Challenges
Other than the little amount of I have time left, some difficulties remain.
Battery Management
On August 7, 2024, I finally ordered an HP FM08-compatible battery so I could be able to get physical dimensions of its connector and test SMBus communication with the built-in battery management IC.
USB Power Delivery
USB Power Delivery still remains to be likely the most complex part of the project. However, implementing USB Power Delivery features would be worth doing because I would be able to use USB Type-C external monitors and charge other devices.
Power Switch
On August 11, 2024, I seemed to finally figured out how to connect the IS/SENSE pin of the Infineon BTS7006-1EPP to a microcontroller.
Cost
With the amount of components that MediaCow Touch 2 uses, component costs adds up quickly. As of 12:03 EDT, August 14, 2024, there are 52 semiconductor devices (Anything with reference U, Q or D) in the schematic.
I have been looking for components with the lowest implementation cost within reason.
Planning
The lack of planning and organization continues to hold back the project. Not having an order in what parts of the schematic to finish has me jump from one thing to another, slowing down the process.
Traveling
On Thursday, August 8, 2024, I would leave Virginia to return to Fort Myers Beach, Florida once again to look at a property again that just receieved flood damage again from the recent tropical storm. This trip would not last too long and I would likely be back by Sunday, August 11, 2024.
This would pose some difficulties as I would not have access to the desktop PC during this time. As of writing, on August 7, 20234, I am preparing two laptops, the ZBook ("PMMA") and a ThinkPad T450s ("R151"). I am ensuring that I can properly load my work from the MediaCow Touch 2 repository to be able to continue development while I am away.
The battery pack that I ordered had same-day shipping so I would be able to look at the battery pack before I leave.