Project roadmap
Before presenting the planned project schedule, it is important to stress that any timeframes given are only our best estimates and cannot be relied upon completely. We are undertaking development of the very best DAC possible and that is the primary goal which necessarily takes precedence to meeting any self-inflicted deadlines. After all what good is a DAC delivered on time, but knowingly crippled? That said, let’s look at the milestones and projected timeframes and the related installment payment schedule.
Stage 1 (First £100 installment)
- Beginning of September ’13 – Official start of the project.
- End of September ’13 – Completed circuit design and simulations of new analogue stage and power supply circuitry.
- Beginning of October ’13 – Start of prototype PCB layout to verify the newly developed analogue and PSU circuits.
- End of October ’13 – Prototype PCB design finished and manufacturing data issued to PCB vendor.
Stage 2 (Second £100 installment)
- Middle of November ’13 – Prototype PCB built, tested and qualified on the bench, starting design of the MDAC2 mainboard.
- End of January ’14 – MDAC2 mainboard design finished and manufacturing data issued to PCB vendor.
Stage 3 (Third £100 installment)
- End of February ’14 – MDAC2 mainboard prototype built, tested and qualified
Stage 4 The final stage “Production unit cost” £150 ~ £200 + optional Vishay Z-foil resistors + shipping etc.
- Beginning of March ’14 – placing orders for production quantities of material. Owners of Level 2 upgraded MDAC’s only get to pay the final installment that covers the production and shipping costs of the new Mainboard
- End of March ’14 – first MDAC2 mainboards coming off the production line