Perhaps it is also a passion project, where the break-even point is not necessarily the goal, or is defined somewhat relaxed.
@Greg_E Totally fair questions, and happy to be open about it
For the first uConsole KVM extension, we sold roughly around 100 units. From a pure hardware point of view, we basically just about broke even. If we factor in design time, testing, software work, and all the back and forth, then yeah, it definitely wasn’t a “profitable” project in the strict sense…
Originally, we honestly thought this would be a relatively small side effort alongside our main roadmap for Mini-KVM and KVM-GO. The idea was basically “just tweak the PCB to fit the uConsole”. That turned out to be over optimistic on our part back then
The CM4 CPU and its built-in GPU are quite resource-constrained, and we ended up spending way more time than expected optimizing our Qt software stack so it could run smoothly on CM4, which directly benefits uConsole users. On top of that, people run all kinds of Linux distros on uConsole, so we also spent a decent amount of time packaging and adapting the app for different environments. If you’re running a more niche distro and hit install issues with our Qt app, just ping us. We’re happy to try and cover it. If someone would like to jump in to help, then great!!! Speaking of which, huge shout-out to @Rex , who helped us a lot with packaging. Really appreciate it ![]()
Anyway, our effort on this certainly wasn’t wasted. A lot of the optimization work we did there actually made our software better across platforms, so there was real technical value beyond just this one board.
And yeah, @Codiator is right too. A pretty big part of this was passion. We like the uConsole ecosystem, we like the community around it, and we enjoy building tools that are genuinely useful, even if the break-even line is… let’s say, flexible ![]()
I can’t promise anything yet about pushing a next version of this KVM extension, especially with a solid timeline. There are a lot of things we need to balance. Well, the current version is quite solid, and we still have a few units in stock
So if you’re new to this, you can totally grab one from here and give it a try.
Also, always happy to hear from you. If you want to share how you use your uConsole, what you’d want from a KVM extension, or your cool use cases, that kind of feedback genuinely helps us decide where to go next.
I think for now I just need to set up the software and use my mini with the uConsole. Used the mini through Windows the other day to set up a Linux machine to test Frigate. Got it up to the point where ssh and or rdp was working. Pretty handy little device, had to do some checking in bios before the OS install and everything was fine.
My lab will be getting a bunch of work, and the mini will be doing it. The host services on some servers keep crashing, so going to do fresh installs and switch them back to bios boot from uefi. About the last variable left for me to try.
I just want to highlight what an awesome person @BILLY_WANG is.
I ordered a KVM board back in November. It was the holiday season here, and the package took a long time to reach my local post office. When it did, the post office immediately marked it as “unreadable address” and returned it to the sender.
I reached out to Billy via DM. He was quick to respond and offered me the option to cancel or reship. I waited a few weeks before responding to him, but when I did, he immediately resent the package within hours, and it arrived promptly.
There was never a moment when he was anything but a gentleman and a professional. Knowing that this project wasn’t a golden egg and was probably more of a headache than a profit for him, and yet he treated the whole thing better than Amazon does these days.
Really appreciate your patience with the shipping hassle, and thank you so much for sharing this publicly. I’ve passed your message to my team, and it really made our day. It honestly means a lot to us.
We’re a small team, but we do care a lot about what we build and the overall experience. Most of us are very tech-minded and spend a lot of time polishing the product itself, but we also know that logistics and support are a big part of the experience too.
We’re still improving our internal workflows to do better there. We always try to respond as quickly as we can, and even if we’re sometimes a bit slow (sorry, we do get swamped sometimes), we will always get back to you and do our best to sort things out. If anyone needs support, feel free to email us or just DM me.
Thanks again for the kind words. It truly keeps us going ![]()
I’ve had no real issues with my mini, but Billy is still great, even if I didn’t need help. It’s a good line of products that I’ve used a few times now. One of those problem solvers that is easy to carry from site to site. I just hope they are popular enough to make a profit.
Also contrast to my Sipeed KVM that worked three times and quit, no warranty because I didn’t buy from them direct. That thing went to the landfill and they are on my no buy list.
Aha! It’s meant to be that way. When you pick it up and hold it to use the screen, just look down at the ports. The text flips right side up for you! It’s an ergonomic thing so you can read it easily while plugging stuff in. What do you think?
But I totally get it… if first instinct is to think my text is backwards.
It bothers me enough that I’m going to paint over it.
What version are you using at the moment?
Reminds me that I still need to get the software installed on my uconsole so my mini will work!
That was a fail. I ended up using the script from the openterfaceQT github because I couldn’t get the .deb from the website working. Most of the time when I plug the mini into the usb, the system shuts off. I was at 65% battery so charging to see if that helps. Haven’t had a power problem yet, using the cm4 board and running Rex’s version of Parrot 6.4. I’ll mess with it more tomorrow and hope that a fresh charge will fix things, maybe the battery meter is just way off.
Try installing the package I have in my repo, I packaged it up and verified it working with Trixie. Should work on parrot too.
sudo apt install openterfaceQT? Or just openterface?
The way it crashes to no power button light makes me think the mini draws more than my current state of charge.
sudo apt install openterfaceqt
Battery still charging, so I think it was reporting higher than reality. Hopefully charging fixes it, I have some work for it tomorrow and don’t feel like using my laptop.
It was the dead battery, but still getting funny things like saying the driver is installed and needs a reboot. Done the reboot about three times and still says it. It also does funny things to the USB ports on some of my computers. When connected most of the ports are no longer visible for booting. I’ll have to fiddle with out more another day, some of these oddities happen under Windows too.



