Hiya, first post, definitely building one but gotta ask, how come the PCBs are so expensive? I imagine postage costs account for quite a bit of it, but boards of this size really shouldn't cost more than about $2.50 in qty 10... if you're planning on 50 this goes down even further. Cheers
It is currently £2.27 for the board (although we are just about to pass the qty at which that price is a quote for, so it will go down a few pence more) and shipping to the US is a shade over £2.
So, 1 board to the US will probably comein at about £4.50 +/- a few pence.
I will be getting further quotes from other companies which may drop the price down a bit.
Even at the current estimate, it is hardly 'expensive'...
I will take payment via PayPal (buyer pays fees) or bank transfer.
Next wednesday I will publish a list of names and what they owe - I urge people to keep an eye out for this as it is essential that everyone pays promtply so as not to delay the GB.
Just another note to say I have added all the latest orders and to give my thank to coacharnold (and everyone else!) for their support!
Yeah I know it's not 'expensive' as such but it still seems like it could be better. Anyway.
I'm from Australia, so what's it worth including shipping in AUD/USD?
Cheers
I'd love to know who would do 10 PCBS @ $2.50 each. That is a steal.
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AU$7.38 at the moment. As always, subject to decrease as postage estimates are refined and new PCB quotes come in from other manufacturers (I just emailed 3 or 4).
[PCB Prototyping] Green 2 Layer 10cm*10cm max -10pcs [PCB Prototyping] Green 2 Layer 10cm*10cm max -10pcs [PPB003] - $24.90 : iStore, Make Innovation Easier
or
Fusion PCB Service [PCB08511P] - $9.90 : Seeed Studio Bazaar, Boost ideas, extend the reach
Also, any other Aussies interested in doing a mini-GB on parts from Mouser? I've got $33.83 cost of parts but they want $39 for shipping to Au. At this point it's the minimal parts, since AC adapter / batteries / enclosure / etc are cheaper elsewhere. I can also get front panels done cheaply since I have lots of friends with CNC gear. I only need 3 other people to join in and we can get up to the $200 for free shipping! (I expect <$10 for me to ship parts to you, if you're within Au)
In the USA I'm not aware any vendor, even the ones in China, who will make 125 square inches of PCBs for $25. It's more like $125 (China) or higher (USA) when you include all the costs (setup fees, shipping, etc.).
A lot of PCB sites offer specials that are rather misleading. When you actually fully quote the boards, you find you have to order more to get the special price, there are often other fees, that price is only good for a really tiny little board, it doesn't include solder mask and silkscreen, etc.
PC boards in low volume usually work out to a minimum fixed charge of about $40 plus at least $1 per square inch. So for 10 O2 PCBs that's $165 or $16.50 each USD.
The painful part is when I only need 1 or 2 for a prototype, I still pay $60+ per revision. If someone knows of a better deal, post a link!
First of all thanks for checking the board!
C17 is grounded on the bottom layer (the GBL file) to C18. The top layer trace on the ground (left) side of C17 that goes underneath U4 is what's known as a "guard" trace. It's to help keep the loop area small for the audio input to U4. It "dead ends" near the battery terminal to prevent creating a ground loop.
If you turn on both the top and bottom layers in your gerber viewer you should see the guard traces on the top layer have signal traces directly under them on the bottom layer. It's something like using a twisted pair when you wire point to point. It lowers noise, distortion, and reduces EMI susceptibility.
If you're talking about the fat traces that come into some pads (like the other side of C17) where there are "fills" surrounding the pad, that's intentional to provide a lower impedance path to the pad beyond what the CAD software automatically provides.
As for C13, did you mean C18 (just above C17)? C13 is one of the big audio coupling caps up by the volume control. And it's not even connected to the top layer.
If you did mean C18, the little trace that comes down under U4 is just another guard trace. It probably makes little difference but it can't hurt. Likewise another guard trace heads up towards C9 to protect the audio input for U3.
Please let me know if that answered your questions if I'm missing something else?
Yeah - I asked for a quote for PCB manufacture and assembly from a Chinese factory for my headphone amp (which will be built in the UK; I was just curious about the prices in China) and for 1000 pieces, the boards (100*180) came out as $2.49 each. Which is before tax and, probably, shipping. Interestingly, assembly would cost $0.43. That seems incredibly low for near 100 through hole components.....
I've sent 'Fusion PCB' an email anyway to see if i really can get boards for a dollar.
Anyway, I've added all the latest orders. Cheers!
Copper prices are through the roof these days. And PCB prices have followed to some degree. That's why people are breaking into large commercial buildings at night and stealing phone and data cabling. The scrap value of the copper makes it lucrative.
The Fusion PCB service was related to offering open source designs on their website. But they're no longer offering bare PCBs for sale on their site. They're only offering assembled boards. The O2 is open source, and I've been in contact with them, but I'm not sure they're interested in being just a PCB source. And it's still a lot more than $2.50 per board for 10 boards.
The Fusion PCB service was related to offering open source designs on their website. But they're no longer offering bare PCBs for sale on their site. They're only offering assembled boards. The O2 is open source, and I've been in contact with them, but I'm not sure they're interested in being just a PCB source. And it's still a lot more than $2.50 per board for 10 boards.
Is it possible to order one board to Ukraine?
And are you, by any chance, planning to buy parts at wholesale price and then send along with the boards? I believe such a service would be quite demanded, even if you increase the price to cover at least some part of your expenses. For instance, some parts are hard to find in my country and Mouser doesn't even has it the list (can someone suggest another shop that works with eastern Europe countries?).
And are you, by any chance, planning to buy parts at wholesale price and then send along with the boards? I believe such a service would be quite demanded, even if you increase the price to cover at least some part of your expenses. For instance, some parts are hard to find in my country and Mouser doesn't even has it the list (can someone suggest another shop that works with eastern Europe countries?).
You may of course have a board to the Ukraine.
I simply don't have the time to organise a big group buy of parts. I'm notup to scratch on good suppliers to Eastern Europe either - I'm sure someone else will have an idea though.
Edit: incidentally, you just got the 150th board!
And you took the value of the GB over £500!! (not that the value means anything because the quote for the higher number of boards should be coming in tomorrow so we'll go below £500 )
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