- Joined
- Apr 13, 2023
- Messages
- 201
I just purchased the new (2024) Touch DRO kit. It's $100 less than the fully assembled and tested unit.
The instructions aren't supplemented with photos yet, which will make future builds easier. The joys of being an early adopter.
@ycroosh was quick to respond to questions I posted here, even on the weekend. Once again, his customer support is great.
All the surface mount soldering is done for you, and there's a 40ish pin chip, 4 8 pin headers and 4 9 pin connectors to solder. The chip and headers are through hole, with .1" (I assume) spacing. If you've soldered this kind of thing before, the hardest part will be the workholding. I highly recommend a 3rd hand tool as well as magnification if your eyes are like mine. There's noting exotic or extra difficult about all this - pretty standard "electronics kit" style assembly.
The case is 3D printed, and easily screws together. The only pain is getting the sticker residue off the etched logo in the acrylic window, and I'm being nit-picky - clearly it's not a big deal. It took a bit to figure out the pinout of the scales, but popular brands are listed on the TDRO website. I just didn't know where that page was, and I assume it'll be linked to the instructions at some point.
I'm guessing I have 2-3 hours in assembly. If you do this more often than I do and have a dedicated (set up) electronics bench, it could be as fast as an hour. It was worth saving $100 in my case. This one is headed to a lathe I share with my dad, and I'll be ordering a second one for my mill. I'll get the kit, unless I decide I need the model that supports a tach and probes.
In short, if you want to save $100, don't need a few of the advanced features and have electronics soldering skills, this could work well for you.
The instructions aren't supplemented with photos yet, which will make future builds easier. The joys of being an early adopter.
@ycroosh was quick to respond to questions I posted here, even on the weekend. Once again, his customer support is great.All the surface mount soldering is done for you, and there's a 40ish pin chip, 4 8 pin headers and 4 9 pin connectors to solder. The chip and headers are through hole, with .1" (I assume) spacing. If you've soldered this kind of thing before, the hardest part will be the workholding. I highly recommend a 3rd hand tool as well as magnification if your eyes are like mine. There's noting exotic or extra difficult about all this - pretty standard "electronics kit" style assembly.
The case is 3D printed, and easily screws together. The only pain is getting the sticker residue off the etched logo in the acrylic window, and I'm being nit-picky - clearly it's not a big deal. It took a bit to figure out the pinout of the scales, but popular brands are listed on the TDRO website. I just didn't know where that page was, and I assume it'll be linked to the instructions at some point.
I'm guessing I have 2-3 hours in assembly. If you do this more often than I do and have a dedicated (set up) electronics bench, it could be as fast as an hour. It was worth saving $100 in my case. This one is headed to a lathe I share with my dad, and I'll be ordering a second one for my mill. I'll get the kit, unless I decide I need the model that supports a tach and probes.
In short, if you want to save $100, don't need a few of the advanced features and have electronics soldering skills, this could work well for you.
