Long due pc-switch update and testing a Discord server

First of all, sorry guys, I messed up.

I uploaded the wrong Gerber file on https://www.ajfriesen.com/pc-switch/ and one of you called me out on that. Thank you very much and I am sorry again. 🙏

I have corrected my mistake

I checked the last order of 20 PCBs which I did back in April. Already half a year ago. I did only test one and then uploaded the wrong file, I guess. Shit happens 💩

Now I did test a couple more and verified that the Gerber file is the correct one. I have built a small hacky test circuit to test the boards without having to hook it up to an actual PC. That was kind of annoying.

The green LED will light for 5s, 1s, or 0.3s when hitting force power, power off/on, or reset button in Home Assistant. The red LED will light and show the power-on state in Home Assistant. When pushing the button next to the red LED the LED will turn off and also will the power-on state in Home Assistant.

Long story short, you can now use the new Gerber file. The big difference is now you have proper labels. No guesswork or reading the schematics.

I also updated the instructions on: https://www.ajfriesen.com/pc-switch/

Can I buy this now?

Short answer, no.

Why?

I sat down one evening, took a stopwatch, and measured the time to solder 5 of these. If I remember correctly it took me almost 2 hours. (I suck at soldering, I know. ) That is without testing that everything works within Home Assistant. Also, I did not enjoy this time at all, I can tell you that much. I don't like soldering, I guess. 😅

The second topic is packaging and postage. I really don't want to have a package distribution center at my home, and pay like 15 bucks to send something to the Netherlands, not even talking about countries outside Europe.

However, if someone knows a guy or the process to outsource this. PCB printing and assembly, shipping, customer support, handling returned items, legal stuff, and whatnot, I would be willing to figure out how to do that.
But only if this will not make the device ridiculously expensive. Remember, Silverstone is selling a similar device for around 30 Euros including shipping and tax. It does not make sense if this will cost 100 Euros.

New discord for members

Quite a few people were reaching out to me regarding the pc-switch. On Twitter, Reddit, email, and other channels. Be it troubleshooting or asking how to buy the device. I am just one person and want to do more than just the pc-switch. For example, writing on this blog, and doing new projects.
However, I understand you and thought about getting a discord for this kind of thing. We can help each other out, and get feedback faster when we messed up our soldering, flashing does not work, or whatever.

Maybe you can even find a few people in your area/country and you can order them together. There often is a minimum quantity for a PCB order. For JLCPCB it is 5 pieces.

The discord is only available to members. This is my first discord and I don't know how this works and if this will work out at all. As always, learning by doing is the best.

You can check out the membership page for Discord and other benefits.

WiFi problems in the place

Since I moved to my new place the pc-switch is not working as expected. When my PC is off I can perfectly turn it on. As soon the PC is up and running the pc-switch is not available anymore. When I remove the side panel it is better but still spotty.

I guess this is from the interference with the motherboard's WiFi and Bluetooth. And the PC case is a faraday cage as well. So I will get myself one of these D1 minis with an external antenna.

Let`s see if this works better. I also saw some people just soldering wires of specific lengths to their ESPs. Maybe this is worth a try as well.

Let me know if you know a guy or woman who can help me get the pc-switch out to more people without having to solder and DIY.

That is it, I wish you all the best!