It all started with a thermostat.  As in I wanted a new one (See here).  Because I am super special little snowflake, none of the thousands of thermostats on the market suited my needs.  The initial inspiration is well documented; I will not waste time repeating myself.

So I needed a way for the control logic to interface with the physical world.  This of course is done via an IO board and there seemed to be two options - the industrial-level stuff intended to be used with PLCs and the amateur "arduino"-level stuff that's available everywhere on the internet for less than $20.

The cover for the first party is in the 5 digit range even if you manage to get an invitation.  The other party is one guy with a funnel looking for someone with a keg.  I wanted to be in the fancy party, but did not have the money nor the invitation to get in.

So I decided to put my experience gained through being a bartender at the fancy party into an IO board of my own.  That's enough analogy maceration.

My goal was to have a robust IO board for my personal project(s).  I wanted the board to:

The board, in its current V1.0 incarnation satisfies most of my requirements.  Only thing lacking is support from the manufacturer.  It's a hassle.  They're real moody pricks.

Board features and specs:

Click on the pictures to expand them.