Hi everybody!, as you know production for the first batch keeps going, and all shipments from the first batch should go out during this month as it was planned, we are working hard to achieve that feat. I will be starting to order stuff for the next batch right now before prices rise even more or important parts get out of stock, so it is time to open pre-orders for the next batch of the Mini-ITX Ironclad Plus, so that I should have the fresh supply of parts to start building the second batch around after when we finish with the first one to satisfy everybody who wants one sooner, as the previous time it was sold out pretty quickly. the date is Friday (again) 10th December 2021, at 16:00 UTC (GMT)
This second batch will be bigger than the first one, but still limited to the amount of units we can manage, and the window for shipping will also be bigger. As you know there are supply shortages of semiconductors, prices when available are skyrocketing, distribution is getting slow because of the situation, the holidays are in the middle (no holidays for me though ;p), etc, so I am aiming to ship this second batch from February and along the first quarter of 2022. The price for the Ironclad Plus will be the same, even if i am already struggling to find parts at last month’s price, but i am not sure for how long i will be able to keep the price as it is.
Now for more exciting news. We will have a couple of new accessories, as you might already know, the Ironclad plus got a new feature recently; Remote Control support, for free, for everyone. It supports third party IR remotes and receivers, and has a learning feature. You have more information in the previous News post. But i have been asked many times if i would offer a “remote control kit” for people that do not want to mess around buying and testing stuff, and just want something that simply works, so here it is!:
The next addition is something you also asked many times, a lot of people e-mailed me about how did i make it, or where did I purchase the heatsink i was using in my test build shown in the first pictures, well the search is over, i made a BIG heatsink that is compatible with the Ironclad Plus MiSTer FPGA build that even outperforms the one shown in my previous images. Using it alone without a fan nearby makes the FPGA never exceed 47ºC even after hours of retro-gaming. When the build is enclosed inside a case with very poor ventilation, a fan extracting air from it is recommended. Mounting a fan on the heatsink is overkill and, really, not necessary.
The Heatsink is 35x35x15mm, has a copper base to lift the heatsink enough so it does not touch any component near the FPGA, and is provided with thermal adhesive pre-applied for installation. This heatsink is NOT compatible with other MiSTer I/O boards, it is just too big, but keeps your FPGA nice and cooler than anything else available. The price is 8,99€
And that’s it for now, time to get back to work, any questions?, you can reach me over e-mail as always, bear in mind that i am having a reeeally busy days here, but i always answer even if it takes a day or two.
Cheers!
