v0.2 Prototype On The Way

I have just finished designing and ordering the second custom PCB. In the interest of simplifying and lowering the overall cost, I have removed WiFi capabilities for now (which privacy-minded people may prefer not to have anyway). Assuming parts-in-hand, I would estimate it would probably take about 15-20 minutes to assemble this thing. I haven’t finalized the 3d-printed case yet, but obviously printing that would take more along the lines of 60-120 minutes on a standard 3d printer.

This prototype is based around the Adafruit M0 and M4 boards. The M4 (with SAMD51) seems to be quite a bit faster, and offers a lot more breathing room as far as RAM goes. As I’m getting into the mesh routing, the memory requirements are really getting pushed on the M0, so I’m making the prototype PCB and code compatible with either board.

For total cost (if one were to purchase all the parts via Amazon and Adafruit), this is looking like roughly $113, or $118 if you also need a data-quality USB micro cable. As far as keeping it a DIY easy-to-aquire-parts project, that is probably about as cheap as it’s going to get, short of sacrificing quality. If I redesign the board for larger-scale manufacturing (not using expensive breakouts), I think that price could come down significantly.