I mostly agree with Erik (I don't think it's *quite* as bad as presented, but
certainly in the ballpark, and it's worth erring in that direction).

In addition, one other thing to note about hardware projects in GSoC: you
have to make sure that the student, the mentor, and the backup mentor all
either have or have ready access to the part in question. For things folks are
likely to have or which can be picked up at a local shop, that's no big deal;
for "fringe" parts like this, with backorders, preorders, and/or supply
constraints, it's a significant hurdle. It's not impossible, but it's another
thing that has to be sorted out.

Any proposal for a hardware-based GSoC project will need to answer this
question ("I have 4 and will ship them at my cost...", "you can reliably buy
these at Radio Shack...", "Potential mentors Joe and Jane have said they
already have the part...", or similar).

[I expect to have a first draft of the wiki pages and application up tonight
or tomorrow morning; news as it happens.]