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I will stop selling drivers but there is something more to that...

Giannis_TDM

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Due to a recent EU wide customs law being passed and Greece being Greece, I can't anymore source parts and PCBs without raising the prices for my drivers, Has happened to a lot of other driver makers in the past and most of them just outright quit making drivers and the designs were lost to time, But I have another solution in mind: Open sourcing my drivers (under MIT licence so Chinese sellers cant copy and sell em) so members can order PCBs and components to make them themselves!

That is a very nice idea and would benefit everyone here but I hate to say that it would kind of financially destroy me atm cause I have about 30 drivers in stock and 200$ ish in parts, not to mention what I have spent on test equipment.... I poured a lot of money on development and test equipment cause a lot of members here were constantly mentioning that there is a lack of drivers but even now I hardly get any orders so I am wondering where the demand went.... This to say the least is also quite demoralizing.

Here is my Idea: Set a Paypal donation thing and as soon as it reaches 1 goal I will release a design(schematics and PCB files), Drivers that have different designs will also have a larger donation goal ex: 3A buck rectangular and circular design. Other designs consist of an 800mA capable small form factor boost and an up to 200mA extremely small PWMable boost depending on diode vF for tiny and cool projects. Some of the donation money will go on designing a 'killer' of a driver built on my previous knowledge with tons of never before seen features. Donation money will also help me make datasheets for the rest of my driver lineup, not only the 3A buck.

I am currently thinking: 1rst goal 200$ for the 2 3A buck designs, 120$ for the 800mA boost and 80$ for the 200mA boost design.

Please post opinions below.
Thanks for noticing, Giannis.
(Note: If you want to, Even after said designs are released as open-source you can still contact me with questions about them, and I should note that manufacturing at scale (above 10 in a single run) Is not allowed except if given permission upon contacting me in order to ensure 1: proper pricing 2: proper rights management 3: proper component selection, No cutting corners!)
 





Giannis_TDM

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Bump since this seems like it was seen by no one, I'd hate those designs to just be forgotten to time.
 

Giannis_TDM

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Yea, sadly. I've poured so many man-hours into those designs so I'd hate them being lost to time, Datasheet for the 800mA boost is almost ready too. I would love to just release the files (schematic,PCB and gerber files and BOM(bill of materials) for fabrication) but even in the few orders I got I made almost nothing but invested over a K in test equipment. Hence I will upload the designs on a donation goal setting to recoup back some cash, Oh I forgot Paypal for donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/koumoutsos
After a donation please shoot me a message here or in PMs so I can log it.
I also accept crypto, Adresses:
BTC:bc1q8j9t9q6ku30rktq7a9xn8pa4fr7w68rda7qdsd
ETH:0x13445914aD1f13771A90177b5f804983B68bFf72
Thanks for your time, Giannis.
 

Unown (WILD)

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Maybe we as a forum can buy the designs and have someone like DTR make them for sale on their website. I'd pitch in for that. What do you guys think?
 

Giannis_TDM

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Maybe we as a forum can buy the designs and have someone like DTR make them for sale on their website. I'd pitch in for that. What do you guys think?
Oh its way easier to make them in mass than you might think and the 17mm dia 3A buck you requested in said designs is included :), Just send the board file to JLC(select black soldermask, .8mm width and enig) and after they have made the board, arrange it to be shipped to an assembler where you give them the BOM and Pick and place file, after that just wait for the assembled PCBs to arrive at your doorstep(assembler can also do testing).
 

Giannis_TDM

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any good assemblers in mind?
I can do you one better, You can do a completely turnkey order (PCB + component sourcing + assembly) From PCBway(they also have some of the best PCBs in the game! The cost of assembly and PCB before components and extra options such as testing and stuff per PCB if ordering 300 is about 2,50$ per PCB for gold plated 2oz copper PCBs! That's what happens when you scale things up :) It will be about 2000$ (components will cost a lot depending on the distributor PCBway sources from) tops to make 300 drivers (aka ~7$ for each) those figures are calculated for my 3A buck. BTW I have so many friends saying that I should value my work more and charge extra for my designs but I feel like that price is good, anybody willing to donate more will be highly appreciated :), That money will go into buying me an electronic load so I am able to test higher power drivers and some of my other projects, mainly OSPSU(OpenSourcePowerSupplyUnit CC CV) and a 10A driver with TEC controllers and STM32.
 
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Unown (WILD)

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This is why we need a group buy. 2000 is money I don't have. We need someone who will mail out the drivers. I'm willing to handle the orders and communication with the company if no one wants to step up. Heck I'll even package them up but I can't use my address. Certain people are looking for it. What do you say guys? Maybe we can do a 1000 purchase instead. Or even 500 bucks.
 

Giannis_TDM

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This is why we need a group buy. 2000 is money I don't have. We need someone who will mail out the drivers. I'm willing to handle the orders and communication with the company if no one wants to step up. Heck I'll even package them up but I can't use my address. Certain people are looking for it. What do you say guys? Maybe we can do a 1000 purchase instead. Or even 500 bucks.
You can surely do that, Just remember bigger quantity = bigger savings per driver.
 

farbe2

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I understand your problem and honor your dedication. However I don't think it will be worth it. Drivers like these are already available at DTR. Yes they are more expensive BUT all the handling fee is included. Packaging, customer support, testing. All of that isn't cheap. I would say thats the most expensive part.

Making 300 drivers is also a shot in the dark. As you already said, you didn't sell well. So why would the batch of 300 sell well?
I think the market for Laserdrivers is pretty small. DTR and (Chinese) eBay got you covered already. Ebay also got driver in the 100mA to 5A range that sell for <10$.

For your bigger project with tec: this market seems also filled. Lasertack and Live Lasersystems sell high power small form factor TEC+Diode drivers. I don't see a need to develop something in this range.

Don't get me wrong, I am also a developer and also made laser drivers before (look at my RGB driver with atiny for my 3,3W RGB pointer). I tried to sell it on the forum, nobody wants one. Seems like almost everybody that wants a pointer these days goes to eBay and buys Chinese stuff or goes to Sanwu.

So I honor your work, but I don't think you can make money on this market. Use your (already purchased) testequitment and make something thats really in need. Maybe a spectrum analyzer for audio purpose? I am thinking about making something for ages. China only offers crap on this front but there seems to be a market for flashy light that look very nice. I myself would include a spectrum analyzer in my Hifi/Audio setup.
 

Unown (WILD)

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I honestly believe that availability will greatly increase sales or have a large a part in it. The problem with Giannis is that he's not in a great position to start out. If he got a butt load of money for inventory then it could become common place in ordering these drivers. I think if enough people do reviews then we can do a groupbuy.
Speaking of which I have a driver Bbe gave me to do a review on so I better get to it.
 

Giannis_TDM

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I understand your problem and honor your dedication. However I don't think it will be worth it. Drivers like these are already available at DTR. Yes they are more expensive BUT all the handling fee is included. Packaging, customer support, testing. All of that isn't cheap. I would say thats the most expensive part.

Making 300 drivers is also a shot in the dark. As you already said, you didn't sell well. So why would the batch of 300 sell well?
I think the market for Laserdrivers is pretty small. DTR and (Chinese) eBay got you covered already. Ebay also got driver in the 100mA to 5A range that sell for <10$.

For your bigger project with tec: this market seems also filled. Lasertack and Live Lasersystems sell high power small form factor TEC+Diode drivers. I don't see a need to develop something in this range.

Don't get me wrong, I am also a developer and also made laser drivers before (look at my RGB driver with atiny for my 3,3W RGB pointer). I tried to sell it on the forum, nobody wants one. Seems like almost everybody that wants a pointer these days goes to eBay and buys Chinese stuff or goes to Sanwu.

So I honor your work, but I don't think you can make money on this market. Use your (already purchased) testequitment and make something thats really in need. Maybe a spectrum analyzer for audio purpose? I am thinking about making something for ages. China only offers crap on this front but there seems to be a market for flashy light that look very nice. I myself would include a spectrum analyzer in my Hifi/Audio setup.
The thing with my drivers is that: They are proven, tested and they have tons of info available on them, good luck finding actual testing on said ebay drivers Or even the dtr ones, I am not seeing a datasheet anywhere. They are also quite simple and easy for a hobbyist to understand and further modify to their needs. furthermore, as Unown pointed out, the reason I am not selling well is that I haven't really made an effort beyond a few LPF posts to advertize or put them on a site like ebay or DTRs shop. Also who said that there will be no customer support here? I pointed out that I will 100% help anyone who encounters issues and reply to questions in general.
 

Unown (WILD)

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I say we do the group buy. Lately traffic is very low on lpf sadly. I know a few have hated me becoming a mod but I say don't let that bother you. I take my position seriously and will not use my power to make personal attacks. All I ask is for everyone to follow forum rules. Be nice to each other. That's the most important part.
LPF needs people who are willing to work with one another for this amazing hobby. Let's do it!
 




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