It seems that Jim N6OTQ has gone rather silent since I offered him an order
for 1000 boards at $2/each (which was a very serious offer).
-WB2WIK/6
> Thanks for the post Steve,
>
> Where is Circuit Xpress located? Can you give me some contact info?
> [Steve Katz] Of course. I thought everybody knew these guys, they
> are very popular for short runs of high quality boards:
>
> http://www.circuitexpress.com
>
> 229 S. Clark Drive
> Tempe, AZ 85281
> (480) 966-5894
>
> Been using them for years. When I go into "production" quantities
> (in the thousands), I usually go offshore to Taiwan, Korea, Singapore,
> etc. where prices are lower but deliveries are longer. Circuit Express
> turns boards in 5 days, standard lead time.
>
> For layout, I use ORCAD.
>
> 73 de Steve, WB2WIK/6
>
>
>
> Can you recommend an inexpensive layout program suitable for both
> analog and digital layouts?
>
> Thanks,
> Michael
>
> --- Steve Katz <stevek@jmr.com> wrote:
> > Jim, I have some comments and questions contained below. If you'd
> > answer
> > them, perhaps I and other readers might have a better
> understanding
> > of what
> > you're trying to say.
> >
> > 73 de Steve, WB2WIK/6
> >
> >
> > > Do you know what fabricated PCBs cost, even in short runs?
> > [Steve Katz] I think I do. I use Circuit XPress for short
> runs,
> > and after paying the $500 setup charge per layout for Gerber file
> > transfer,
> > a PCB the size and quality of the AR347 amp board is about
> $50/each
> > for the
> > first 10 or so, diminishing to about $25/each in 100+ lot runs,
> > assuming
> > high grade FR4 and 2 oz copper, tinned, plus silk screening.
> > > With the art work in hand, I could go to a custom board house
> and
> > have
> > > one-off boards custom-made for less than what CCI is asking. In
> a
> > > quantity
> > > run, the price would fall well below two dollars a board very
> > quickly.
> > [Steve Katz] If you can get me these boards for $2/each,
> seriously,
> > I'd like to place an order with you today for 1000 pcs.
> >
> > > And -- did you happen to check the price of the active devices
> for
> > that
> > > 1000-watt CCI amp? You probably will not believe me when I tell
> > you that
> > > it's over $900.
> > [Steve Katz] If you buy all the parts one-off, I'm sure
> you're
> > right. But CCI didn't design the amp, Motorola did, and I think
> they
> > sell
> > the BOM pretty reasonably.
> >
> > > On the other hand -- most of the RFE amps use the 2SC2879
> device,
> > which
> > > sells in small-handful quantities at about $15. each. Properly
> > biased and
> > > heatsinked, these are good for 100 watts each all day long.
> > >
> > > So on the one hand you've got CCI selling amps made from
> expensive,
> > > hard-to-power, hard-to-cool Motorola devices, and on the other
> hand
> > you've
> > > got RFE selling amps made from cheap, easy-to-power,
> easy-to-cool
> > Japanese
> > > devices.*
> > [Steve Katz] I don't understand the "hard to cool" comment.
> Is the
> > device Rthj-c higher? What's the Rthj-c of the 2SC2879?
> >
> > > The RFE amp goes straight out the door and under the dash of a
> semi
> > for
> > > about 20% of the cost of the CCI amp -- which requires some
> > relatively
> > > sophisticated work to power up.
> > [Steve Katz] All I can say is the obvious, which is: "If
> it's so
> > great, why don't they just apply for certification?" It's not
> > expensive to
> > do so. They'd have to lock out 22+ MHz per CFR47 requirements,
> but
> > could
> > include a retrofit kit to put 12/10m back in for licensed
> amateurs,
> > same way
> > everybody else does. I don't get their gripe.
> >
> > > Are you starting to get a clue about the political and societal
> > > ramifications of the RFE decision?**
> > [Steve Katz] Not really.
> >
> >
> > > Jim N6OTQ
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Amps mailing list
> > > Amps@contesting.com
> > > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
> > _______________________________________________
> > Amps mailing list
> > Amps@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
>
>
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