet-in-production ICs, not to mention discussions
with other builders all around the world.

I submit that DIY isn't getting harder, it's just different than it used to
be. Same's true for a lot of things, eh?

--Adam

>No offense intended, but IMNSHO SMT is really not a good reason to 
give up
>on DIY. Have you actually tried it? I have; it's not that hard. It's
>actually easier to solder an SMT IC than a through-hole DIP.
>There is a good introduction to hand-soldered SMT here:
>http://www.bdmicro.com/smt/

Just looked at that tutorial.  I can only imagine after a long day of 
working in front of the computer, with blurry eyes, and after a 
Quad-Shot Venti Soy Latte, trying to solder SMT.  It would be a pretty 
good comedy routine watching all those little chips bouncing on the PCB 
like a flea circus.  I think Kathryn Hepburn could probably do a better 
job of position an SMT capacitor on a PCB than me at 2AM.

Ivan

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Dave, I m sure I speak for most/all of the Stooge customers in saying that all of the things that the Stooges did for us is GREATLY appreciated. Just because 

--- In motm@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew Sanchez" <synthasaurus@...> wrote:
>
>  Dave,
>  I'm sure I speak for most/all of the Stooge customers in saying
that all of
> the things that the Stooges did for us is GREATLY appreciated. Just
because
> the service isn't being offered anymore doesn't mean that we're
being let
> down. Heck...we're better off that you guys were there for us in the
first
> place. :-)
> 
>  Andrew


I second those sentiments in spades.  THis group and the entire MOTM
community are what we in large part due to you Stooges.

Thanks!

Mike

I was able to get the minimum order quantity, and also able to find AD538s
that will ship this year :)

So, everyone that has (or will) order a '510 will get one, but probably
not until Nov 20th at the *earliest*. It will depend on the Indiana work
load (remember, they are doing this to me as a favor for Paul H. His
brother/nephew are doing all of the work and making about $2/hr)

Paul S.

Is there a maximum number of modules available or is there only "x" amount more 
available?



--- In motm@yahoogroups.com, synth1@... wrote:

>
> I was able to get the minimum order quantity, and also able to find AD538s
> that will ship this year :)
> 
> So, everyone that has (or will) order a '510 will get one, but probably
> not until Nov 20th at the *earliest*. It will depend on the Indiana work
> load (remember, they are doing this to me as a favor for Paul H. His
> brother/nephew are doing all of the work and making about $2/hr)
> 
> Paul S.
>

X more, and that number is displayed by the shopping cart when you click on the 
module picture (it's like 17 kits left).

Paul S.

> Is there a maximum number of modules available or is there only "x" amount 
> more
> available?
>

Great news!

I just ordered a kit.

Now that I'm finally better understanding what this module can do, I'm 
really glad that I had the opportunity to order one (even if it will be a 
long time before I get to building it!).

Good stuff :)

>From: synth1@...
>To: motm@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [motm] MOTM-510s are a GO!
>Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2006 15:40:09 -0500 (CDT)
>
>I was able to get the minimum order quantity, and also able to find AD538s
>that will ship this year :)
>
>So, everyone that has (or will) order a '510 will get one, but probably
>not until Nov 20th at the *earliest*. It will depend on the Indiana work
>load (remember, they are doing this to me as a favor for Paul H. His
>brother/nephew are doing all of the work and making about $2/hr)
>
>Paul S.
>
>