Today I had a very nice talk with a friend of mine. He asked me whether I have defined my goals for this project and when it is finished? I am very thankful for this question because sometimes I only sum up all the tasks that still need to be done and it looks endlessly.
The project started as a hobby in Feb 2010 – I was impressed by the capabilities of the VS1053 chip – an Audio DSP from VLSI Solutions, which is capable to encode ogg/vorbis with just about 32kB of RAM – pure admiration. Then i heard about the Lantronix XportPro designcontest and ambition set in. (It scored 2nd 😉 ) And as i am working with free radiostations – i saw that there is a need for such a device. So it started and the project evolved and i set the bar higher, i wanted it to become a full OpenHardware/OpenSource production-ready Device – like a professional product. Do you see the dilemma arising? I just continued one step after the other and there probably wont ever be an end.
So now I try to define when the project is finished in my eyes:
- Finishing the Hardware – 10 pcs. of OggStreamer manufactured and in use by various Radiostations
- Working Firmware (including builtin icecast2-Server), configurable over ssh – but no WebGUI
- Availability of PCBs to the OpenHardware-Community (maybe with all the smd components presoildered)
- Documentation of this Project, so that other developers can adjust the OggStreamer to their needs.
The just defined goals should be achieved by April 2012. The Timeline below shows details:
OggStreamer 
Hi, I will like to know how can an independent individual support this project? I do streams from an alix computer and will like to test and use your developments. Certainly ogg based. Please let me know how can I help and yes, I could raise some little money to either buy you a development board and help test or yea, whatever you see can help you get closer to the goal of having some PCB’s with the smd components presoldered. It will be a great kit for radio workshops also. Keep up the good work! and please let me know your reaction to this comment. I will like to send and email but cant find one.
Thanks for your comment – it is the first one this project blog got 😉 – Well, we are currently finalizing the PCB and the mechanics and our next step will be the assembling of one device – We want to solder one device by hand – including all the 0805 parts – and hope to find a sponsor to do a factory run of a small series (10pcs.) – We want to use this small series for FieldTests and also to provide devices to interested developers – I’ve already have written the first sketch of a firmware for the prototype – but it needs a fundamental rewrite. Until the first device is produced it is a bit tricky to involve other Developers, but i try to define specific tasks to be able to split the work better. – Anyhow thanks for you comment, i will contact you right now via Email. My email-address can be found on the ABOUT Page. thanks