thanks for the kind words Shreddoc!
if noone comes forward it is no issue for me to ship to any of these regions tbh but we'll have to wait a little for things to clear before this can possibly happen

keropi wrote on 2022-04-08, 20:19:

pre-order page is live: http://pcmidi.eu/argus.html

Is it broken? It still says 0 out of 15 pre-orders made after I placed an order. Was my order lost?

aitotat wrote on 2022-04-09, 07:36:

Is it broken? It still says 0 out of 15 pre-orders made after I placed an order. Was my order lost?

Give him some time to update it - it's very probably not a commercial shop system 😉

At 78€ for just PCB and Chip i`m out.

Last time i build the Whole Card for this.

aitotat wrote on 2022-04-09, 07:36:

Is it broken? It still says 0 out of 15 pre-orders made after I placed an order. Was my order lost?

The counter will update (manually) after payments arrive 😀

matze79 wrote on 2022-04-09, 08:27:

At 78€ for just PCB and Chip i`m out.

Last time i build the Whole Card for this.

After 6 months you can build your hearts content if/when shock__ eventually releases the project files to the public.
If you want to get one now then you will have to pay for shock__'s effort and time spent on this and on top of that for my time/effort.
This is not a sale targeted at donors of the project that helped fund the whole thing some years ago, these are sales for the general public.
And the 78eur price is the same as the US/CAN region one.
I hope this explains things better.

matze79 wrote on 2022-04-09, 08:27:

At 78€ for just PCB and Chip i`m out.

Last time i build the Whole Card for this.

This is cheap compared to Orpheus. And a lot cheaper then a genuine Ultrasound.

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-04-09, 12:19:

matze79 wrote on 2022-04-09, 08:27:

At 78€ for just PCB and Chip i`m out.

Last time i build the Whole Card for this.

This is cheap compared to Orpheus. And a lot cheaper then a genuine Ultrasound.

Yeah definitely. Very appreciative that this opportunity is available for us to be able to experience the GUS. I don't mind having to assemble it myself at all if it means accessibility. But of course, self-assembly isn't always an option for everyone so totally understandable.

Although I'm honestly saving up for an Orpheus still. Quite pricy but I suppose it's worth it for an all-in-one card that is also assembled.

Kinda want to see how it would be like to have the Argus and the Orpheus in the same machine.

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-04-09, 12:19:

And a lot cheaper then a genuine Ultrasound.

Once factoring in parts and assembly, it might end up being close to the current cost of a GUS PnP (per recent sale prices on Ebay).

The big thing that could swing the cost for people is assembly. If one already has the equipment and skillset to build it, not much investment is required. But if one needs to contract that out and/or invest in the necessary equipment to do it, that could add considerably to the cost.

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-04-09, 14:58:

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-04-09, 12:19:

And a lot cheaper then a genuine Ultrasound.

Once factoring in parts and assembly, it might end up being close to the current cost of a GUS PnP (per recent sale prices on Ebay).

The big thing that could swing the cost for people is assembly. If one already has the equipment and skillset to build it, not much investment is required. But if one needs to contract that out and/or invest in the necessary equipment to do it, that could add considerably to the cost.

Yeah, that's very true, unfortunately.

I guess it comes down to paying now or paying later at this point since both have their high associated costs. 🙁

Stevogamer wrote on 2022-04-09, 15:15:

I guess it comes down to paying now or paying later at this point since both have their high associated costs. 🙁

This is also where one has to decide the relative value of the card to themselves.

I'd love a GUS with >1 MB of RAM specifically for tracker music. So it's either roll the dice and wait for another GUS PnP to show up on Ebay, or take advantage of this opportunity to get an ARGUS.

As you say, it's pay now or pay later.

Awesome news @keropi !

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-04-09, 14:58:

Once factoring in parts and assembly, it might end up being close to the current cost of a GUS PnP (per recent sale prices on Ebay).

The idea isn't that you'll end up with a card that is so much cheaper than the Gravis originals that are still available (with the exception of the truly ridiculous listings you tend to see). It won't end up being cheap, but should nonetheless be reasonable, given the time and effort that went into the project. Furthermore, with ARGUS, you are getting a card that was assembled (whether by your own hand or someone you pay to do it for you) recently, and, as long as you source your parts from reputable vendors, with fresh components (the InterWave and ROM excepted). There will be no need to hunt down stale capacitors or other parts once you have a working card, and the ARGUS design is more flexible. Even if it were exactly the same price as an eBay card, it is still worth considering ARGUS, because:

1. You reward community effort.
2. It is a recent design intended to leverage the capabilities of the InterWave to a greater extent than the original cards.
3. No stale components or worry about getting a card that is non-functional and/or damaged beyond repair.

If you consider ARGUS unreasonable, then you probably can't afford a GUS PnP either.

Stevogamer wrote on 2022-04-09, 14:47:

Although I'm honestly saving up for an Orpheus still. Quite pricy but I suppose it's worth it for an all-in-one card that is also assembled.

I have an Orpheus and it is a wonderful card. I would highly recommend buying one with a Dreamblaster X2GS, if you can manage.

The Gravis Ultrasound is a wonderful card, but as a secondary sound card. It's not useful on its own as a Sound Blaster replacement.

640K!enough wrote on 2022-04-10, 02:39:

[…]
Show full quote

1. You reward community effort.
2. It is a recent design intended to leverage the capabilities of the InterWave to a greater extent than the original cards.
3. No stale components or worry about getting a card that is non-functional and/or damaged beyond repair.

All good points. Just the fact this card can be easily equipped with a full 16 MB of RAM is going to be worth it.

matze79 wrote on 2022-04-09, 08:27:

At 78€ for just PCB and Chip i`m out.

Last time i build the Whole Card for this.

Let's put it this way. This is an expensive DIY barebone kit. The reason is lack of supply for Interwave chip; and guess why Interwave chips are short in supply? Because people are stacking them up in hoping to make tons of these cards and make profit.

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-04-10, 05:55:

Stevogamer wrote on 2022-04-09, 14:47:

Although I'm honestly saving up for an Orpheus still. Quite pricy but I suppose it's worth it for an all-in-one card that is also assembled.

I have an Orpheus and it is a wonderful card. I would highly recommend buying one with a Dreamblaster X2GS, if you can manage.

The Gravis Ultrasound is a wonderful card, but as a secondary sound card. It's not useful on its own as a Sound Blaster replacement.

That's definitely my goal, to get an Orpheus with the X2GS.

Currently, I have an AWE64 Value as my only ISA sound card. The only other sound blaster compatible cards I have are PCI cards with SB-Link.
Hence, the Orpheus looking like an interesting option with it also having a PCMIDI Interface on-board.

terryfi wrote on 2022-04-10, 22:15:

matze79 wrote on 2022-04-09, 08:27:

At 78€ for just PCB and Chip i`m out.

Last time i build the Whole Card for this.

Let's put it this way. This is an expensive DIY barebone kit. The reason is lack of supply for Interwave chip; and guess why Interwave chips are short in supply? Because people are stacking them up in hoping to make tons of these cards and make profit.

As said in the comment section on LGR's video ... if anyone synthesizes a compatible FPGA, I'd be more than willing to adapt the current ARGUS design.
Otherwise at least the PCB production files are gonna go public in 6 months so some price can be shaven off there.

I'd welcome to cut price discussions short tho - capitalism sucks, we all know that.

shock__ wrote on 2022-04-11, 14:00:

As said in the comment section on LGR's video ... if anyone synthesizes a compatible FPGA, I'd be more than willing to adapt the current ARGUS design.
Otherwise at least the PCB production files are gonna go public in 6 months so some price can be shaven off there.

I'd welcome to cut price discussions short tho - capitalism sucks, we all know that.

Has anyone checked out this professor's posting a thesis project proposal to implement GF1 on FGPA?

https://www.mit.bme.hu/eng/node/9797

Apparently this was back in 2015, and there is some discussion about it on MisterFPGA forum.

https://misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?t=2994

I just got the gerber files from Shock__. I am still waiting for the Interwave chips, but I will start the PCB production in the meantime to minimize waiting time.

Synoptic wrote on 2022-04-11, 19:51:

I just got the gerber files from Shock__. I am still waiting for the Interwave chips, but I will start the PCB production in the meantime to minimize waiting time.

That's great to hear.

Excited to put my order in when the next round is up. 😀