I was driving at night with my kids and they were playing a game where the moon was following us home. I thought it was cute. I think they got the idea from Owl At Home by Arnold Lobel, which was a favorite book of mine as a kid. Anyway, I liked the idea of the moon being your friend. Also, I do a lot of my work at night when the kids are in bed. So, there you go.

Saying "design philosophy" makes this whole thing sound a little two serious, but I do have a a goal in mind as I design modules. In general, I want to make modules that are:

1. Inexpensive

2. Reliable

3. Open Source

Part of being open source means that I am also open and honest about my practices. So if you want to know how I design and manufacture my modules, read on:

Design

I've just started this business so I don't have a lot to go on, but so far my practice is to find other open source projects and use the elements that suit my purpose. For my Sack Lunch VCO I decided to use the AS3340 since it stays in tune without any extra temperature compensation circuitry. Then I found as many schematics I could that utilized the AS3340. 

Manufacture

In order to do make modules inexpensive, I purchase as many components as possible from Tayda Electronics, which is a very affordable supplier from Thailand. Aside from being affordable, they are generally high quality. They supply potentiometers and jacks that are duplicates of the kinds you will see in most commercial modules. In my 3 years building with these components, I've never had any issues with them and find them quite reliable.

All my PCBs and front panels are fabricated by inexpensive Chinese prototype manufacturers.