Thanks for the explanation guys... I too will stick with the Boron. It seems it does everything I want and need already so no big reason for me to switch as of yet. Thanks!
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Hi Chip,
Do you have units of the board available for purchase?
Regards,
Hi there. I was wondering if you might still have one of these boards for purchase. Thanks, Andrew
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I am going through a bit of Chipageddon drama on the next production run of the carrier boards. I hope to get this sorted this week and then, yes, I would be glad to sell you one.
The issue is that there is no longer any availability for the AB1805-T3 RTC / Watchdog - globally.
I am pursuing a supply of AM1805AQ devices which @jgskarda identified as a drop-in replacement here:
I will let you know when I have this sorted (hopefully in the next few days).
Thanks,
Chip
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@chipmc Most times when I ordered from Ambiq directly they came in within a week or so. Sure hope that supply doesnât dry up as well. Last order was back in January but parts arrived as expected. Itâs a bit of a pain, as I have to order from them, then I ship it off to the PCBA place as they were not able to order directly or maybe they just didnât want to hassle with ordering directly.
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Helpful, I hope they come through like that for me. I am having them ship straight to my PCBA - MacroFab - and I bought a bunch extra to reduce the chance of future drama.
I will post here if there are issues as the AB1805 is very popular.
Chip
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@chipmc - Whatâs your experience been with MacroFab? Iâve been using PCBWay with decent success except my last order was delayed more than I wanted and also as quantities and total cost has gone up Iâve been hit harder with 20-30% Import Duties. They also have more than desirable mark-up on some of their chips/components. Almost 2X compared to what I can buy them for myself and ship them to them. Been tempted to start shopping around for another PCB/PCBA supplier. Have you tried anyone else besides MacroFab or just started there and stuck with them?
I also just placed an order for the AM1805 as the last thing I want to deal with is a parts shortage. Figured itâs cheap insurance having extra low cost parts rather than having to rework the PCB and firmware to make some alternative component work.
I have heard good things about PCBWay but I have been happy enough with MacroFab that I have stayed put.
Here are some things that have kept me loyal:
- I can carry parts inventory at no charge there. That way, when I order parts like this AM1805AQ, I order a bunch, get a great per unit cost and hold them for the next few runs.
**I currently have FRAM, JST connectors and RTC crystals in my inventory for example - They donât charge extra for things like double - sided boards and have reasonable through hole charges
- As they are US based, there has been less disruption during the pandemic and less issues with the ever changing tariff environment.
- They do a decent job of manufacturing review and have caught the occasional (or more?) mistake I have made before it was soldered to a board.
I donât know which is better but, MacroFab may well be worth a shot.
Chip
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I used PCBWay for a couple of years but ended up switching to Screaming Circuits for assembly. At first glance, domestic PCB assembly seems to be significantly higher, but the low cost of Chinese assembly doesnât include tariffs, the cost of shipping components back and forth, and other things. PCBWay also developed a habit of delaying assembly in my case, and Screaming Circuits has never given me that problem.
On the other hand, PCB fabrication is in almost all cases too expensive to do in the US; one exception I can think of is OSH Park. After moving away from PCBWay Iâve been getting my PCBs from JLCPCB, and theyâre very high quality, low cost, and fast turnaround.
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