Back from the Dead!

[EvilDragon]

Well, I'm back! Not from the dead, but as I didn't really visit the boards or IRC a lot lately. I might've felt to some like I was dead.

I'm doing fine, no worries. But the shop was swamped with orders until two days ago (I was packing and shipping 40 - 100 orders per day!) that I didn't find the time for much else.

Thankfully, things are back to normal again, so here I am! And I brought some news with me, as things have not stopped in Pyra development.

1. The SATA-Adaptor

Not everyone is interested in one, I guess, but the SATA-Adaptor has mostly been finished.
It plugs into the USB-Port of the Pyra and splits the signal to both USB 2.0 and SATA.
Keep in mind that it's only for the Pyra.

I'll create a small case for it which you can either print yourself or maybe I'll do an injection mould plastic of it as well (depends on the demand and costs).




2. JTAG

There's no direct JTAG connection on the Pyra PCBs (we didn't have enough space), but the SD-Card slot can be used for it!
All you need to do is boot a special kernel and use this simple SD-to-JTAG-Adaptor.



This is helpful for everyone who wants to do some low-level hardware debugging.


3. The CPU-Board fixes

Nikolaus has used the last few days to vastly improve the VIA- and capacitor-setups on the CPU-Board.
He's rechecking it currently to make sure it's the best we can achieve with the current layout.
After that, as mentioned in the last post, it will be sent to a community member who can run a simulation on it which will show us the improvements and make sure it's good enough for the full 1,5GHz speed.


4. And the rest...?

Well, all companies involved in the Pyra production had holidays, and like most companies here, they'll resume work on Monday.

Then I'll bugger them all to move ahead with full speed, and of course I'll keep you informed.

Oh, and by the way: A happy New Year 2017
May our journey finally bring us to the finish line

 

[slimeycat]

bugger them!

 

[comradekingu]

Send the whole fleet.

Pew pew!

 

[sm0kew0n]

Happy new year!

+1 for both those boards, looking forward to it.

Cheers!

 

[mecksg1]

ED if you want to send me the files i can print some of those SATA-Adaptor cases if you want to see how they work?
and im most interested in both of those products

 

[triblelife]

3. The CPU-Board fixes

Nikolaus has used the last few days to vastly improve the VIA- and capacitor-setups on the CPU-Board.
He's rechecking it currently to make sure it's the best we can achieve with the current layout.
After that, as mentioned in the last post, it will be sent to a community member who can run a simulation on it which will show us the improvements and make sure it's good enough for the full 1,5GHz speed.

Happy New Year ! and have a rest yourself.
i have some questions expect the CPU board. how a question. what about the preorders that is beyond the 1000. I am in the position of 983 and there are 50 pre-pre order that are not commit in pre order yet. i think i would be behind the 1000 units. dose it mean that i have to wait to the second production?
Thank You!! ED

 

[codifies]

tehe tehe I'm guessing ED doesn't know what bugger means in blighty !

anyhow childishness aside, things like the sd->jtag adaptor is amazing, can you just imagine the Sonys or nindies of this world making like so easy for developers... well not while they think the stuff you bought is still theirs anyway....

Do you get full sata speed out of that connector? I'd forgotten about it! I can actually see me designing and printing myself an SSD sleeve - mind you super bulky might be better as a base station (ducks)

 

[szr]

Happy New Year to you too, ED!

One question. I thought the SATA connection was going to be E-SATA, but the second picture looks like an internal SATA connector (with the L shape), which is fine, but how will power be routed?

 

[Xcl4m4t10n]

Happy new year to ED and everybody on boards .

BTW, will we have a special package *cof*w/discount*cof* with the SATA adaptor and JTAG PCB?

And had you time to think about "upgrade" vouchers? I would like to change mine for a 3G version but I still didn't have any answer (And I have been asking for it for long time ago... Don't read me wrong, I'm not mad, just asking it again ).

 

[Letalis Sonus]

but how will power be routed?

eSATA doesn't provide power either, that's only being provided by eSATAp. Basically, the only difference between SATA and eSATA is the slightly higher signal voltage tolerance to make longer cables less problematic (higher minimum transmitting voltage, lower minimum receiving voltage).

 

[szr]

eSATA doesn't provide power either, that's only being provided by eSATAp. Basically, the only difference between SATA and eSATA is the slightly higher signal voltage tolerance to make longer cables less problematic (higher minimum transmitting voltage, lower minimum receiving voltage).

Thanks. I had forgotten about that. Still, how will power be routed to a SATA drive?

Usually SATA drives use this sort of connector for power:

Spoiler

I've seen cables like these before:

Spoiler

but I'm not sure if this is the right thing to use with something like the Pyra with this custom SATA/USB adaptor, or if one or two ports usb ports worth of power would be needed (for, say, a 3.5" SATA HDD or perhaps an SSD.)

 

[AnimatedFreak]

Infinitive SATA! (I know this wouldn't work but when I saw the image I had too)

 

[Grench]

1. The SATA-Adaptor

Not everyone is interested in one, I guess, but the SATA-Adaptor has mostly been finished.
It plugs into the USB-Port of the Pyra and splits the signal to both USB 2.0 and SATA.
Keep in mind that it's only for the Pyra.

I'll create a small case for it which you can either print yourself or maybe I'll do an injection mould plastic of it as well (depends on the demand and costs).

Opens a pile of questions...

Is there any chance some of those will be done in time to ship with the prototypes?

How much are they going to cost? Once known, a quick poll might yield an idea of how many will want them...?

How many would need to be ordered to make it worth creating an injection mould for them?

I'll want one, but have no access to a 3D printer. From the looks of it, since they're linear, a person might be able to cut a short section of large diameter (OO gauge?) heat shrink connection insulation and have it done in under 5 minutes using a heat gun or hair dryer.

cheap:
https://www.amazon.com/Toolkit-127pc-Shrink-Sleeve-Assortment/dp/B014HMEOXU
or more robust:
https://www.amazon.com/Dual-Wall-Adhesive-Marine-Shrink/dp/B01LMRE1H2

Could that make very quick and 'good enough' cases for them?

 

[Bernd]

Not everyone is interested in one, I guess, but the SATA-Adaptor has mostly been finished.
It plugs into the USB-Port of the Pyra and splits the signal to both USB 2.0 and SATA.
Keep in mind that it's only for the Pyra.

I'll create a small case for it which you can either print yourself or maybe I'll do an injection mould plastic of it as well (depends on the demand and costs).

Isn't a pice of heat shrink tube enough as a simple housing?

[Edit]
Ahh, Grench was a little bit faster.

I think a roll of fitting heat shrink tube form Alibaba,... will be cheaper.
[/Edit]

 

[TrashyMG]

Isn't a pice of heat shrink tube enough as a simple housing?

I was thinking just that. not too classy, but cheap.

 

[Letalis Sonus]

Still, how will power be routed to a SATA drive?

You can get dedicated power supplies for that, many desktop drives need a 12V supply anyway. Some older mobile disks actually require a 3.3V supply and won't even spin up without it. The 3.3V supply has already been removed from the SATA standard, though.

 

[Grench]

Isn't a pice of heat shrink tube enough as a simple housing?

[Edit]
Ahh, Grench was a little bit faster.

I think a roll of fitting heat shrink tube form Alibaba,... will be cheaper.
[/Edit]

If you were going to do a few hundred using all the same size - i.e. if ED were going to do it to them all, then yes. For the rest of us, without knowing ahead exactly what size is going to fit best, and who may use the rest on other stuff, the $3 variety pack is hard to beat.

Regardless, I think we're on the same page that, if heat shrink will work, fancy plastic injection molded cases for the eSATA adapter dongle might be overkill. Properly sized and evenly shrunk without burning, heat shrink tube doesn't look particularly 'bad'.

 

[iArnold]

Happy happy newyear to the whole team and all supporters!! May the orders flow in and the Pyra's flood the world!

 

[levi]

My external SATA housing only uses one USB3 cable for data and power, and I currently have it plugged into a USB2 host port delivering (I assume) only 5V at some amps, and that seems to be able to power my full-sized 3.5" hard discs just fine. Maybe my USB2 PCI card actually supports USB power at higher voltages though, I dunno.

 

[rSl]

happy new year!
the jtag-adapter is freakin' cool!