I'm certainly interested in this, but I have a number of questions.
1) Do we have any kind of ETA when the Wasp board designs might be ready for these? I checked the Wasp and Hive threads, and to a non-EE like me, it's clear as mud.
The last bit of information that I got was that The WPC has A1 sample chips in the hands of an EE and that he is working on getting the prototype Wasp functional. This is the final step to having the board design finished (at least for the A1s). Once we have a working Wasp and the licensing is worked out, we will likely be ready to start fabing the Wasp PCB. As for how long this will take, it's hard to say for sure, but it shouldn't be too much longer (days or weeks, but not months.)
2) How many chips would be required per Wasp board?
With the A1s there will be 6 chips per Wasp.
3) Are there any other current board designs that would use these?
We have a prototype Wasp for the A1 in the works as we speak. The only other board design that I know of is the recent release of a Bitmine 2-Chip Evaluation Board Reference Design.
4) More to the point, is anyone doing dev project to actually fabricate the boards?
Answered.
5) What would be the initial time estimate for these to start hashing?
Depends on when we can get: 1. The chips. 2. The A1 Wasp board design. But I can do a small production run for a few boards a day (including PCB fabrication), then with assembly and testing one or two days for a small batch (maybe 15 -50 Wasps a day to start, then a rapid increase in that number as we iron out the process and get the production running smoothly.)
6) What plans, if any, do you have in place for delays like those that hit the Avalon chip group buys and Klondike/BitBurner board development problems?
It depends on whether the chips have been paid for yet or not. If they have not been paid for, we can discuss purchasing a different chip or processing refunds. If they have been paid for, we'll have no choice but to wait, demand a refund from Bitmine or join the lemurs as they go over the edge.
As far as board development problems, we won't consider ordering the chips until The WPC has a working prototype and The WPC has made a final decision on its licensing for the Wasps.