New Development Boards - Who Wants Them?

[Joerg]

Hi,

we recently had a few discussions regarding new development board options, especially https://www.xcore.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 6&start=40 and https://www.xcore.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... ilit=slice.

While the designs are done - and available under the open hardware license - the boards aren't currently available for purchase.
Couple of questions:

1) Is anybody interested in manufacturing and selling these boards? XMOS is fully supportive of partnering with somebody to offer these boards.

2) What level of demand for these boards is out there and how much would you consider paying for:

* 40 pin DIP module (see https://github.com/xcore/hw_l1_48_module
* Slice kit base board (see [url]https://github.com/xcore/hw_slicekit_system[/url}
* Interface slices (which ones?)

Looking forward to your feedback!

Thanks

Joerg

[jonathan]

Have you called SparkFun RE manufacturing these designs? I am happy to make an introduction... they might well be interested in the 40 pin DIP module (though I think SliceKits are unlikely to be of interest).

In terms of price - this has become a purely strategic question. Many manufacturers are now making and selling boards ridiculously cheaply to try to encourage people to use their chips. I'd suggest <$30 for the 40-pin DIP, and as close to $10 as you can get.

[Interactive_Matter]

I can only second jonathan:

Get some big name fabricating the boards for a good price (sparkfun is a real good candidate). They should also carry the the XMOS JTAG & the adapter board.
Speaking about the price 20$ is the sweet spot, the closer you can go to 10$ the better.

Marcus

[ale500]

The DIP40 board is a nice addition to the already offered board set. A G4-512 equipped board with as many IOs as possible to headers/prototype area would be also great. It would bring the power of the G4 as the XC-1 should have done (few IOs routed).

[TonyD]

$20 to $25 is about the right price range for a XS-L1 48 stamp. At this price point I would be interested in buying them.

[DanB]

I'd certainly be interested in the availability of development kits. Of course I'd like to see the product line remain refined (we do not need lots of almost-identical boards) however I think there is definitely room for something along the lines of the 40 pin DIP. Indeed, I'd love the idea of breadboard prototyping with the XMOS.

I'd be interested in the slice kit but without knowing the details I do not know what this really offers at this time. I think in time it could be interesting if the other boards were phased out and replaced with a more modular system.

Regarding availability, the likes of SparkFun would be useful as most people can order from there. Any outlet which can supply a wide market is a good idea, there is nothing more frustrating than wanting to purchase something but being geographically restricted. With this in mind, I'd love it if items were available for quick despatch from the UK, but what suits me will almost certainly not suit everybody ;).

My summary with respect to development boards is that their availability is a necessity for the hobbyist market. I really like the fact that much of the hardware is being open sourced and many design files are being made available... I love the idea that I can go and get the PCBs made. Despite this, it is a very very costly approach for small orders. For example, I researching buying a small number of XK-1A add-on designs (2x each of the three add-on boards). The PCB costs alone came in at around £100. Add on components and the PCB fabrication route can be incredibly costly. Despite this, I could have doubled the number of boards in the order for a reasonably small difference in cost. I think anywhere which can benefit from these sorts of economies of scale and pass the cost on to the end-user would be fantastic, and certainly benefit the hobbyist.

I am positive that even if the 40 pin DIP were sold at a profit it could still be made available at a cost below that which one would expect to pay if ordering a one-off PCB and buying the necessary components in small quantities. It is therefore this sort of cost benefit which I see from development boards. So, a small and refined range sold at a reasonable cost with easy availability would be fantastic.

[TonyD]

Does anyone know if any boards got built?

[DanB]

Does anyone know if any boards got built?

Indeed, any updates on this?

[phalt]

I'll get Joerg to get back to us on this - he's been away from the bristol office for nearly a month now!

[dan]

There haven't been any new boards built yet, however we are making progress in this area (slowly I know), hopefully we can update you on our plans before long.