London, 10th March 2011
Following the AmigaOne X1000 Update article in the current edition of "Amiga Future" magazine we asked Adam Barnes, the Technical Director of Varisys, to provide an official Nemo progress report.
"From the horse's mouth"
We have had some problems with procurement of certain items for the revision 2 Nemo board which delayed our production plan by about 4 weeks. The situation was not helped either by the Chinese New Year celebrations. However, I'm pleased to report that these difficulties have now been overcome. We've had one remaining issue with supply of the onboard PC99 audio connector. The best delivery we could obtain for the existing connector type was a minimum order quantity of 10,000 pieces and a lead time of 12 weeks. We had an option for a direct replacement which has 6 jacks (enough for 5.1 analogue out) but unfortunately the Taiwanese supplier did not respond to our communications. Our alternative compromise plan was a triple jack which would support simple stereo audio out through the back panel, with header pins on the board to support 5.1 audio for users who want this feature. However, this was not our preferred option and eventually we managed to source an almost identical PC99 HD audio connector from an Italian company to satisfy our demand for all the Beta test boards.
We already have enough PA6T CPUs in hand and we have also secured supplies of the SB600 south bridge chip and various other long lead parts, with deliveries of all due on or before the 15th of this month, in sufficient quantities for the current schedule of revision 2 beta test boards. Typically, the production time from full kit to assembled boards is 10 days for small batches (the 5 off for approval). This timescale will be confirmed once the kit is issued out for build. The estimated lead time for the balance of beta test boards will be around 20-25 days based on standard PCB fabrication and assembly lead times.
Barnes also confirmed he was in the process of writing up a technical brief of the new dual-core XMOS subsystem. This will include a block diagram and pinouts so prospective end users can start working on the XMOS side of things.
A-EON Technology CVBA
