New FCDEV3B boards are here

[Mychaela Falconia]

Hello FreeCalypso community,

I am happy to announce that I have received the second batch of FCDEV3B
boards (S/N 009 through 016) from my contract manufacturer earlier
today, and all 8 boards in this batch are free of killer defects!  The
sleep mode bug is still there (as expected, as I haven't made any
changes that could cure it), but I have programmed the boards with a
firmware image built with DISABLE_SLEEP=1 (the software workaround of
not enabling sleep), and that is how they will be shipped.  All 8
boards successfully passed automated RF calibration for all 3 bands,
and will be shipped fully calibrated - unlike the messy situation we
had with the first batch.

The fw image programmed into this batch of boards and used for the RF
calibration and tests is this one:

ftp://ftp.freecalypso.org/pub/GSM/FreeCalypso/fcdev3b/fcdev3b-prod-fw-20170831.tar.bz2

It is functionally equivalent to moko13 fw that has just been released
for Openmoko devices.

As the next step, I need to finish the FCDEV3B User's Manual which I
started writing earlier, and once it is done, 6 boards out of this
batch will become available for retail sale.  (The other two are
earmarked for people who have contributed to last year's crowdfunding
run with the expectation of getting boards, but haven't got theirs
yet.)

The retail price for one tested and known-good board off the stock
shelf will be $500 USD.  The only accessories included in this price
beyond the bare FCDEV3B board itself are the WTH43006 GSM antenna and
a Weidmuller connector for making your own power supply cable.
Additional accessories available at extra cost:

* An ultra-compact power supply brick (93x49x35 mm) that goes from AC
  mains power (IEC 60320 C14 inlet) to the 3.6 VDC needed by the FCDEV3B.
  I have a small stash of these PSUs, but I am not able to find any more
  of them in retail sources, and I do not know how much it would cost
  to special-order a batch from the Chinese/Taiwanese manufacturer.

* An FCDEV3B to USB connection kit consisting of an FT2232D adapter
  board from pldkit.com and a hand-made cable for connecting it to the
  FCDEV3B with solid connectors on both ends, eliminating the need to
  manually connect and match up each individual wire.  These custom
  cables are very labor-intensive to make (I have only made just one
  for my own personal use), and whomever I hire to hand-make them will
  need to be compensated for her or his labour.

Alternatively, if anyone would like to order 10 or more boards as a
build-to-order batch, I should be able to bring the per-unit price
down to $350 or maybe even less depending on the quantity - but it
would need to be custom-negotiated.  You would also get your choice of
SnPb or RoHS solder in this case.

Hasta la Victoria, Siempre,
Mychaela aka The Mother