Some pretty exciting (for me, anyway) news - I've been informed that layout is now complete on the flash cartridge!
I can assure you that this is NOT an April fools joke; at least if it is, I've been fooled as well!
So what does that mean from here? Well there's the tedious but necessary review of firstly the schematic (including checking FPGA pin assignments) and then the PCB, including footprints, layout and physical factors. This is a task ideally performed by someone other than the engineer that put it all together; namely, me. It's not fun at all, but ultimately a lot better than having to re-spin and manufacture a 2nd prototype run.
That aside, work-wise it probably couldn't have come at a worse time. I can't see us being in a position to be able to proceed with prototype manufacture for a few months yet, but hopefully no longer than that. In some ways the delay may encourage more rigorous review. Years ago with our first homebrew design we could only afford a single prototype run and we were so paranoid we reviewed the design to death; the result was a perfectly working board with zero patches!
Until then, I'll get stuck into the comprehensive review, and also enlist my former co-conspirator to review the top level design. Realistically it would probably take me at least a month anyway, given my work and family commitments, so perhaps work will sort itself out in time.
I'll post some eye candy - a 3D rendering of the PCB - in the next few days.
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