Hey folks 👋
long time no see! Or read? But there was progress!
Hardware Issue resolved
From the beginning, I had bad luck: one of my motherboards never worked properly with PokyPow power LED detection. So, I sent it over to Soldered, and they figured out the issue!
- A computer is powered on, and a positive voltage is applied to
the LED plus pin, while ground is permanently connected. This works perfectly. - The second type works so that a constant positive voltage is always present on the LED plus pin, while the LED minus pin, which is ground, is normally disconnected and only connected to ground when the computer powers on. This closes the current loop and turns on the LED.
Problem: The optocoupler was tied to ground all the time with the second LED configuration and was always on.
Solution: Connect the optocoupler cathode to the LED minus pin instead of ground.
This is an easy change and does not require a new prototype run, which is good. Those cost time and money!
Still weird that this isn't in a spec for ATX or whatever. Manufacturers can basically do whatever they want. I am glad I encountered this problem myself and early on.
Funding
First, I got pricing from Soldered batches of 50, 100, and 500 PokyPows. Then I did some manufacturing logic and played around with numbers. The spreadsheet was provided by CrowdSupply. Things like manufacturing quotes, tariffs (thanks to Trump), a fee from CrowdSupply, credit card fees, and more.
Still a lot of estimates, but it was very valuable!
Ordering 50 will not make any sense from a cost perspective. But the values for batches of 100 and 500 are something that could work!
I sent the spreadsheet to CrowdSupply 2 weeks ago and am now waiting for feedback.
Now it is time to wait. Again. My biggest personal weakness of impatience is tested with this project to a great degree 😅
Will reach out to you next week again, because I have been cooking something up!
