Quick update on the production progress, folks. June went by really quick in funds management and real progress started to kick in with the July’s heat.

I decided to split the PCB factory order into 2 chunks, since I wanted to double-check the final revision of every board (and test it thoroughly) before committing to the final order. It took a little bit more time and a little extra cost, but nevertheless by the end of June, I had everything I needed to start the assembly process.

The assembly process looks roughly like this:

• Assemble the antenna connector to the back plate. I use a special key for that purpose. Washers and nuts are delivered separately, so I needed to place them in the right order first.
• Assemble the both halves of the case together with the front plate. 4 bolts are needed for that.
• Connect the antenna to the PCB and bolt it to the case. 4 more bolts go here.
• Flash the firmware and do a quick test. I have a flashing script for the large batches with pre-installed configuration. The console shows the first boot log to highlight major software faults(if there are any). The green LED on the board indicates success.
• The last piece is to pack the box into the anti-static bag, including the disconnected antenna and safety instructions. The sticker goes on top.

I don’t have the resources to test every board in the batch, but I do randomly, fully test every 20th board while also doing the basic software check described above for every board.

Multiply each step by roughly 300 boards that need to be assembled and you get an idea of how much time it takes for one person to accomplish. Long story short, I’m about halfway through the process and hope to ship the boards to the warehouse facilities in the first week of September, well ahead of the deadline.

It’s been a hard couple of weeks and a couple more hard weeks ahead, but it is a good feeling to be this close to the finish line. Hope to see you soon on the other side of it.