I’m making headway on the Apple Cassette Interface clone layout.

ACI developmental CAD view

Here are my current plans.

1) Finish the layout – I’m estimating that will take a couple of weeks. This will be laid out to the same replication standard as the A1 motherboard.
2) Find a current production cassette recorder that works well with the ACI.
3) Come up with pricing for the kit – right now I’m estimating between $75 and $100. I want to make it $75, the cost of an original ACI in 1976, but that low price point might be difficult to attain.
4) Build an interest list of potential purchasers. This time around I don’t plan on ordering any parts or the PCB until I get about X number of folks on the interest list. I’ll determine what X is when I figure out the cost of kit. This number will probably be between 12 and 25 individuals.
5) When the interest list reaches critical size, but before finally ordering parts and the PCB, I may well ask for pre-order payment to confirm that this is financially viable. A lot of folks will express interest and get on the interest list, but back out for one reason or another when asked to actually part with their money.