USBizi100 Chipset – Legacy

I see that the USBizi100 chipset is going out of production. And with the USBizi100 chip gone Im really back to square one with my project SauID. http://letsmakerobots.com/node/33670
Im not interested in ordering these chips by the hundreds as this is just a hobby and I dont want to lock money into chips that strictly speaking is a dead end.

So how would you guys go about this problem? I dont want to rebuild this with .NET Gadgeteer as I want everything on a single PCB.

Would you like to switch to STM32 chip?

How many do you think you need in one year?

Architect; If I can get USB host as I use USB memory sticks to hold the logging information and calibration values for the digital weights.
Could you give me some more information? (I havent been a part of the GHI electronics forum for a while now)

Gus; Probably not more than 10 chips a year

I think STM32 is going to be around for awhile. Here are some facts about it:

  • The firmware is open source (thanks to Oberon)
  • There are at least 4 manufacturers that use NETMF on that chip
  • There is a community version that already has some new features
  • Eventually there will be open source built in USB host in that firmware (I hope)

Regarding USB Host

  • there is a tiny file system on flash modules that can be used instead (at least until USB Host is implemented)

Check this creations from forum members:

https://www.ghielectronics.com/community/creations/entry/7
https://www.ghielectronics.com/community/creations/entry/17

Justin has at least 2 more other board that he already showed in the forum and on YouTube that use STM32.

10 chips cost very little so I suggest you buy them ASAP, maybe few more just in case.

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That sounds like a good idea, but how to order them when they are out of stock?
https://www.ghielectronics.com/catalog/product/117

Yeah, buying 10 would be much easier than switching to STM32 and 4.2. I would try to contact them directly through the online form:

(will reference this thread too)

Shoot us an email with why you need. Consider this as a last time buy as these may not be available in low quantity in future but you are saying this is good for a year so maybe it is okay https://www.ghielectronics.com/contact

Thank you for this offer Gus. Ill send you an email in the next day or so.
Regards
Geir

OK, so I sendt a message via the supplied form.
Attached a link to this post and said it was to Gus.
This is the reply I got.

I only needed 6 USBizi100 chips.
So that means I probably should just throw away my last 6 PCBs as I dont need the other 84 microcontrollers.

:frowning:

@ Geir - USBizi is a special order only product, let me check with the production manager to see if there is an open tray that we can get 6 from.

Thank you for your services. As usual GHI electronics steps up to the plate.
I only wish that they would keep the chipset available for future projects.