@All

I have come back from my 2 hours meeting with the engineer. We have discussed my case design and solution for the Minimig and there are positives and negatives.

Negatives:
The original design will have to go through some SERIOUS revisions unless people are prepared to pay around the £75 (GBP) mark for it!

So to reduce costs and bring down the final price these are the things that I have been forced to drop:

1) The switches for the reset and menu buttons..............gone
2) Fancy chromed bits..............gone
3) LED acrylic window...............gone
4) Aluminium cover....................gone
5) Engraved lettering....................gone (replaced by printing)
6) Power acrylic window (to display the power LED).........gone
7) Choice of different colours cut from ANY to 2

Positives:
Price should be cut dramatically and the prototype for the new revisioned case should be ready next week.

And they want me to pay for it on delivery.

So there you have it...you are up to date.

I am a bit depressed but this is what is like creating a custom case for such a small market...

Anyway I am going to pay for the prototype next week and then post some pictures. If enough people want to buy it I can order a batch otherwise I will be the only one with a very expensive custom made case for the Minimig!

Thanks.

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www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

@TheDaddy

Is it right to say the final revision one can buy is round about 50 GBP?
What is it in Euro?

If it is a nice case I would buy it

@hhjoker

>>Is it right to say the final revision one can buy is round about 50 GBP?

That I can't say yet because all I am getting next week is the prototype. The prototype is the expensive bit. Prototypes cost LOTS, we are talking hundreds and hundreds of pounds.

The final price will depend on:

1) How much developing and production costs I have been able to cut
2) How many I "believe" can be sold. Manufacturers work on offs/batches. So they say:"It is going to cost you £ XX for 50 or £ XX for 100". I will have to decide how many I need to order and sell and this is the risky part! :(

>>What is it in Euro?

From XE.com £50 = 62.34 Euros
but I can't say until next week what the final price is going to be.

>>If it is a nice case I would buy it

I am glad. :)

The original design concept was nice, aluminium, plastic and chrome bits but the revised (cheaper) one should still be a nice option. I think it's better than having the Minimig naked on the desk with all the things that could happen to it; liquid spillages, kids, static and so on, at least it's protected.

I now understand why all the Amiga cases we have had through the years were so expensive!

_________________
www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

@TheDaddy

I'm impatiently awaiting the first photo shoots from your prototype.
Nearly sure I will get a case from you!

Greetings,
hhjoker.

@hhjoker

Thanks hhjoker. I have about ten people already on my list. Hopefully I can order a minimum of 50 and sell them all.

I have no pictures to show yet but these are the specs:

Plastic enclosure
iPod white/cream or metallic silver finish
It encloses the Minimig completely
All the ports are accessible
Hole for the reset switch
All the ports are identified/marked with their names
Rubber feet
No screws assembly (to be confirmed)

Also to be confirmed (this might push the price slightly up)

EMI/RFI screening
CE marking (if needed)

Thanks.

Last edited by TheDaddy on 21-May-2008 at 03:34 PM.

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www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

@TheDaddy

Sounds great !

Sounds great...
I'm now considering buying one case + mini_mig.
I didn't want to pull out the hacksaw.

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@TheDaddy

Quote:

TheDaddy wrote: I have no pictures to show yet but these are the specs: Plastic enclosure iPod white/cream or metallic silver finish

Hmm... Plastic is fantastic. Only downside being one mostly needs moulds to make plastic parts. (well, there are more downsides... ).

It wasn't possible to make your design using sheetmetal? No matter how, I'm keeping an eye on here to see the results. Now, I'm off to the back garden again, finishing my canal so that the ship with money can come in.... :-S

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@meet.mrnrg

>>Sounds great...
I'm now considering buying one case + mini_mig.
I didn't want to pull out the hacksaw.

Fingers crossed next week I'll have something to show.

This is my first product design so I hope that it's a good comprimise between developing costs and looks but mainly it gives all of us Minimig users a case to put it in.

Last edited by TheDaddy on 21-May-2008 at 06:52 PM.

_________________
www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

@Amiga_3k

>>Hmm... Plastic is fantastic. Only downside being one mostly needs moulds to make plastic parts. (well, there are more downsides... ).

Plastic is way cheaper than anything out there, you can produce prototypes really quickly, one to two weeks compared to months for other materials.

>>It wasn't possible to make your design using sheetmetal?

The original design contained aluminium components and a metal frame, it takes far too long to make and market and costs are higher too. If I can manage to sell enough cases I could make a revision 2 and maybe invest time and money in a case for the Natami.

>>No matter how, I'm keeping an eye on here to see the results. Now, I'm off to the back garden again, finishing my canal so that the ship with money can come in.... :-S

I hope you are going to like it. I don't want people to have huge expectations, as I said before, if it were for me I would have made it in aluminium and in different colours (maybe I would have used my Walker Design) but I have only got a limited budget and I am risking a lot of my money...maybe one day...

Thanks for the support.

Last edited by TheDaddy on 21-May-2008 at 06:41 PM.

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www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

@TheDaddy

Nice to hear that you have progress on your project - look foeward to it.

Just got my minimig today, but there is one thing that i can't figure out: On the "On Screen Menu" - there is a menu-entry "reset", but when I select it absolutely nothing happens. If I wan't to change program or game, I have to reset it via the reset button on the board - is that the way it's supposed to be?

Where's the most updated compatible list - opencircuits? I have a few entrys for the Works-list that I would like to add to the most official list.

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Maintainer of www.bigbookofamigahardware.com

@bitman

>>Nice to hear that you have progress on your project - look foeward to it.

Thanks.

Just got my minimig today, but there is one thing that i can't figure out: On the "On Screen Menu" - there is a menu-entry "reset", but when I select it absolutely nothing happens. If I wan't to change program or game, I have to reset it via the reset button on the board - is that the way it's supposed to be?

Mine does that too, I don't know why, I'll ask around and let you know...


>>Where's the most updated compatible list - opencircuits? I have a few entrys for the Works-list that I would like to add to the most official list.

Yes opencircuits. Someone is also working on writing to ADFs and improving compatibility. There are talks about Atari ST and C64 emulation, so you could have a SD Card with Atari ST, one with C64 and so on.

You can add tested games to opencircuits and also email the results to me www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

I am keeping another list of games to compare with opencircuits and refine the results.

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www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

@TheDaddy

Here's the entries i've added to the opencircuits list (listed as bitman_dk):

A-train Works bitman_dk
B.A.T Works bitman_dk
California Games 1
Creatures
New Year Lemmings
Silkworm Works bitman_dk: Few vertical lines on some levels
Uridium 2 Works bitman_dk

Could the Opencircuits liste somhow be seperated into
Games
Demos
Applications

I think the liste is getting long and hard to read?

_________________
Maintainer of www.bigbookofamigahardware.com

@Everyone

Just a quick update on the Minimig case/enclosure:

Prototype ready in less than 2 weeks.

Photos to be published as soon as I get the prototype back.

I will have a limited amount of cases, as these 5 months of research and development (sketches, models etc.) plus the cost of the prototype itself have almost eaten up all my budget!

So they will be sold on a first come, first served basis.

Specs:

Accomodates and encloses the Minimig version 1.1, as sold by ACube/Vesalia/Amigakit, completely.

Plastic case with accessibility to:

SD-Card
Mouse and keyboard
Amiga joystick/mouse
VGA port
Audio connector
Serial port
DC IN (Power) port
Reset switch (through hole)
Menu switch (through hole)

Included:
Rubber feet
Ventilation slots
Holes for visual access to LEDs (power and drive)
Easy Assembly/Disassembly system
Motherboard pillars (x2)
Instructions leaflet

Colour: Gloss White (iMac/iPod like)
RoHS compliant product

Options:
RFI and EMI shielding (at extra cost)

Thank you.

Last edited by TheDaddy on 14-Jun-2008 at 06:14 AM.
Last edited by TheDaddy on 31-May-2008 at 12:01 PM.
Last edited by TheDaddy on 31-May-2008 at 11:47 AM.

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www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

@everyone

Hi,

Another small update on the Minimig case:

I have had confirmation that the CE mark is not required for my case but one or two tests on the material used might be needed.

Anyway I'll keep you informed.

_________________
www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

@everyone,

The prototype case/enclosure for the Minimig has arrived!

It looks good in glossy white.

I need to check it and then I'll post a few photos.

Later.

_________________
www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

@TheDaddy

Fine

Wanna see

@TheDaddy

Quote:

The prototype case/enclosure for the Minimig has arrived!

PICS!! PICS!! PICS!! PICS!! PICS!! PICS!! PICS!! PICS!! PICS!! PICS!!

Oh, and your sketches too please!! :)

tiffers

@tiffers

I won't have time to post the sketches/technical drawings I am afraid.

I am running out of money and time. I have paid for the prototype, GULP! that really hurt!

At the moment I am just playing with my Minimig in my prototype case...it looks cute!

I need to play with it as much as possible so I can report back to the manufacturer for adjustments.

It's square, it encloses the Minimig completely, with round corners, glossy white, imagine Apple iPod type of plastic, tiny holes over the Menu and Reset buttons, so you can reset using a pin or whatever, all the ports are accessible. Tiny holes in line with the LED (Power and Drive) so you can see them. It's quite sturdy.

Air vents on the bottom.

This will be the first bespoke/original Amiga related case probably since Commodore.

I hope you like it and buy it so I can work on more cases, next is the Natami.

Thank you,

_________________
www.loriano.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

@TheDaddy

Well pictures would help if you want us to buy the case.

_________________
Maintainer of www.bigbookofamigahardware.com