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@Ron_S posted:

John,

If you sold the PCB and published the BOM, for me that would work. Between Digikey and other suppliers, the components would be grouped individually, which would allow me to sort and install in order so I didn't get lost."

 

This would probably work for me as well John. I have a Hakko station with a fine tip head and .020 solder. Plus a magnifier light fixture, can't recall its power though. Would I need anything other than this do you think? It's the steadiness of the hands that is likely to be the big issue I think, lol. 

Rod

For me it would be like your lighting and YLB kits of just "plug and play". Catering to the 10's that may have a soldering station and soldering skills is foolish.

Maybe so, but to get these assembled it would require me investing several thousand dollars minimum with no guarantee of recouping my investment.  I can't really afford to take that gamble.  It's simply not cost effective to get something like this built unless you commit to at least 100 units or more.  I'd much rather go the fully assembled route if it were possible.  I just don't see the demand for something specialized like this MB as for stuff like lighting and battery replacements.

@Ron_S posted:

If you were to get enough preorders for a factory build run of 100, what would the unit price be?

I'd guess in the $40-45 ballpark, I haven't checked on assembly of this particular design.  I just go on what other projects with a similar parts count have cost. It might be more if I get snagged again with the Trump tariffs, last couple of builds I paid 25% more than expected!

Last edited by gunrunnerjohn

John, 

I want 5 boards for sure with a bom and diagram so I make sure have the components properly placed. Like Rod my only doubt is my hands shaking but this looks intriguing to build. Maybe one every few weeks.

If enough interest is there I would be in for 1-2 boards assembled.

Last edited by Ron_S

I would vastly prefer to do an assembled version, but I'd need to get commitments for at least half of the run in order to shoot the dice and order 100 boards.  I know I'll be using some as time goes by, I can see using this and the ERR Cruise Commander M for some really nice feature laden diesel upgrades.  Rule-17 lighting, cab light control, functional ditch lights, etc.

I envision using them in several older Weaver SD-40's and pre-TMCC Lionel diesels, just as Ron plans. So I would commit to minimum of 6 assembled boards, and likely 5 more after I get the first batch installed. These should also work well with your sound board, right John? I would need to get you to Fedex them, if possible, just to avoid the whole cross-border mail thing.

I would also take perhaps 5 bare boards for minimalist installations, without all the functionality.

Rod

In looking at the overall picture, I don't see this making it to enough firm orders to do an assembly run.  That being the case, I'm going to simply offer the blank boards I have for $3/ea.

I have posted all the current build data in the first post of this thread.  The schematic, BOM, and assembly drawing all reflect the current board.  The Gerber files are also there if you want to make your own boards.

Hi John, I have been out of the loop on this project, and just curious where it stands. I assume a production run is still unrealistic? Have you recieved your order for the final boards, and are they working as expected?

I wish there was some easy way for you to mail me a few bare boards, but cross border mailing is a mess still. That being the case I may have to just order a few boards from Osh Park. How do you feel about sending me a few of your boards via Fedex or UPS?

Rod

Yep, I assembled one of my "final" boards, and all went well.  It all functions as designed.  I only got a couple people that actually bought the blanks, so I'm glad I didn't shoot the dice and actually get them built, I'd have a lifetime supply and a big hole in my bank account.  Any future projects like this that I think about getting assembled will be on a BTO basis, I think talk is cheap when it comes to things like this, but then reality bites.

As for shipping them to Canada, I suspect you could take the Gerber files and send them to JLCPCB and get these made cheaper than I can send them.  I suspect that Chinese shipping to Canada is a lot cheaper than US shipping to Canada.

John, how do I contact you to get some bare boards?  Two boards would suffice for me.

Same as always, my profile email.

@Rod Stewart posted:

John, are your trace widths based on 2 oz or 4 oz copper thickness?

They're standard 1oz copper.  I use a trace width calculator to verify the current carrying capacity.  The heaviest current is the input power, that's at most a couple of amps if you have a smoke unit running off the R2LC.  The 2oz copper tripled the cost of the boards, I didn't see the need.  The power carrying traces are shorter than 2" and are .508mm in width.

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In quantities of 100 or less, the total costs for parts & assembly are around $30-35.  Recent shipments have also encountered a 25% tariff, adding to the pain.  It will also take more work to get them ready for assembly, documentation like assembly drawings, detailed BOM lists, etc. have to be created.  Given the response, I just don't see that happening, and I can't really afford to be stuck with several thousand dollars worth of fancy motherboards.

I posted all the files necessary to recreate the boards in the first post of this thread.  I got a batch of blank boards, and I'm keeping some for my use and selling the rest of them.  It was an interesting exercise, and I'll be able to use the ones I've built in upcoming projects.

@Rppoind posted:

 GRJ... On the smart mother board.....D2 next to the track power plug, which direction does the cathode band go? Other locations have a dot which I would think means cathode. Your pictorial on page two seems to show cathode band to the left. Is that correct?

Richard

The cathode (this is the LED), has a little T on the back, that points toward the power plug.  That dot on the silkscreen was inadvertently missed.

@Art Lites posted:

I think there is a market for $35 completed product.  I would buy several . I don't think that this forum is an accurate market survey as I just ran into this post.  I think that the initial discussion probably lost many including myself.

At $35 I might break even, so that's pretty much a non-starter for me.  The problem here is when the Chinese make some little board like this, they make 50,000 or more of them, and that brings the cost per unit way down.  Making 100 or so is a whole different ballgame.  Stuff I buy for a buck or two from China I couldn't make for $10.

GRJ.......Finally got my 1st motherboard assembled and inspected. I plan to start with no R2LC and connections. If red LED lights and no smoke I'll add a R2LC and a coupler and move on from there. Question on LEDS.  I see several resistors on your led bench test perf board. Does your motherboard need the same 470 ohm resistor as standard TMCC? Does it need a diode for conventional? Thanks for all your work on this project.

Richard

GRJ....I remember you wrote that the Smart Mother Board would drive a ERR sound Commander from the

"sound" EH connector. Will that connector also drive a Lionel TMCC sound Mother Board? I am trying a 691-MB00-15C loaded with a RS 4 power supply and Sound card. It is a two port sound only board. Lights and couplers are working. R2LC feature set to 4. All i'm getting is engine idle. Several times on power up I get a coupler air release when I press uncouple. Next coupler command it opens but no air release. I have the serial line on pins four on the SMB and the sound board per my pinout for this board. Any idea what I'm missing?

Richard

Hi John; I have finally ordered a few of these boards from OSH Park, and I'm just getting set to order up the parts that I don't have in stock. Just curious; do you have any kind of ready available list of digikey PN's from the parts BOM that you ordered for your builds? That would certainly make ordering easier, especially for a lazy type such as myself.

Thanks, Rod

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