FC-4

[livinlowe]

Jon-
I am eagerly awaiting the release of the FC-4! ;D I am curious if you guys know what price your thinking, just so I know how much overtime I have to work in order to get my 'techno-fix'!

Thanks-
Shawn

[JonnyMac]

The danger of sharing what we're working on is subjecting ourselves to tremendous customer pressure when there is an item a customer wants -- pressure leads to mistakes that we don't want to make, so this is going to be my last discussion on the FC-4 until we're ready to take orders.

Our *goal* is to have it ready before the season really heats up (early September) and get it into the $100-$125 price range (lots of variables affect price).  Because of the way this device works it will be a four-channel unit when you get it -- there is no plugging in of modules like with the RC-4 (which is a cheaper solution if you just need switching).  Like the RC-4 and our other devices, it will accept serial commands at 2400 or 38.4k baud, and has a 2-bit address setting that allows you to have up to 16 channels of dimming on a single I/O pin.  With a simple RS-232 to TTL interface this unit could even be driven with a PC-based controller like Vixen (we'll provide a driver when the time is right).


*goal* = Delivery and pricing subject to change without notice; we can promise nothing except that we're doing our best to move this to production.

[livinlowe]

I totally understand. You guys make great products so, please, take your time. Plus that gives me more time to make "toy" money!  ;)I'm sure you wont disappoint no matter what.

I hope this question didn't come across as 'rude' or anything, I'm just excited to play!

Thanks for the reply
Shawn

[JonnyMac]

No, no, not rude at all -- we just want to focus on getting it done and not have to deal with a lot of "Are we there yet?" questions.  We absolutely appreciate the support we get from all our great customers and can't wait to get the FC-4 to you.

[randyaz]

How many amps will each channel handle?

[JonnyMac]

Our design goal is 300W per channel; that said, we have to evaluate the PCB traces to for weight and load current.

[gadget-evilusions]

Just to let everyone know, you need to get an FC-4, if not 100. Another amazing product form EFX-TEK. Thanks guys!!!!

[JonnyMac]

We're ramping up production; our goal is to have in quantity by early September (Brian got one from of our short production run).  The docs and demo code have been posted for those that are interested.

[Bottle]

Ohhhhhhh, can't wait!!!!!!  ;D

Looks very impressive, just the sort of thing I'm after (have got several RC-4's at the moment, and this will help enhance my current project !!)

Couple of quick questions  ??? - will these be made available through the Eurpoean distributor? And can they be used on 230VAC?


Thanks in advance (you guys rock!!!)


Regards

Bottle

[JonnyMac]

The circuitry was designed for 120 VAC; we'll have to test it at 230 VAC to see if any changes are required.  Like all engineers, we use components that exceed the requirements of the circuit (e.g., we use 600-volt triacs in the FC-4), but there are six resistors on the board on the AC side that we have to check in particular; these may require changing for the circuit to work with 230 VAC.  The digital side is separated from the AC side with opto-isolators, so the changes to be made -- if any -- will be few.

[Bottle]

Jon

Thanks for the reply - look forward to playing with the board real soon!!!

I have access to a 110V tool transfomer, so I could run the FC-4 from that if push came to shove - are there any problems with running from a Centre-Tapped Earth (Ground) transformer that you are aware of?

Best Regards

Bottle  :)

[JonnyMac]

To be honest, I don't know.  The board expects hot and neutral.  I'll check in with JB as he has done electrical contracting in one of his past lives.

[Bottle]

Jon

Just had a quick thought when looking at the FC-4 - in order to achieve the dimming timing for the Triacs, do you synchronise to the AC line frequency i.e 110VAC, 60Hz. In that case will it work on a UK 50Hz supply, even if supplied through a step-transformer from 240VAC ----> 110VAC

Regards

Ian

[JonnyMac]

You're absolutely right, Ian.  The triac ISR runs every 32.5 uS (256 divisions of 120 Hz -- two half cycles).  But... we have a lot of bandwidth using a 50 MHz resonator so I should be able to measure the line frequency at start-up and adjust accordingly.  Now, I can't do this in a day ro even a week, but once I get it sorted we'll let you know.  I was just speaking to JB on the phone and we're going to see if we optimize the resistor in the opto-couplers to work with 120 or 230 VAC.  No promises that we can pull that off, but we will try.

[Bottle]

Jon

Thanks for looking into that for me - I wasn't sure how you achieved the dimming curve, but that sort of makes sense now.

I'll look into whether it's feasible to get a 110VAC 60Hz inverter of something

Ta muchly

Ian