pointpergame

I agree that the price is extremely high. Similar to the controllers in washing machines. Those sell by the tens of thousands and they still want a usurious $400 - $800 for a replacement. But...this isn't really the "back of an envelope" electronic design. More like a first year Electrical Engineer mid term project. There's conversion from CMOS logic levels to motor drivers in a very noisy electrical environment, plus at least some fail safe consideration. There's specifying the components after the conceptual design. An Arduino could reliably handle the logic, but there would still be the level conversions of the drivers and feedback circuits. These simple little designs can be pretty fiddly in reality. I guess I'm saying the replacement cost is crazy, but FD had to hire an engineering firm to design this board and have the boards built, then they have to stand behind the design legally.