[Arm-netbook] Wifi

[lkcl luke]

On Sun, Dec 18, 2011 at 4:31 PM, jonsmirl at gmail.com <jonsmirl at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, Dec 18, 2011 at 10:44 AM, lkcl luke <luke.leighton at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Sun, Dec 18, 2011 at 3:03 PM, jonsmirl at gmail.com <jonsmirl at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Connectors are expensive. It is best to eliminate them where possible.
>>> For example I doubt if anyone other than a hobbyist will use your RGB
>>> LCD connection because of the need to make another PCB with two
>>> connectors on it.
>
> An alternative would be to put on a common format LCD/touch connector
> and drop the PCMICA connector. Those connectors aren't standardized
> but some support multiple screens.

 apologies, john: again, the requirement is to reach mass-volume, but
in a way that is the minimum cost of development (NREs) to get there,
_but_ also to have people who join early in the project to be able to
later buy off-the-shelf EOMA-PCMCIA-compliant mass-volume products,
because they had some involvement in the development of the software
_for_ that product.

 if you can think of a connector which will fit within 55mm, which is
as low-cost as PCMCIA in mass-volume quantities, which also fits
directly onto the end of a card in the width and height restrictions
of PCMCIA, which will have the same lifetime for removal/insertions as
PCMCIA, that has the same or greater number of pins as PCMCIA, and has
about 90 to 100 ohms impedance, please do let me know.

 the requirements are incredibly specific, and it's just pure fluke
that the 68 pins are just enough.

> Otherwise I need to make a PCB to
> convert PCMICA to the LCD connector format.

 in the short-term, yes, that's right.

 the alternative is to adapt motherboards to suit.  there do exist
just "headers" which match up: you don't even have to have units with
the PCMCIA case or even the PCMCIA housing or sockets: just bolt the
PCMCIA-sized card onto the main motherboard.

> The PCMICA connector is
> just in the way and not adding any value.

 it's part of a multi-stage strategy, and i haven't yet heard of an
alternative that fulfils the criteria.

i did look at a removable MiniPCI (Type I i think it was) but apart
from finding _one_ photo indicating the existence at some point in the
past of such a card and assembly, which was basically a bit wider than
PCMCIA, actually finding the thing still being manufactured was
impossible.

 other than that, MiniPCI would have been perfect: lots more pins.
100 or so iirc.

 if you can think of a connector that fits, that isn't $12 even in 10k
volumes, please do let me know!

 l.