Skunkboard: Special Edition (v5) Interest?

[+cubanismo]

2 minutes ago, CyranoJ said:

The GD drivers also don't need jumping through hoops and a 3rd party app (Zadig) to work in W10.

Incidentally, I took a second crack at a new installer that fixes this by integrating a driver installer (libwdi, the same backend Zadig uses) with the JCP installer. Ended up being much easier than it first appeared. I'm working on adding an option to add JCP's install dir to the path (Every command-line tool installer should have this option!) as well. Should have more to share on this in a few weeks.

[+cubanismo]

13 hours ago, davidcalgary29 said:

Will you be selling the miniboxes as well? I need a companion for my shrunken Xenon II: Megablast boxes.

Can't tell if this was a serious question or not, but I'll be publishing the raw box art files, so if you want a mini one, you can just print it on some heavy-stock glossy photo paper like I did and cut+fold+glue it up yourself.

[rayr]

Sign me up for one please. I'll put money down to hold my place in the pre-order.

[+Mitch]

I have been kind of following this thread. Just for my own clarification, I own a rev2 skunkboard with USB ports so these tools should work fine on it other than the save chip support, correct?

 

Thanks,

Mitch

[+cubanismo]

2 hours ago, rayr said:

Sign me up for one please. I'll put money down to hold my place in the pre-order.

No pre-orders, no list yet. I'll announce here when I'm setting up an official list and give everyone notice so they can be ready to pounce, but that won't be at least until I've gotten the production PCBs back. Probably a month or so out. The 2nd prototypes are back and working, but the silkscreen/logo looks funky now, so I'm going to do at least one more test build just to tweak the stupid graphics. Bleh. Have a plan to make the most of that too though.

 

1 hour ago, Mitch said:

I have been kind of following this thread. Just for my own clarification, I own a rev2 skunkboard with USB ports so these tools should work fine on it other than the save chip support, correct?

 

Yup.  Everything I've talked about so far besides the serial EEPROM stuff should work back to at least Rev.2 boards.

 

[Zerosquare]

Once again, if you have unpopulated prototype PCBs left, I may be interested

[+cubanismo]

Sorry, all the prototype boards have been populated.

[+cubanismo]

Just wanted to provide some updates since things have been quiet for a while. I'm still moving forward on this, and things are starting to come together. Lot's of things actually. The boxes are in:

 

 

They're a smidge taller than standard Jag boxes due to confusion over inside Vs. outside dimensions with the manufacturer. However, I verified they fit perfectly with no friction whatsoever in standard Jaguar box protectors (This one is from RetroProtection)

 

 

And they look fine to me next to the other boxes, so I'm not going to press it. Judge for yourself:

 

 

 

There seems to be a little variance in the "standard" boxes as it is, as is somewhat visible in that photo. The Telegames Zero5 box is noticeably thinner than the others, for example, after close examination.

 

I'll also be including standard tray inserts with boxed purchases of course:

 

 

Man those things are a pain to fold up.

 

I have a new JCP installer for Windows working now that includes an embedded USB driver installer, and which adds jcp to the system PATH environment variable so you don't need to worry about having it in the right directory or anything. Just open up cmd.exe and run "jcp" from anywhere. There's still some polish work to do on this (Make some things optional, looking into signing the executables), but this 3rd iteration of it is looking good. I'll be releasing a non-signed beta version of this for wider testing soon. So far I've only tried it on Windows 10, but I've built it such that it should work all the back to Windows XP for those of you who prefer to skunk from antique/repurposed laptops. I'm also looking into building an all-inclusive Mac binary that will run on x86_64 & those new ARM-based Macs (Apparently the official name is "Apple Silicon" ?) and bundle in USB drivers as well. I think it should be doable, but it's been a *long* time since I did any serious development on the Mac, so no guarantees there. Worst case I'll turn out a basic x86_64 Mac binary and some installation instructions. And of course, Linux users will the usual source + Makefile. I've personally verified the latest version of JCP itself, already available in my github repo, works on all of these platforms.

 

Still TODO for the "collector's edition"/boxed option: A reworked manual. I think I've found a printer to make these, but I'm procrastinating on generating the actual content. I have what I think will be a nice layout/theme in mind. Just a matter of sitting down and grinding out the text and art. I also have one other small goody completed to package in with boxed orders that I think you guys will like, but I'm saving that for a surprise.

 

I've also received all the non-rare components I need to keep me busy building boards for several months:

 

 

 

And I'm ordering an equivalent number of the more difficult to source components tonight.

 

Most importantly, after much hand-wringing, last minute nano-fiddling, and a 4th and final prototype run just to verify the back silk screen (Skunkboard Logo) is correct, the final PCBs themselves have been ordered and are in production. I should have them before the new year if all goes well. If everything looks good (fingers crossed), I'll open up an official waiting list while I start building up a little stock and polishing things off. Just so people don't expect miracles, note I can currently reasonably build about 4 of these a week (Few hours a night ~3 days a week). I might get a bit faster with more practice, and I might do a push and build a few more here and there, but it won't be sustainable. If you're in a hurry, I hear Game Drives are shipping soon with nice boxes of their own ?

[The V-Man]

Interested too.   

[Karyyk]

Also interested (would buy).

[SparkTR]

I'm interested.

[+MattelAquarius]

Count me in for 1, please.

[+cubanismo]

Glad to see this is still generating interest. Updates on status: The final PCBs have arrived, and they work:

 

 

I got enough to keep me busy building them indefinitely:

 

 

And the new JCP installers are ready for testing:

 

Only thing remaining is to finalize and print the manuals. Getting real close now!

[dfact0]

Awesome, I’m excited to see the progress on these.  I’m in for one for sure.

Edited January 11, 2021 by dfact0

[tbs123456]

I'll take one.

[evisu]

12 hours ago, cubanismo said:

Glad to see this is still generating interest. Updates on status: The final PCBs have arrived, and they work:

 

 

I got enough to keep me busy building them indefinitely:

 

 

And the new JCP installers are ready for testing:

 

Only thing remaining is to finalize and print the manuals. Getting real close now!

Great news and thanks for all your effort. Can´t wait to place the order finally

[wietze]

Id like to declare interest too! Sign me up for one.

[+cubanismo]

Finally, the manual is nearly finished. This was the last item that needed to get done besides cranking out board builds, and it took me much longer than I expected to ramp up on the tools and workflow involved. Apologies. Below is a little preview using a home-printed, manually cut version. Never mind the rough textured look. That's just my cheap printer and paper doing their thing. The real ones will be professionally printed.

 

 

 

 

And with this wrapping up, it is also finally time to open up the "official" order list. Before I detail the logistics, a few updates on the packages and pricing:

 

The full Collector's Edition package is all I'll be offering going forward, for the price of $120. Here's what's included:

 

 

 

• A Revision 5 SkunkBoard, with or without the two USB-A host connectors, packed in a protective anti-static bag.
• A custom-made red and black 8GB USB 2.0 flash drive with the SkunkBoard^SE and Jaguar logos, loaded with all the SkunkBoard software, source code, and misc. other assets. Everything you need to recreate from scratch what you just ordered if you so desire.
• Collector's Edition glossy purple box, matching original Jaguar game box dimensions.
• Standard cartridge tray insert.
• Completely rewritten User Manual, including custom diagrams and updated installer screenshots to guide you through the process of setting up and using your SkunkBoard, professionally printed, and matching original Jaguar game manual dimensions.

For those who have already indicated interest, here or by messaging me privately, you can choose to stick with the bare-bones package for the originally-quoted price of $100 if desired:

• A Revision 5 SkunkBoard, with or without the two side USB-A host connectors, packed in a protective anti-static bag.

Additional costs for all orders:

• Shipping in the US: $8.50 flat rate.
• International shipping: $30 for countries covered by USPS International Priority Mail. Actual value will be declared on customs forms and you'll be responsible for paying any tariffs/duties/local import taxes/etc.
• Sales tax of 7.75% for orders shipping to California.

Now for the practicalities of ordering. I've given some thought to how to organize this in a fair manner, and though it contradicts what I said here before a bit, I'm going with the following in an attempt to respect those who already showed interest:

• If your name's on the PCB, you get the collector's edition for $50, because you're awesome. Message me at any time to let me know if you're interested, and include your PayPal email address and the destination country. You're at the top of the list.
• If you've already replied here or messaged me privately indicating interest, you're already on the list behind those above, in the order of this thread, with private messages interwoven based on timestamps. All you need to do is send me a private message on the forums at any time confirming you're still interested, noting which configuration you'd like (USB connectors or not, collector's or bare-bones), your PayPal email address, and the destination country. If you messaged me privately before, please reply to the original message thread if possible. Do not respond on this thread. I will ignore such responses. I'll generate a PayPal invoice for you when your board is nearing completion.
• For anyone else interested, I'll be starting a new thread specifically for ordering right around 10PM Pacific Time tomorrow night (January 27th). This gives you over 24hrs to get ready. You'll be in line behind those listed above. I'll send you a private message requesting your email address and destination country for a PayPal invoice when your board is nearing completion.

If you messaged me privately, I'll maintain your privacy. If your name's on the PCB, the PCB is the list. For the others, here's the list I have so far of publicly-indicated interest, in order:

 

@im_reg

@WAVE 1 GAMES

@Machine

@atari2600land

@oakcitycomics

@Fadest

@bombflare

@Arcadia

@phoboz

@davidcalgary29

@Iwantgames:)

@BitJag

@jguff

@omf

@TXG/MNX

@evisu

 

@WilcoL

@philipj

@jgkspsx

@Umberto

@rayr

@The V-Man

@Karyyk

@SparkTR

@MattelAquarius

@dfact0

@tbs123456

@wietze

 

I expect to begin shipping in February. If your board is ready and you haven't responded confirming your interest yet, I'll move on to the next confirmed customer, but you won't lose your spot in line.

[+Sauron]

Go ahead and remove me from that list. Considering I just shelled out for the JagGD, I'm not going to be able to afford the Skunkboard for a while.

 

 

[im_reg]

I'm still interested thank you. Will send you PM.

[SparkTR]

Still interested. Can't hurt to have this AND a GD!

[tbs123456]

Still interested, but I can wait until the last one. Busy life right now so won't have time to play with it for a little while.

[+davidcalgary29]

I'm still interested!

[+orpheuswaking]

I don't need a Skunk as I have two but that manual is really cool. 

[Machine]

Yeap, I still want one, thanks! Sending PM now...

 

Edited January 27, 2021 by Machine