More Info About New TouchDRO Adapter

Monday, May 3, 2021

After my last post I received a few dozen emails from people with follow-up questions. Some of them were covered in the last post, but I suspect that it was too long and most people mostly skimmed it for the highlights. Rather than answering the same four or five questions in individual emails, let me just post the abbreviated version of the last post in an FAQ format.

When will the new board be ready for sale?

The first batch of 200 boards should be here around May 26th (at least that is the order due date). Historically, the assembly house I use delivers them a few days ahead of schedule, but this time they had some issues getting one of the parts, so I don't have the exact ETA. Assuming the boards come on time and pass the testing, I am ready to turn on the ordering page the same day. In other words, the firmware is done and thoroughly tested, the documentation is almost done, etc.

Can I reserve or pre-order a unit?

No. I don't feel comfortable taking people's money for a product that is not ready for sale. The boards I've tested were all hand-built prototypes. I want to ensure that the machine-built batch passes my inspection and testing before I commit to shipping them out.

Will the new adapter come with a box?

New adapter in 3D printed and laser cust enclosure

Yes, the adapter will come with a 3D printed box (optional?). In fact, this time the Shahe adapter will have this option as well. The box is somewhat larger since the board itself is larger and there is a cavity in the box for a small lithium battery.

How much will it cost?

The price will be the same as the old adapters. It is based on my actual costs with a fixed margin. If at some point the sales increase enough so I can order larger batches, the price will likely go down.

What is the battery for?

The battery is connected to the separate supply rail that provides power only to the scales. Since the scales' power supply is isolated from the main processor and BlueTooth, the power consumption is extremely small, on the order of micro Amperes. As a result, the battery can power the scales for a long time. The obvious benefit of this setup is that when TouchDRO loses power, the scales will still be powered up. In practice, this will give you the same behavior as absolute scales, but at a fraction of the cost.

The adapter is ready for a lithium battery backup

Will the battery be included?

No, the battery will not be included and I will not be selling them. I can't legally ship them via USPS, so they will need to ship via UPS or FedEx ground service, which is a lot more expensive than USPS. That said, the batteries are pretty standard and can be purchased from eBay, Aliexpress and other usual suspects.

I used batteries from Adafruit that can be found here: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3898 . They are not much different from the cheaper options but the shipping is much faster within the USA.

Can I trade in my old adapter?

No. It's not feasible for me to handle and refurbish the old adapters, and the margins on the new one are not large enough to eat that cost.

Will the new adapter fix jumping last digit?

No, it will not fix it. This is an inherent problem with the scales, and there isn't much the adapter can do without sacrificing resolution or accuracy. I have added some post-processing that will make the jumping less prominent, though.

This question comes up a lot, and it's probably the most common complaining about iGaging EZ-View + TouchDRO setups. I will post a more detailed explanation of why this is happening in a separate post in a few days.

1 comment :

  1. Does the new IGaging box have a inlet built into the edge for a power supply inlet plug?

    ReplyDelete