Is anyone starting a Ren16 Parts Group Buy?

[RocketRick]

I have my 8 Ren16 boards ordered from WJohn, and I'll be needing to populate some or all of them (depending on what the final price works out to, and how many I can afford this time around).

Is anyone here who meets the Group Buy requirements planning to run a Ren16 group buy?

Thanks in advance,

- Rick

[klanger]

So now that the boards are being sent out, is anyone thats eligable starting a parts coop?
Doing one from here in Aus is not feasable.

And getting parts sent here for a couple of boards isn't that cheap either.

[RocketRick]

I ended up just researching all of the parts, and buying what I needed on my own from a combination of Digikey, Jameco, and Mouser. With 8 boards, I was able to hit pretty good discount levels on my own. I ended up getting a few extra parts here and there, "just in case" -- especially when getting, say, 10 of something instead of 8 could push me to the next discount level.

I made a few changes from the "official" BOM:

1) There didn't seem to be any reason to use expensive 1% tolerance metal film resistors, so I substituted equivalent 5% tolerance carbon film resistors, instead.

2) The BOM claims that the 821-TS7805CZ regulator from Mouser is a 3 amp part. It isn't. Just like every other 78xx series TO-220 package voltage regulator I've ever seen, it's a 1 amp part. To handle more current, you need to go to a larger package, such as a TO-3 (which would need a board redesign, anyway, to fit). I found an equivalent at Jameco (their #876125) for about 10 cents cheaper.

3) Digikey had the best price on the PICs ($1.36 ea.), as long as you bought 25 at once. I needed 16, but figured the extras could make their way into future projects, or be programmed with alternative firmware to test out higher baud rates, etc.

4) I went with the Jameco #140425 Triacs, which are 4 amp devices, rather than the 8 amp ones specified. However, they're only $0.26 each in quantity, rather than $0.60 each for the original ones through Mouser in the same quantity.

5) Instead of buying a bunch of 2-pin headers for the configuration jumpers (and 1-pin ones for the test points), I just bought a number of the #WM6636-ND 36-pin headers from Digikey, which can be easily cut apart into any length needed. Cheaper, too....

- Rick

[muttley]

I'd be in for coop on these boards. I was waiting until the boards came in to start getting in on a coop.

[wjohn]

boards are shipped to those who have paid, Rick's points around the BOM make sense. Any chance you could fully document those recommendations and place it in the WIKI?