Topic: Klondike - 16 chip ASIC Open Source Board - Preliminary - page 57. (Read 435369 times)

The problem isn't the price but availability.
Two parts in particular but a third one probably as well.

PIC - SS or ML
0.36 uH Inductor
IR3895

The rest are easy and I would have bought heaps to resell as kits with boards if I didn't worry about not having those  to complete the kits.

If you can locate a heap of those for me I'll put together kits that will equal almost any group buy you could do, since many are ordering boards anyway and postage would not be much more.

I was thinking about setting up a group buy for the k16 parts. This would help most miners get their units at a much cheaper price. What do you think?

I was planning to pre-solder them but you gave me the idea now to just include tiny pcb and pin headers because I'm going to be so swamped to get everything packed and shipped quickly. 

I believe steamboat is including small cables with each board but he would have to clarify if that would instead of or in addition to a klego, and how long it is. Check in his thread.

does that need some soldering? Or is that just pop it on and connect the K16s. Also, are the I2C klegos shipped with each K16 steamboat, or are they purchased separately

I suspect you'll need these: https://klondikedesign.com/?product=klego-connector

I've already bought a bunch for the people in my assembly service who want to connect their K16s together. I'll be distributing them with the miners.

There is no "main board" KI6 are stand alone devices.

Could anyone provide me with a link or a partnumber for the I2C jumpers or cables I'll need to connect my K16s together? I have a single Raspberry Pi I plan to use as the host, and 8 K16 boards on order.

Indeed.  My apologies. 

MAybe you are confusing the K-16 with the Bit Fury offering?  The K-16 is a single board than can be chained with others via a jumper, and controlled by USB.
See the OP in this thread for a diagram.   Total height without the Heatsink is probably less than 10mm.

With the main board resting on a table with hashing boards plugged into it...what is the total height?

Responsible human beings is the goal, but ya bitcoin will be part of the curriculum.

Sounds like you foster new bitcoiners...

I can't wait to see that PDF. For my students just doing the bump and reflow of the ASIC only on K1s. It would be nice to see a video of one of these boards being made so I can show the kids how it is done. If anyone does build it DIY please post some video then I can use it as part of curriculum for the students.

To build either the K16 or K1 you need to be detail oriented and capable of fine work with small parts. I didn't find it terribly hard with any of the parts using tweezers but I think the ASIC packages are a bit easier with vacuum tweezers ($5 on ebay). I may add those to my store if people want them. You will want some kind of magnifying work light or head piece because getting good position without is going to be near impossible.

However, you aren't going to do either of these boards with a soldering iron. The only way really to get good results is with solder paste, stencil and oven. Going this way the only hard part is placing the parts on the board. You have to be very methodical in making sure each part is in the correct place and oriented correctly, and this will likely take several hours at least per board. A mistake can be disastrous. If that step is done properly then the reflow oven step is quite easy and quick, and you should have a working board within minutes.

I'll be putting together a PDF assembly guide with step by step placement diagrams and check lists to help with this, but as I've stressed a few times this is not a project for a beginner. Or at least not a beginner without a strong background in fine model making or clear idea what's involved here.

You are one of the talented people I was talking about then. ;-)   Have you seen this video?  Some good tips on soldering QFN packages. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_rO6oPVsws

What. Even the components that fit on the edge of a dime aren't that bad. I'm more worried about the tiny QFN48 package on the ASIC.

I want to buy a few of these, when would they be shipped? I'm guessing in a month or so, right?

Yes, that will work fine. You have to mount it on the board first, then press a 5 pin header attached to the PICkit3 to the pads on the board. Make sure it's the right way round.

How can i burning the firmware to PIC16LF1459-I/SS?     Microchip PICKIT3? Thank you.

+1  
Yes, some of the components can fit on the edge of a quarter ($.25 USD) with room to spare.  You will not be using a soldering iron on those with any reliability.
Strictly Solder paste stencil, P&P, and reflow oven for these.  Unless you are ***REALLY*** talented and have hands like a surgeon.