AVR-Chat

I am working on a new product intended to make the AVR Dragon as easy 
to use and as flexible as the old STK500.  Briefly, it is a PCB that 
sits on top of the Dragon and has the familiar target microcontroller 
area, 10-pin headers and other useful gadgetry.  With it, you can use 
your Dragon for prototyping various circuits without the ridiculous 
soldering-on of a ZIF socket in Atmel's microscopic "prototyping 
area".  Here is the detailed informatio in draft:

http://www.ecrostech.com/AtmelAvr/DragonRider

I would be interested in general opinions on this product, 
specifically, of course, would it sell?  I expect the bare PCB to be 
priced at about $8 and the parts kit at about $17.  It is a goal that 
the AVR Dragon and the complete Dragon rider cost less than the 
STK500.

If anyone is so interested that they'd like to reserve one when I go 
into production, please let me know.

Finally, I have a prototype that I'd like someone to subject to field 
testing.  You'll need your own AVR Dragon, a selection of the 
supported microcontrollers and some 10-way ribbon cables from the 
STK500, but I'll send the prototype kit at no charge and at my 
expense.  I'd prefer you to be in the USA, but I'll go the extra 
distance for an established AVR expert.

What I'm hoping to learn is this:
* Can the Dragon Rider be assembled with normal skill?
* Does it function as advertised?
* In what ways could it be improved, while keeping to the basic 
purpose?
* What auxiliary functions (buttons, LEDs, etc.) would be useful?

Here are a few things I already know about:
* Getting the single-row headers straight is difficult, but I can't 
figure a way around this while leaving room to get the shunts on and 
off with just fingers.
* I'm supplying a 150 ohm resistor for the 100 ohm resistor.
* There is a footprint for a large supply decoupling capacitor, but 
in my testing it seemed to be a bad idea so I intend to remove it.
* You'll probably wish there was a power switch instead of a jumper 
when you test debugWIRE.
* The light guide isn't quite above the Dragon LED.
* The reset line de-glitch capacitor is not supplied as I haven't 
found it necessary.  I should probably try it out anyway (so many 
combinations!).

The first field tester reported this:
* There should indeed be an on/off switch for the target area.
* Yes, the light guide isn't quite above the Dragon LED.
* An RS232 level converter and connector would be nice.

If you don't want to reply in this thread, there's a contact page on 
my Web site.  Thanks for reading.

Graham Davies
www.ecrostech.com