What the VideoStar jr. really costs

The question of "true costs" involved for projects of this sort always makes for interesting discussion. If you're reading this, you're probably doing this as a hobby and have some experience with building projects and tinkering, so you know the time involved can be "excessive"... (your spouse probably knows this better than you...)

One can break down the cost of any project   into several components (this assumes that you're doing this for yourself, not selling it. That adds lots of additional expenses)

  1. Design

  2. Implementation

  3. Parts

  4. Manufacturing

  5. Testing

  6. Use

 

Breakdown and discussion of costs
Step Description Your Cost Actual Cost
Design Design time, I'm already doing. This includes user interface design as well as the design of the circuitry. Some of this is being shared via on-line discussions which are helping to spread this out. It's also hard to quantify because the jr device is based on another which I've spent many hours developing.

However, none of this costs you anything, so we'll mark this as a $0.

 $0.00 Previous work:
2 months?
~$20,000

New work for jr:
1 week?
~$2,000

 
Implementation By implementation, I mean coding. Once the circuit board is prototyped and checked out, one can spend a lot of time in the coding phase.

In reality, implementation also has to include costs of programming tools, microcontroller tools, etc. However, again, I'm doing this, and hopefully others will contribute to the open-source initiative, so this ultimately won't cost you anything either.

 $0.00 Programming & development tools:
~$1,000

Actual coding time:
(still in progress)
Projected ~1 month
~$10,000
Parts Parts is parts. Often when discussing the "cost" of an item, the parts cost is mistaken for the "cost". In fact, for a commercial product, the parts cost is often a small component of the ultimate cost.

However, for this project, parts are largely what you're paying for. For the VideoStar jr. project, you'll spend a very modest amount.

The circuit board will be the most expensive single part. In low quantities, one can now get prototype boards made for ~$40.00. Since I'm not looking to make hundreds of boards, I'll probably just order a small batch for those interested, and pass on the charges. Count on about $40 for circuit board expenses.

Also, remember cabling and connectors. For this project, you'll be needing the following. You can get them cheaply at Jameco:

  • RS-232 cable - DB9F-DB9M: $7.00
  • Temp. Probe cable - stereo plug, 10' wire: $5.00
  • Focuser cable - 6 pin phone cable, 7': $1.50
  • Hand controller cable - 6 pin phone cable: $1.50
  • Power supply - 9-12v 1a DC output transformer: $5.00
 Parts:
<$50.00

Circuit board:
~$40.00

Cabling & power supply:
$20.00

Total parts:
~$110.00

 Same
Manufacturing Manufacturing involves soldering parts together, drilling the box, making labels, etc. All the things that often lead to system failure!

In the VideoStar jr. design, I've attempted to build everything onto the main circuit board, so as to greatly simplify manufacturing costs. For you, the cost is your time, so I won't attach a $ value to that.

 $0 2 hours:
~$100