| I think these "Community Projects" will come in different forms. Mike is an example of someone that can provide files necessary for board production, and some newbies like myself are quite a ways from that point today. I think it might be good for Andrew to keep a hand on the process, and help out where needed, when he has time... He can let us know what he needs to make things work more smoothly. Some boards he probably feels strongly enough about adding to the N8VEM collection, and he has been willing to finance the initial phases. He gets back some of his initial costs over time when he sells the boards. If we expect him to pay the upfront costs, it is only reasonable he gets to sell the boards. If he is not going to manufacture and sell the boards, it is folly to expect him to finance the initial development. I think that needs to be clear when we are talking about a new project, whether we expect Andrew to order and stock the boards. If one of us wants to do a similar thing like Andrew, sponsoring the development of a board, and doing what it takes to make boards available to the community, that would be nice, and would expand the scope of what we can do. Andrew can mentor us in how this is done. Someday, I would like to do that, but I have a lot to learn to get there. Andrew and John have limits to how much they can do and still have lives, When the time and costs of this activity start to threaten their schedules and budgets, it would be reasonable that they could ask for help from us, whether it is financial, or to get more people to roll up their sleeves and help with build and test. I very much want to learn about digital design and test, and it is worth money to me to see this activity continue. Building and debugging these boards is providing a wonderful framework for my education, and I am having a ball. We all have different skills and talents (and resources), and if we work together to support this process, we can continue to benefit as we have been doing. What do you think Andrew? Douglas On Jun 19, 2011, at 1:12 PM, Brian Marstella wrote: I agree about the logistical issues. I'd much rather see Andrew, John, and others who have the technical skills and the required hardware be able to concentrate on the on-going projects and the technical end. Due to financial constraints, a lack of an S-100 machine, and space issues, I can't be much help on the technical and prototyping end. However, I'd be willing to help with logistics issues, maybe compiling a list of interested persons, etc., if that would help keep Andrew and others from being overwhelmed. |