Minimig Case

[Darrin]

TheDaddy wrote:.

Excellent! Any more news on compatibility improvements?

I so want to play Superfrog, SWOS and Speedball 2 on my Minimig in its new shiny case!  :-)

I haven't done much with it yet as I'm fighting with my A4000 trying to get it to work right with a new Fast ATA 4000 board (I think it might not like these 80GB hard drives - although it was happy to partition one of them into 18 x 4GB chunks when I first ran it).

I did retry Rodland (the right hand screen is still missing) and Menace (shield still run down).  I think the work Denis did was on games that wouldn't load so I need to try the games in my "buggered" folder when I get a chance.

[Rob]

Dennis?

:-o

I am not Dennis...Rob,

 could you edit it please?

oops, sorry I was in a rush and obviously not thinking properly :oops:

[TheDaddy]

Thanks Rob.

 :-)

[TheDaddy]

@everyone

Quick update on the Minimig case (for those who are interested):

Prototype number 2 is entering the CAD stages. So it's basically ready to go into production.

I have only got a tiny little problem:

I have been told that the case might need to be tested (mechanical and fire tests) by a lab.

I am trying to find out if it's necessary for a case this small and only powered by a +5V (100-200mA).

The lab is going to let me know, mechanical tests are in the region of £650 (780 Euros)!

I haven't been told about price for the fire tests.

This is a bit of a blow to my project but I'll keep you informed.

[wolfchild]

Hi,

My compliments for your undertaking!

It's true that lab testing costs an arm and a leg,  but is it really necessary to do all these tests?  I don't even think that the Minimig has been put through the barrage of EMC tests applicable to electronic appliances.  From my experience in electronics R&D, it appears taht it will fail most if not all emission and immunity tests because it has no filtering and very minimal ESD protection.

Are you after CE marking?  But then, would it be necessary since you are selling a component part, rather than a finished product?  Please do check out CE marking documentatioan and regulations.  It might turn out that some tests are not even required! http://www.ce-marking.org/

As for fire testing, maybe you could skip those if you can prove that you are injecting with fire retarding plastic (UL-94-V0).

Good luck and keep up the great work!  Do we get to see more photos now?

Cheers!
Edwin

[chiark]

If you want to sell it as a stand alone component, my understanding is you should be fine.  (I am not a lawyer, or product expert, so take that as internet advice :-D )

If you want to sell it as an assembled device, with board, PSU etc, you'll need the whole lot to undergo the gamut of CE tests: suggest you steer well clear of those...

Keep stressing that it's a low volume hobbyist thing and include disclaimers when you sell them.  And good luck!

PS - more pics!

[TheDaddy]

@wolfchild

Thanks for your words and support.

>>It's true that lab testing costs an arm and a leg, but is it really necessary to do all these tests?

This is what I am trying to understand and find out. Some say yes and some say no, so I am in total confusion! :-?

The Minimig itself (pcb) is CE marked, my case apparently does NOT need CE marking, computer cases don't require the CE marking.

As you are rightly saying I am selling a component not the whole thing so I have no idea why it has to go through mechanical and fire tests.

>>As for fire testing, maybe you could skip those if you can prove that you are injecting with fire retarding plastic (UL-94-V0).

I am in contact with my manufacturer, at the moment they are translating the second prototype into CAD, they say they'll let me know.

Thanks for your advice. :-)

[Fester]

The limited photos of the case look very promising. I can't wait to see the finished version!

[TheDaddy]

@chiark

>>If you want to sell it as a stand alone component, my understanding is you should be fine. (I am not a lawyer, or product expert, so take that as internet advice  )

That was my understanding as well but British Standards are talking about mechanical and fire retardant tests...still waiting for their answer, maybe they think I have created a new personal computer!

>>Keep stressing that it's a low volume hobbyist thing and include disclaimers when you sell them. And good luck!
PS - more pics!

I am so annoyed because prototype number 2 is ready to go into production and my manufacturer is waiting for the go ahead but until this is clarified I can't do anything.
 :-(

[TheDaddy]

@Fester

>>The limited photos of the case look very promising. I can't wait to see the finished version!

Thanks Fester!

By the way, didn't we play Quake together in the Amiga Quake Clan a few years back? Together with Raef and Seven? :-D

[TheDaddy]

@everyone

Prototype number 2 is nearly finished.

I would like to know what people would prefer on their Minimig case;

1) Completely plain white gloss case

2) White gloss case with Minimig name on it (high quality adhesive vinyl) - slightly more expensive

3) Screen printed Minimig name on white gloss case (same quality as the screen printing used in the industry; laptop and desktops) - more expensive but better looking

Let me know your preferences so I can get an idea for the final product.

Soon more photos! :-)

[Fester]

TheDaddy wrote:
@Fester

>>The limited photos of the case look very promising. I can't wait to see the finished version!

Thanks Fester!

By the way, didn't we play Quake together in the Amiga Quake Clan a few years back? Together with Raef and Seven? :-D

I don't recall. Must be another Fester. :-)

[TheDaddy]

@everyone

Hi,

I am happy to let you know that a second preview of my case/enclosure for the Minimig (rev 1.1) is available:

www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

I would like to thank all the people who have expressed and registered their interest. Once I have the cost for screen printing the name on it, I will post the enclosure price and starting taking orders.

To all of you who have emailed me about a pre-order/pre-payment scheme I would like to say thank you, this will be available and should help me and speed things up a lot!

Please note there will be an initial limited production run so first come first serve.

Many thanks for your support.

Loriano

 :-)

[motorollin]

Looks very smart and professional. But could you *please* just post a photo of the whole thing? All we've seen so far are close-ups which are so zoomed in that you can't even see what shape it is...

--
moto

[TheDaddy]

Hello moto,

Thanks!

The whole enclosure is going to be displayed next week (I have one more thing to sort out).

I can tell you that the shape is square (it hugs the Minimig board) and it has round corners, overall a nice modern look.

This might be ported to the A1200 replacement case I am working on and possibly the Natami.

The manufacturer is checking the feasibility of the typeface and colour for the logo.

Regarding the logo, some of you have emailed me saying if we could have the boing ball (can I say boing ball or am I going to get sued? :-D ) bouncing over the "I" instead of the stylised sphere and the answer, at least for now, is no. I can't even get in contact with Amiga Inc. and the last thing I want is for Amiga Inc. to start another trial! :-D

The typeface and colour are in tone with the Amiga theme and I am happy with that, it stands out from the white, some of you have suggested silver but I will have to evaluate the costs.

Thank you, :-)

[TheDaddy]

@everyone

What a week we've had! :-)

OS4.1 and the enclosure for the Minimig!

A few dancing bananas:

:banana:  :banana:  :banana:

Minimig Enclosure Update:

Screen printing is TOO EXPENSIVE to have at the moment so the case/enclosure will be available in two formats:

Plain glossy white - so you can do whatever you want with it, put your own design/graphics or sticker on it or leave it in pure glossy white. Elegant, modern and sleek! 8-)

or

With the Minimig logo I have designed applied like in the photos, £8 (GBP) or 10Euros extra- there are several colours to choose from: black, yellow, purple, orange, silver, gold, red, maroon, blue, green, grey and a few others. Just tell me your colour choice at the time of pre-ordering. I have applied the logo in silver to the prototype and it looks particularly elegant and professional. ;-)

Please keep registering your interest as once we reach a minimum of 50 we are going into production! :-D

Thank you.

 :-)