Dazzler has launched

The big news this week is that the Gameduino Dazzler has launched on Crowd Supply:

This means that I really need to get the test fixture ready for production. The test fixture is what the manufacturer uses to test each unit before they ship them to me. So I have to build the fixture, then DHL it over to Shenzhen.

Here's the unit, just before packing:


It's a set of pogo pins and standoffs that hold the board. Running the show is a Teensy 4.0, with connections to the pogos. For a state indicator I'm using an RGB LED from Electric Dollar Store, hooked up to the I2C interface of the Teensy.

The light glows blue when it's ready to test the module. Then you push the module down onto the pins:


It lights up green after it has loaded the blank FPGA with its first program over JTAG. And hopefully, the HDMI output looks like this:

The boot image that is loaded on the FPGA contains a full set of diagnostics. These run on the FPGA's J1 CPU, and confirm a lot of the internal functioning of the board.

I try to keep these tests very clear in their indications. Everything green is good. Red lights mean fail. Keep it simple!

If everything checks out, the manufacturer will ship the units back to me, where I retest and load the production firmware. This should all happen in October.

Thanks for reading, and please spread the word on the the campaign!