USB-to-Serial Module based coders cable

[Chaotis]

Wow, that is really well done and professional looking. Amazing job. ^^

[84TAVeRT]

looks very nice...

[GPF]

very nice, is everything included for the $49 plus shipping , or will I need a USB cable? Also does it work with the standard dcload 1.03 / dc-tool or is there a new version needed?

How difficult is it to build from your schematics?, I have 2 coder's cables now, so if I hacked off the end of one and and bought the parts etc. How much would I save? It would be a neat project to build, but if my cost saving are low I would prefer buying one, maybe I can find someone to buy my 2 coders cables and then I could aford the usb version

Troy

[pboese]

[quote author=GPF link=board=hardware;num=1093196907;start=90#92 date=12/13/04 at 11:29:50]very nice, is everything included for the $49 plus shipping , or will I need a USB cable? Also does it work with the standard dcload 1.03 / dc-tool or is there a new version needed?

How difficult is it to build from your schematics?, I have 2 coder's cables now, so if I hacked off the end of one and and bought the parts etc. How much would I save? It would be a neat project to build, but if my cost saving are low I would prefer buying one, maybe I can find someone to buy my 2 coders cables and then I could aford the usb version

Troy[/quote]

A USB "A" to "B" cable is not included. They can be found online for about 5 $US. Don't wate your money at Best Buy or Radio Shack. Those cables are way over-priced . Unless of course you like the shiney gold connectors 8)

With regard to dcload 1.03. If you are happy with 115200 baud then it willl work with that. If you want to take fulll advantage of 1.56M baud then you will want a copy of dcload-serial 1.0.4. I have not made a formal release of it yet pending the release of some new USB drivers for the Mac OS/X. It works well with windows (Cygwin), and Linux.

Hacking off a serial coder connector is what I did for the first prototype. It would not save you much. I'm working to keep the costs low, thus no included USB "A"-"B" cable.

You could build it from the schmatics, but if you are not used to working with surface mount components you might have some trouble. I considered making it using a pre-built USB Module from DLP designs, but the cost for that part alone is $25! That's what I used for the early prototypes, I knew I'd have to roll my own board to get any cost savings.

I'm not sure if I'll have to include a CD-R with the basic tools for Linux and Windows. I'll make them available for D/L of course. Some basic instructions will of course be needed. It's a developers tool primarily, so I'd hope the end users would have some idea on how to use it. You don't get anything but a the "Lik-Sang coders cable" when you purchased that now did you? It did not include an RS-232 extension cable either.

This is not a commerical venture. But I'm not goning to sell these at a loss either :P I need to take care of a few details before I post an address for pre-orders. I need to find out how to handle international shipments and getting this device through customs without any hassles or large expenses. I don't think there will be much of a problem in the USA and UK though.

[pboese]

I've been searching the web for solutions to get this device into the hands of willing buyers. Frankly I'm not all that happy with all the negative stuff I hear about PayPal. The anti-paypal sites don't exist for no reason. I need to accept orders from almost anywhere in the world. With all this in mind I've found an online merchant store called CCNow.com that lets you sell stuff off of your website. They only deal with sellers that sell tangible products that can be shipped to the customer. They don't take pre-orders. They take 9% off the top, but they handle all of the transactions and credit checks needed to process the sale. I'm responsible for shipping the product.

So with this in mind I would have to invest the money to build at least 50 units to keep costs down. I can afford to do that, but I'd like a little feedback from potential customers to get a feeling for how many units I could sell in a month or so.

To that end I've created an email address that you can send a short note indicating your desire to purchase a USB Coders Cable when they become available. I have tentatively set that date to the January-February 2005 timeframe. That will give me time to order parts and build up the units. This is NOT a pre-order, just a survey to determine interest. Please don't spam the address with email's just to make me feel good. I want serious inquiries only. I don't want to end up with many $$$ worth of unwanted inventory :P

The price as stated before will be $49 USD plus shipping. Again this is not a pre-order. This is to gauge interest. The address is printed here not as a link, but as plain text with a [NO-SPAM] section that you will have to remove before sending. The address is:

Coders[NO-SPAM][email protected]
Please remove the [NO-SPAM] before sending. Hmmm, I see Yabb put a space after the dot (.) too. Blast it

I will put all users who respond on a list and will keep them informed when the device is available, or if not enough people respond I will inform them that there will be no production. I will use a list processor or respond individually to the email's so no one will have anyone else's email address.

Thanks to everyone for their interest and encouragement to date.

Regards,

Paul Boese a.k.a. Axlen

----- 28 Feb 2005 -----
This offer is now closed - no new requests will be accepted unless one of the current first responders opts out.

Paul Boese, a.k.a. Axlen
----- 28 Feb 2005 -----

[Kochise]

First, thanks YOU very much for providing a new efficient way to develop on the OUTSTANDING DreamCast (a shame it died, **** the HYPE -Playstation 2 announcement - which killed the dream).

As I explained you, I plan to create a PCI card featuring almost everything surrounding the DreamCast (reset button, vga box, serial connector, USB connector, 240 MHz overclock, ...). So I don't need the PCB, yet I need parts.

As I want to thanks you for your job, I'd like to get the right parts from you with a little charge for your own benefit. Could you sell a plastic bag which would contain all the parts necessary, leaving me the job to solder them on my own PCB ? You could also sell it as a complete kit (including the PCB in the package), leaving the choice to the consumer to solder the parts on his own PCB or on the provided PCB (if the consumer's PCB has failed, he would have a working replacement PCB available).

Thanks for taking my idea into consideration, and again, THANKS YOU !

Kochise

[pboese]

[quote author=Kochise link=board=hardware;num=1093196907;start=90#95 date=12/16/04 at 02:54:23]....

As I explained you, I plan to create a PCI card featuring almost everything surrounding the DreamCast (reset button, vga box, serial connector, USB connector, 240 MHz overclock, ...). So I don't need the PCB, yet I need parts.

As I want to thanks you for your job, I'd like to get the right parts from you with a little charge for your own benefit. Could you sell a plastic bag which would contain all the parts necessary, leaving me the job to solder them on my own PCB ? You could also sell it as a complete kit (including the PCB in the package), leaving the choice to the consumer to solder the parts on his own PCB or on the provided PCB (if the consumer's PCB has failed, he would have a working replacement PCB available)....
Kochise[/quote]

Kochise,

I don't have any spare parts at the moment, but I can post the BOM (Bill of Material) with some sources. If I am able to produce some units then I will order a few extra parts for kits.

Qty	Value	Package	Part ID	Source
1	LED	LED5MM	LED1	Mouser
1		0805	FB1	DigiKey 240 1035
4	0.1uf	0805	C2, C3, C8, C9	Mouser
1	1k5	0805	R9	Mouser
1	2k2	0805	R16	Mouser
1	6.144Mhz	HC49US	X1	Mouser
1	10k	0805	R15	Mouser
1	10nf	0805	C5	Mouser
2	10uf	3528 21R	C1, C10	Mouser
3	27	0805	R1, R6,R8	Mouser
2	27pf	0805	C6, C7	Mouser
1	33nf	0805	C4	Mouser
1	74V1G00S	SOT23 5	IC4	Mouser
1	93C46BSN	SOIC 8	IC5	Mouser
4	100	0805	R3, R5, R10, R13	Mouser
5	100k	0805	R4, R7, R12, R14, R17	Mouser
1	220	1206	R11	Mouser
1	470	0805	R2	Mouser
1	FT232BM	LQFP32 0.8mm	IC1	Parallax
1	SN74CBTLV3125D	SOIC 14	IC3	Mouser
1	SP721AB	SOIC 8	IC2	Mouser
1	USB "B"	PN61729S	J1	Mouser

[pboese]

I have created a preliminary web-page for the USB Coders Cable. It contains a brief history, a short technical write-up, schematic and parts resources.

[pboese]

Updated schematic revision to "F": Changed resistor on RX2 line from pull-down to pull-up. Prevents spurious activiity on RX2 line when the USB bus is off-line (PC turned off or USB cable unplugged)

[pboese]

Discussions have been initiated with a potential
backer for producing the units under a brand name. I
cannot be anymore specific than that at this time.

Regards,

Paul Boese, a.k.a. Axlen