So one of the main chips that I use all the time on many of my products has suddenly vanished off the shelves. Last week I bought some and there were plenty around. This week I go to buy some and bam - no chips. Not for at least 40 weeks. 40 WEEKS!!! That's criminal.
So it's faster for me to just redesign all my products to use a different chip - which is what I am doing right now. And taking this opportunity to work with the fantastic Matsucorp to really get my pulse rifle counters nailed once and for all.
Between us we have now come up with a new design which I for one hope will fit 100% of all builds. Let me know what you think:
As you can see I've moved the connectors from the "bottom" to one end. To keep it small I have combined them all into one single 8-pin connector. It does mean that I have to create a custom wiring loom for it, but that's no problem.
There is still a little more scope for compressing the connector area a little - there's a small amount of dead space there that I'd like to squeeze if I can. However this should now stay nicely clear of any magazines.