OSHW CrapBoard Example?

[Mechatrommer]

i opted for open source board from itead. i got 2 boards as promised, one from itead craft and one is this. what a load of crap. it has OSHW logo but nothing else. how do i figure this one out? ps: it looks like power app board, some power transistors and few peculiar thick ICs. but thats all i can tell

[bobdagangster]

It's a RAMPS 1.4 board for Reprap 3d printers.
See here: http://reprap.org/wiki/RAMPS_1.4

[Mechatrommer]

how can you be so quick? thanks you are genius!

[Jon Chandler]

You pay an extra ten cents and you take the chance that you'll get something useful.  If not, no big deal.

It would be nice if people would put a link to some documentation but not everybody gets that.

[Mechatrommer]

You pay an extra ten cents and you take the chance that you'll get something useful.  If not, no big deal.

its actually free. my point was, if people want to declare their design OSHW, furthermore bother to put the logo on it...

It would be nice if people would put a link to some documentation but not everybody gets that.

yeah that! the point. so we can easily search what kind of OSHW it is. should it be in the OSHW regulation? nobody's going to enforce it anyway but at least as a recommendation?

[alm]

Maybe it was not known at the time that the board was laid out that it would be shipped to random people without any documentation? I don't see this as a typical distribution model for an open hardware design. I guess some sort of model name in the silkscreen might be useful, but calling a product crap because it was not designed for the PCB pool does not seem fair.

[Mechatrommer]

i put the question mark in the title so its an open discussion and i'm not so sure. your argument is valid for me that it was not known to be given/distributed for free from another party.

[senso]

You already know what it is, but the smal modules and the 1A 1B 2A 2B smell like stepper motor controllers, then there is the Arduino header pattern, so it must be a shield, and arduinos plus lots of steppers it can only be a 3d printer.

[westfw]

It would be nice if people would put a link to some documentation but not everybody gets that.

Hmm.  That's a good point to keep in mind.  I suspect that not everyone who tags their board as "open source" is crazy about providing "support" to the random people who might have gotten one through Itead's service, though.  That a board is "open source" doesn't really imply that it's a "product" somewhere.

[chickenHeadKnob]

Itead's idea of a low cost board exchange is nice, it is the random assignment/fulfilment  that is wasteful  and inefficient. If they had an inventory of whats available for grabs and let you choose I would go for it, but maintaining and displaying that inventory is work. As it now stands I looked at that option and said "I don't want to be surprised" and just ignore it.

[Mechatrommer]

You already know what it is, but the smal modules and the 1A 1B 2A 2B smell like stepper motor controllers, then there is the Arduino header pattern, so it must be a shield, and arduinos plus lots of steppers it can only be a 3d printer.

unfortunately i'm a slow learner, not as genius as everybody here.

I suspect that not everyone who tags their board as "open source" is crazy about providing "support" to the random people who might have gotten one through Itead's service, though.  That a board is "open source" doesn't really imply that it's a "product" somewhere.

correct, its not necessarily about support, but "documentation". whats the point of open source if it doesnt have any documentation or publication? that can be linked to the board to avoid people asking in forum like this, finding the whole world etc. its like announcing "hey! this is open source stuff!", but when asked "what is this?" he keep quiet and swing his head left right.

If they had an inventory of whats available for grabs and let you choose I would go for it, but maintaining and displaying that inventory is work.

i would say, this random board attempt can attract some people, but perharps its not you its their marketing strategy. but i will agree with you, having freedom to choose which OSHW board to get is better option, ut as you said, it is work.

it is the random assignment/fulfilment  that is wasteful  and inefficient.... As it now stands I looked at that option and said "I don't want to be surprised" and just ignore it.

since its free, i just clicked the option and ignore it. not that i expect something miraculous happening, i thought if i cannot use it maybe i can work it for my next quick-slap-in protoboard project. but what do you know? as i've been told, this is an arduino mega shield for 3d printer! i got mega, maybe if i got free time i can start building up my own 3d printer (or cnc, xy machine etc) not entirely from scratch. otherwise i may simply ignore it or toss it to the bin, but this one i dont think so (for me). we both may ignore this, the only difference is that "you will not get surprised and got nothing", as for me "i'm surprised and got something and i may choose to use or ignore". but thats not the problem here, its about OSHW documentation. the only time i'll avoid to click the option is when i dont want to share my board, thats all sensible to me, other than that i dont understand why people dont want free stuff that they can bring home.