Machtac

I would be willing to aggregate PCB orders and make one big buy from ExpressPCB. I may be willing to build some for people that are not comfortable with soldering. I'm a retired EE. Let me know if you are interested. Once I get an idea of how many boards are wanted I'll get pricing.
 
Nobody interested in a group buy of boards? I'm ready to pull the trigger for my needs.
 
I’ll take two
 
I would be into getting at least 5 boards, a few more if it is at a break level to reduce the overall cost for the group.
 
Why deal with handheld programmers and burners at all? This isn't 1990 anymore, what reason would anybody have for not using a microcontroller like Arduino? With one of the mini boards, this would be a $20 project that you could customize and adjust as needed. All you need is a USB connection to a laptop (or your Apple II's serial port if you're still on monochrome). Not being inflammatory, just want to know why one would start down this path without looking at easy and obvious substitutions.
 
You make some good points however not everyone can or wants to reinvent the wheel. This is a proven design with an already designed PCB, code, and manual. It is easy to duplicate and people are comfortable with it.

I've priced the PCB from ExpressPCB and they are $14 in quantities of 25. That does make for an expensive project for someone comfortable with Arduinos. The Tach is basically a pulse counter with a display. An Arduino with a serial LCD display can be put together for not much more than the $20 you quoted.

As the PIC code is now in the public domain, one could use it as a model for an Arduino sketch. Are you volunteering?
 
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I would be interested in one or two of PCB's
 
If someone us thinking about selling fully assembled and tested units, I would be interested in buying one.
 
I WAS thinking about making fully assembled and tested units, but pontiac428 got me thinking in an alternate direction. For the price of a single component less PCB, a whole unit can be constructed from an Arduino with a LCD display. I'm currently prototyping some software to prove that it is feasible. The MachTach seems to be a simple pulse counter with a Schmidt Trigger front end. I'm trying to emulate the Schmidt Trigger in software so no external components beyond the Arduino, LCD, connectors, power supply and case are needed. Stay tuned.
 
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