[Arm-netbook] Pass through card. Was: TODO list EOMA68 campaign

[Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton]

---
crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68


On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 8:16 PM, Xavi Drudis Ferran <xdrudis at tinet.cat> wrote:
> El Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 05:59:04PM +0100, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton deia:
>> On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 7:18 AM, Xavi Drudis Ferran <xdrudis at tinet.cat> wrote:
>> > El Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 05:34:06AM +0100, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton deia:
>> >
>> >> * i'm thinking of putting the "pass through" card on the campaign,
>> >>   approximate pledge amount $40 (because in low-volume expected
>> >>   it'll be about a $20 BOM), that would turn the laptop housing into
>> >>   a battery-operated screen, keyboard and trackpad for any smartphone,
>> >>   USB-HDMI-dongle-PC, laptop or desktop PC.  thoughts appreciated
>> >>   on that one.
>> >>
>> >
>> > Go for it !
>> >
>> > I'm not aware of the cost you would have to bring it in before the
>> > campaign deadline (is it finished, tested, ready?), but if you can do
>> > it, don't doubt.
>>
>>  it's been planned for a long time, i can estimate the BOM (not a lot
>> - about $6 of components) it's the PCB manufacturing that will be a
>> bit more than usual if the quantities are small, even if it's a
>> single-sided 2-layer PCB
>>
>
> No idea about those calculations. You said around $40 for the backer
> to get one, that sounds about right. Psicologically it's still more
> than half the price of a CPU card, and it doesn't carry SOC, RAM or
> storage. That may be countered with just publishing the BOMs of both
> the passthrough card and CPU card (if they aren't already). But even
> without that, $40 it's not so off the mark.
>
> If it can be 30$ or 32$ you may sell more.

 ... yeahhh will think about it.

> If it comes to $50 it
> starts to look too close to $65 (CPU card) or to $55 (desktop, but I'm
> not sure this is a valid comparison) and people might think twice.  I
> can't calculate the point where the sales volume outweights the lower
> profit per unit. No idea.

 you could put the pass-through card into the micro-desktop as well,
that's the hilarious bit.

> I'd even say ask for more PCBs than pledges to anticipate future sells,
> but it's not my own money I'm playing with so I'll refrain. I'm sligthly
> surprised by the small amount of laptop orders so far, and I haven't thought
> much, but I don't see the passthrough card+ desktop as even remotely as
> interesting as pasthrough card + laptop.

 yeah exactly - look at the http://nexdock.com/cool-uses/ it becomes
clear, oh, also, it looks like someone there found a WIFI HDMI adapter
of some kind :)


> Other components are unique (like female connectors instead of male or
> something) or can they be grouped with components for other rewards
> and so enjoy the price of larger orders ? I don't have an idea of
> MOQs, price/quantity intervals or anything.

 nono, i can use the same micro-hdmi and micro-usb-otg as on the
EOMA68-A20.  getting hold of the cables for tablets and smartphones,
have to look those up, can do it in another update, you need a
micro-hdmi-to-micro-hdmi and micro-otg-to-micro-otg which i've never
heard of so might have to be done as a multi-set of converters... ehh
will work it out


> Another factor is time. If it is ready to offer before the deadline it
> makes sense. If prototypes, testing and so on takes longer, then
> maybe it'll have to wait to future campaigns...

 it's simple enough to do (about 20 components) but i feel comfortable
explaining to people what's going on.

>>
>>  then again you've probably seen the USB-HDMI dongle PC connected to
>> motorola atrix lapdock "version 1" instructables.... you can't use the
>> version 2 as they DRM-locked it.
>>
>
> I haven't seen that. I don't really imagine what it is right now. Worth
> looking it up ? I lose interest when reading DRM...

 the nexdock is more interesting

> Whatever it is it can't possibly hold the promise to host a EOMA68 cpu
> card with someone's favorite SOC in the future, can it?

 :)

 placeholder page here
http://rhombus-tech.net/community_ideas/passthrough_card/


 chris (havel) would you like to have a go at making something using
that program you use?  let's put it on the community_ideas page

l.