Since the V3 might take a long time to launch because ST components are non-existant right now, I’m kind of dreaming of designing another proffieboard. The RP2040 processor looks quite interesting, but has several potential issues, like:
So I guess the question is, is there a better MCU out there that is actually available?
Well, those are the con’s, what are the pro’s?
RP2040 pros:
Interesting idea, what would be the ideal for an alternative other than availability.
An ideal CPU would be:
I will have a look to see what I can find… and so the hunt begins
I forgot:
I really hope that the situation isn’t that bad. I really, really, really like the Proffieboard 3.7! But, if we are in that dire of straits with chips, I guess you have to do what you have to do. I really don’t understand how these chip companies aren’t just churning them out to meet demand, or why new companies haven’t opened up in the US to meet the consumer demand for them? Seems like there is a huge vacuum here that can be filled. I don’t understand all the logistical issues leading to the chip shortage, but somewhere in the middle of all of that is some grand opportunity for some person/company to make a lot of money very quickly. What caused all of this?
I think the problem is that TSMC and friends are limited in capacity, and they have not raised prices enough. (ST on the other hand has raised prices about 1000%). So lots of companies are panic-buying chips because they are still cheap if you order them from TSMC, and are willing to wait for a year. Companies that didn’t plan ahead enough are now stuck with no chips and a 1-year-or-longer wait time for new ones.
TSCM just raised their prices by 10-20% apparently, but I don’t think that’s enough.
If they doubled their prices, then maybe the panic-buying would stop.
So I am no expert in this field at all but was having a quick look when I found this…
Would something like this work?
I know it doesn’t tick all the boxes but was just curious.
That is the same one that I was talking about in the top post.
Ah sorry that slipped my mind when looking at all the numbers for the specs🤦
Everything else i have seen so far is either not what we need or not available, but I will keep looking.
In my sector (transportation/auto) we’re hurting far worse. To this day I understand the logistical and financial issues of a run-down scenario but not why the ramp-up is still delayed. Just wait until our tech-tools start failing. Snap-On and other companies are all over trying to get us next-gen stuff so we can run OBD2/CanBus reads and repairs.
That said, may I segue into the related topic?
What new and cool things can we go ahead and have available as v5.9.1?
Like say an official V2 release of:
*This first one may already be out…
-Hum stays on glitch fix.
-NoSloppy’s button config.
-On the fly color changes that Fett discussed.
-Mix and match that Fett discussed.
-Customized button sound option that NoSloppy helped me out with.
I get why things were held back for the V3 boards but at this point in time dealing with supply issues and what’s going on in the world why not just release things as official? Give the people stuff to play with.
*Also, YES, a side board solution if feasible would be nice but at the same time I’ll say just max out what we can do w V2’s even more. 
OS6 isn’t being held for V3 board, it will be released when it’s ready. It runs (and was developed) on v1.5 and v2.2 boards.
That’s kinda the impression I had but wanted to be sure. Thanks
Well this is interesting:
https://www.ti.com/product/TAS2559
It’s a 5.7W amplifier with a built-in booster.
That could potentially reduce the number of components needed.
It also has a builtin DSP and some other cool stuff that could be used to enhance the sound.
wow that’s awesome, would open up the possibility to use higher spec speakers and would sound amazing.
you must spend hours trawling though material to find this type of gold! (i tip my hat to you sir!)
Most of the time I prefer to use chips which have been well tested by other people, so I always start by looking at what breakout boards are available at sparkfun, adafruit and friends. After that it gets harder…
Could that be used for realtime pitch change and filtering?
Filtering: yes
Pitch change: no
Pitch change has to be done before mixing the audio.