Happy New Year! I apologize for the long stretch without news. The holidays slowed the last steps of the campaign down, and things needed time to get back up to speed after the holidays at Mouser, Crowd Supply’s distribution partner. However, I am very happy to share with you that all backers’ orders have been shipped to Mouser for distribution!

Please make sure your Crowd Supply account has correct and up-to-date shipping information as soon as you can!

Ongoing Development

The launch campaign went well and now I have just a handful of Espoir modules left. Some of Espoir’s parts are forever out-of-stock, so I have completed the schematics and layout, and am on the way to testing, the first prototype of a new revision of Espoir with replacement parts. There are also a couple of changes planned:

1. The PoE Class selection jumper is now a 0 ohm resistor on the bottom, which will be set to Class 4 (25.5 W) by default.

2. There is now a two-pin connector with PoE V+ and V- instead, so anything can derive its own voltage supply from it, isolated or not.

I also started looking into a "premium" version of Espoir with higher power, higher efficiency, more RAM, and more Flash. Space and heat dissipation constraints make it an interesting challenge. I am juggling a few solutions, including making this new version wider, or assembling on two sides and increasing the price by a larger margin to cover the increased assembly cost.

If these considerations pique your interest, send me a message. I’m always looking for good ideas and feedback!

Other Projects

I am also working on a modular production controller called "makroShield", which is really a mikroBUS-friendly mainboard that can be controlled by any controller with a mikroBUS socket (including Espoir). It features modular DC motor drivers for roll-ups, valves, and really anything that runs on 24 V. It also has a few choice sensors for control and security, as well as a buffered I2C bus for external sensors. I aim to fill the gap in automation for small to medium-sized businesses’ non-critical applications, where there is often a gap between industrial-grade and cobbled-together solutions. If that speaks to you, contact me!