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Permalink Reply by Brandon on February 20, 2012 at 6:47pm

Does anyone know?

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Permalink Reply by Vernon Barry on February 20, 2012 at 7:58pm

Well, I guess the bigger question is, if you aren't going to use it on a quad, why not use the ARDUIMU V3?

I'm not trying to discourage you, just saying the biggest holdup on the AMP2.0 boards is the barometer ICs (mostly why they have been held back in production), and ground based stuff wouldn't need it. Further, if you're not using RC control, the PPM isn't needed. I'm not saying that you cannot build the boards cheaper but I also know for a fact, a small production run is likely to cost more per unit compared to what you get on the APM2.0 I mean it's $50 cheaper than the previous separate APM1.0 and Oilpan shield H boards. 

I'd ask DIY drones about some custom boards first with the options you needed (no baro, no gps), before going to batch PCB. I also think the alignment of the chips is a bit critical, and thus DIY methods are not the best for this type of board. Again, I'm not saying it cannot be done, just may not be worth the cost and effort with the chance of some bad boards and  big waste of time and money.

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3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on February 20, 2012 at 7:51pm

Yes, you can maker Gerbers from them and send them to any PCB house. But it's full of tiny surface mount chips. You can't solder them by hand. You'll need to source all the components and have some assembly house make them for you. Warning: It will cost you, all told, at least 2x as much as buying it pre-made

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Permalink Reply by Brandon on February 20, 2012 at 9:48pm

@Vernon Barry, I have not seen that board, I'll take a look at it.  

@Chris-really, that much?  At school, there was a guy that was taking orders for 4 layer pcbs at $10 per sq in.  So I figure that would cost about $40 for 3 pcbs (you get 3 per order). Then I was going to source what I needed, but I guess I can just wait for the pre-made versions.  

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3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on February 20, 2012 at 10:00pm

The PCB is easy and cheap . It's all the pick-and-place soldering of components that will cost you. The parts alone, in batches of a couple (rather than the tens of thousands that we buy), will add up to more than the cost of the 3DR board. 

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Permalink Reply by Vernon Barry on February 21, 2012 at 7:02pm

You realize the MPU6000 is a QFN 24 pin, 4x4mm package right? Not exactly for the faint of heart and you must solder using proper methods, not some hack job (and trust me, I'm guilty in the past).

Sure, I've soldered 0603 components and yes the circuit worked but way ugly. Don't forget you need to solder the HMC5883L is a magnetic sensor in a 3.0x3.0x0.9 mm surface-mount 16-pin leadless chip carrier (LCC) not forgetting that the two devices must be exactly aligned to prevent sensor error. 

I'm not saying it cannot be done, obviously, DIY drones and others have equipment capable. The question is do you have access to such equipment? It's your money, do what you want and prove to yourself you can do some impressive manufacturing. I'm just saying that some of us see those specs and know, "hey I should not even try that".

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DeveloperPermalink Reply by Olivier ADLER on February 21, 2012 at 2:24pm

As Chris said, even if you can get a cheap PCB (untested ??), it will be a lot of work to find and assemble all components. You can fail in a lot of places even with good soldering skills.

Obviously the best if you want a flawless result is to buy one from the store, the price is low compared to the complexity of the board.

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Permalink Reply by Seamus Allan on March 24, 2012 at 5:52pm

I agree with Vernon completely.

Building your own board isn't completely out of the question, however it may be difficult given some of the chosen parts. 

I personally have opted for the ArduPilotMega board + IMU board, as I can make it myself comfortably, and it better suits my application.

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