[time-nuts] Frequency divider PCB: Current status on "pre-orders", and pointers to documentation.

[Pete Lancashire]

toss one on the pile for me ..

-pete

Pete Lancashire
pete at petelancashire.com

On Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 11:28 AM, David C. Partridge
<david.partridge at dsl.pipex.com> wrote:
> The current situation is that I have almost enough statements of intent to
> get to the magic 50 which will allow a price of GBP14.50 per board plus
> delivery.   For the avoidance of doubt, this is the price for a bare PCB,
> not for a kit, and definitely not for a made up board.
>
> I intend to "keep the book open" until 18:00 Zulu (UTC or GMT) on Sunday
> 21st March, I will then count up what I have and order that many boards (and
> maybe a few over to get a nice round number).
>
> I've received numerous reqeusts for the design documentation, schematic, and
> a bill of materials
>
> They can all be downloaded from my website, but there's no way (yet) to
> navigate to them (a round tuit problem).
>
> Write up:
>
> <http://www.perdrix.co.uk/FrequencyDivider/Frequency%20Divider%202.pdf>
>
> Schematic:
>
> <http://www.perdrix.co.uk/FrequencyDivider/Frequency%20Divider%202%20Schemat
> ic.pdf>
>
> and BOM:
>
> <http://www.perdrix.co.uk/FrequencyDivider/Frequency%20Divider%202%20Bill%20
> of%20Materials.pdf>
>
> The schematic and write up have both been updated today, and the BOM is new
> today.
>
> For those who worry about SMT soldering, you don't need a reflow oven, it
> can all be done with tweezers, a small tipped iron, fine solder wire, and
> liquid flux (or a flux pen).  A good pair of strong reading glasses helps
> too!   See:
>
> <http://www.curiousinventor.com/guides/Surface_Mount_Soldering/101>
>
> I've also had questions on part pricing:  Back in 2008, the cost to populate
> one PCB using a MAX999, thick film resistors, and standard (X7R) chip
> capacitors was about GBP28 including Molex headers and SMB sockets.   I
> don't expect it to be massively different now.   I'm afraid I don't have
> full parts kits, and the necessary up front costs to do so is more than my
> finances allow at present.
>
> FWIW, the ADCMP600 is a bit pricier than the MAX999, and is supposed to be
> "better", though I'm not sure in what respects it is better.
>
> If you want the lowest possible level of phase noise, you would follow the
> bill of materials recommendations and use thin film resistors and C0G
> capacitors in the clock shaper part of the circuit at the very least, but
> this adds considerably to the cost (for example 100nF C0G 1206 capacitors
> are about 1 pound each, while an X7R part is only a few pence).
>
> Regards,
> David Partridge
>
>
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