As I stated before, I can help on this as well with any wiring if required. We all need to cover our time and bits of course. I'm not sure how the practicalities would work considering it probably involves a few people doing different tasks. If a sample was sent to someone, are they the product manager in some way and distribute various tasks to others?
A sample is needed which may need some redesign work as Sintech mentioned. It gets broken down into various tasks, PCB's are redone and loaded, metalwork needs machining, painted and labelling, bits bought, wiring done and all back to someone for testing. Then it needs to be sold bearing in mind the time and parts involved. This sounds like a suitable project headed by Andy (Sintech), once he has finished his custom SSL console!
For my part, I could see the original jig, work out the wiring, buy the bits and wire various things and do the final assembly as I have lots of fittings here as well. If 10 were constructed, they could all be sent to someone for final testing.
It
can be done but these are some of the practical implications involved and it may mean quite a few deliveries between people. Also, at the end, the individual costs involved need to be incorporated so a realistic selling price can be reached. Is there a market for 5, 10 etc even at a price lower than the original SSL one. Does anyone who has one, know what they paid for it?
I've just seen a post above which mentions selling one for 100 Euros. That is extremely cheap and it will not be worth doing for that price in my view as it probably won't even cover the cost of the parts! I have a feeling that the original SSL versions were about £1,000. After seeing the pictures and having a quick rough guess, I reckon a rebuild would have to be something in the region of £300 or more to stand a chance of making it worthwhile but I may be wrong.
For this to happen, I think it needs to be lead by the demand. Find the market, see what people are prepared to pay, work out the various costs and see if it is viable. If yes, people need to pay up front so work can start. If not, walk away!
Also, bear in mind lead times on various components, most of which are old and may even not be made anymore. Also minimum order quantities may affect the viability of building new jigs. If 10 are made which use a one off of part A but the minimum order is 25, there are 15 left which need accounting for. Who takes the financial responsibility for that?
From my 7 years experience at SSL and running my own business for 25 years, these issues need to be thought about especially as any build project may be split between various people in different places. Hope this helps from Jim Lassen (
www.profcon.co.uk).
