Task 1: Build a first batch of 3 prototypes (€ 9100)

This task covers component procurement, 10-layer impedance-controlled PCB manufacturing, and surface-mount (SMT) assembly for the initial batch of three Tyche desktop motherboards. It translates the NXP-reviewed electronic schematics into physical hardware, validating the high-speed SerDes transmission routing, isolated power planes, dual DDR3 ECC memory channels, and primary PCIe Gen3 interfaces.

Output: Three assembled physical Tyche prototype boards delivered to the laboratory for electrical inspection and bring-up, supported by component procurement receipts and manufacturing quality reports.

Milestone Amount 1a. Build a first batch of 3 prototypes€ 9100Total€ 9100

Task 2: Hardware Supervisory & Power-Sequencing Firmware (€ 4800)

This task encompasses developing and validating the open bootstrap logic and power-sequencing firmware implemented across the onboard Lattice CPLD and supervisory microcontroller (uPic). This logic orchestrates precise power-rail ramp-up sequencing, manages clock distribution and system reset arbitration, handles thermal monitoring, and injects the Reset Configuration Word (RCW) into the NXP T2080 SoC to guarantee a safe, reliable cold boot.

Output: Fully documented, auditable CPLD HDL source code and supervisory microcontroller firmware published in the project's public repository, demonstrating deterministic power sequencing and successful SoC reset de-assertion on the physical prototypes..

Milestone Amount 2a. Hardware Supervisory & Power-Sequencing Firmware (uPic + CPLD)€ 4800Total€ 4800

Task 3: Prototype management and debug first batch (€ 2650)

This task covers technical coordination with assembly facilities (3a) and hands-on laboratory electrical debugging of the initial prototype boards (3b). Hardware specialists perform low-level bench characterisation across all power rails, clock lines, DDR3 memory signal integrity, and high-frequency SerDes lanes using oscilloscopes and logic analysers. Any electrical discrepancies, routing adjustments, or component errata are identified, solved via hardware rework, and documented.

Output: A comprehensive hardware debugging and bring-up report detailing electrical measurements, verified power sequencing, catalogued errata, and schematic/layout adjustments published openly on the community portal....

Payment Methods

Online Donation – PayPal

Press Donate and as Payment Method select PayPal You can choose one time donations, or recurring -smaller- monthly donations ( and with others selected frequency). ( How stop paypal recurring payment )

For Donor that pay taxes in Italy specify your Fiscal Code to deduct the amount from your tax return

Online Donation – Stripe

Press Donate and as Payment Method select Stripe You can choose one time donations, or recurring -smaller- monthly donations ( and with others selected frequency).

Offline Donation – Bank credit transfer

These are the bank account details for donating:

Bank name: Banca Popolare Etica

Bank account owner: Power Progress Community OdV

IBAN: IT94X0501801600000012339610

Beneficiary Bank (57)

Code BIC/ SWIFT: ETICIT22XXX

Banca popolare Etica SCPA Via N. Tommaseo 7, 35131 Padova (PD)

Intermediary Bank (56A)

Code BIC/ SWIFT: POSOIT22XXX

Banca popolare di Sondrio

Piazza Garibaldi 16, 23100 Sondrio (SO)

CAUSE:“liberal donation – NAME and SURNAME”

( for person with italian fiscal code if you specify your fiscal code your donation is tax deducible)

Where the NAME and SURNAME are the same you will fill in the Donate page.

After you have made the bank transfer press Donate and as Payment Method select Offline Donation.

In Offline donation the recurring donations is only a declaration of intent as the system doesn't do anything for you.

Anonymous Donations

When you make the donation (offline or online) you can choose to make your donation anonymous.

Preferred payment method and TransferWise / CurrencyFair

Our preferred payment method to receive donations (to keep commission and also your costs low) would be:

• EU donors: Bank Transfer (online or offline)
• Non-EU donors: Bank Transfer with services like <a href="htt...
  

The Power Progress Community is a nonprofit organization established in Italy. The Italian law allow to collect liberal and not refundable donations meant to pursue the missions and projects of the association and not give back products.

Restrictions for a nonprofit associations in Italy

An organization like ours has to take into account the following constraints:

1. A nonprofit association cannot make commercial products;
2. The association can receive donations, but cannot refund them;
3. The association must be coherent with its mission, and is allowed to ask for donations for their achieving the goals.

So, what we can do to start our project is based on the points below:

1. The association can have a particular goal to reach and ask donation to achieve it, but it cannot give back the money (no refunds).
2. Donation must be altruist so, no one will receive something back for their donation.
3. Italian law allows an association to finance an R&D for a project or activity.

What happens if the campaign fails?

As stated above, we will not be able to refund the donors in any case. Because of that, if the money collected is not enough to fund this research we will use it for another goal within the mission of the organization.

Almost, as any payment platform available, either PayPal, Stripe or the Bank account transfers, have a fee applied to each donation. As non-profit organization we have inside EU 1,8%+0,35euro of commission, outside EU 2,8%+0,35 euro ( from some country we see that could arrive to 4% of commission) for paypal. In case your bank transfer is from outside EU, for us bank commission cost is high: 6 euro, so we strongly suggest to use service like Transferwise to decrease the commission cost for both.

As a final remark, we will try to adhere to the Open Source Hardware requirements in the design of this laptop motherboard, therefore we are strongly committed in avoiding any hardware component requiring an NDA (Not Disclosure Agreement).

For this purpose, we have contacted many chips vendors in order to verify their agreement to distribute as Open Source Hardware our electrical schematics and PCB design obtained in this second campaign.

Among others, NXP which is the company producing the selected CPU, has answered positively for the Powerboard Tyche Notebook that had taken from T2080RDB Revision C design, now we are waiting the level and parts that they agreed for T2080RDB Revision F, that's the new version that we have use for the new design of Powerboard Tyche Desktop,

The process required to achieve a fully compliant Open Hardware motherboard, was carefully analyzed by students of the Law and Policy Clinic of New York University School of Law. Thanks to their work, are clear the practical implications of the requirements for the OSWHA Open Hardware certification, and cross-checked our approach and adopted solutions with OSWHA personnel.

An important part of being considered Open Hardware compliant (OSHWA Open Hardware certification), require that everything that is under our control and that is used to produce our motherboard, should be publicly disclosed, such as schematics, PCB, Gerber-files and all their accompanying information.

As a consequence, most of the datasheets of the chips used in our schematics are freely downloadable, as well as the schematics and the PCB design.

In case some of the chip vendors will ask us to remove technical details that we were not supposed to disclose, we will comply to their requests by removing the published material, but that will do not impact on our compliance to OSHWA Open Hardware certification because we could demonstrate that we strived to be as open as we could.

We are sure that you will be satisfied by the final PCB design, and you will be proud of being one of the contributors that could make materialize the first and only Open Hardware complaint PowerPC desktop motherboard designed around GNU/Linux!!​