Proton BASIC Community

Les,
Why you not started to sale and development for Development Board range 28 pin to 40 pin or more than this pin and Debugger/Programmer.

So far I always use Pickit3 and debugger mikroC.


FWoro.

Hi,
Not specifically what you asked for but Les looked at a Positron 16 board which no doubt would have been really good. He then abandoned it as it is not worth the effort, as soon as he brings something out it will be cloned and sold for peanuts.

Bob

"The West" has a problem in that everything is expensive, and that is why as Bobby said "it will be cloned and sold for peanuts".

I think one should always keep a secondary purpose in mind. 
Even if the board is cloned, how can it still be beneficial ?
If it will make Positron sell, then the second purpose still could make it worth while, just mention as a hypothetical example.

The primary purpose of a business is not to make money, but to get and keep customers.
If you get to keep customers then you will make money as a result.

To evaluate your effort you have to consider what the competition does.
For example, I can buy a ESP32-C3 development board complete for only ZAR40.
It is less expensive than the 8 bit PIC I now use for a project.
The ESP board can be used for a large variety of apps, and is easy to use.

Which is why I suggested Les support the ESP32-S3. (Sorry)
This is currently Espresso's top of the range and it is an amazing micro.
When ever you open a website, even here in Sick Africa, they are available.
The last 400 I bought was from Mauser in the UK.
The previous same project I did with pics had about 8 comebacks.  Mostly stupid things.
Of the Esp versions, not a single comeback yet.  Also the customer insisted that we use the ESP's instead.
They liked the way it looked on the board.
The ESP32-S3 also have large solder tabs which is easy to inspect and rework if required, the larger SMD pics are not so easy.

I'm just mentioning from my experience.  I like the pics, always have and have been using them since they became available in Sick Africa (the UV erasable windowed versions).

The first reason I decided to switch from pic to ESP was availability.  We couldn't get pics because of the covid fraud, but ESP's were freely available, and I couldn't let the customer wait.
Even now that Trump imposed sanctions (more political BS) on Sick Africa, again less from the West becomes available and is more expensive.  The last pics I got was sent from Taiwan in any case, and were the wrong ones.  Now what ?

If you have any idea to remain competitive, then surely cost is important.

The question is, how do you make what you have attractive out there so that someone will want it.
We have the ability to create the most wonderful products... which may never be seen by most.

PS.  I looked at the random generator Les put on Youtube using a pic. 
My first question was, what can it be used for ?  Is it something I would want ?
My 2 C...

One more thing re Pics vs ESP's.
The ESP's comes with a USB to program the micro, something everyone already have. 
To use a pic you have to buy a programmer $$$.  Will a wannabe new guy go for the pic instead ?
If you can do the same, a USB program socket with a chip programming the pic from, then you already have something.
Imagine the image above is of a pic...

Design a PCB is not difficult for me, I have installed Dex, Diptrace and Sprint very longtime ago.
The library or macros many time I made by self, and always I used digital caliper to measure size parts.
Busy make me no have time todo this.
Back in few year ago, I always made my own PCB and send them to China PCB company.

FWoro