MY NEW PCB DESIGN

Hay there guys i have just Finished my new PCB using EAGLE great program its the size of a credit card
With Xbee adaptor
SD card
RTC Clock
2x Realays
Serial port for coms and programing
SPI port
I2C Port
can be powerd by 12v or USB
and has a 4way Dip Switch

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Looks interesting. You might want to reconsider the name "Nano", though, as there is already an "official" Arduino Nano, of course.

Is the mini "shield" with the DHT22 designed to fit on the (unpopulated) 8x2 male header? Do you also have the RTC on the shield?

Looks like you have had a few made up. How many did you get made up, and how much did it cost you to get an initial batch run? Or did you solder these up yourself?

I like the fact it is Serial/ICSP programming only -- I feel the usb programming capability adds too much to the cost and complexity of design, and is a waste for a board destined to actually go into the field. I'd even simplify further and get rid of the DTR reset circuitry, and make it ICSP programming only. Why do you need more than ICSP for a deployment board?

And did you design these so that two small relays could be mounted directly on the board, or are they just providing two relay actuation outputs?

Oh well im a pcb designer and enginer by trade.
the name nano if you look its V1Nano.
the DHT22 is on the board and the RTC
well i got 11 boards printed cheap and i have built up 4 just for testing this is just a prototype for now
and yes 2 relays could be mounted directly on the board for control and it works great
ill get some better photos
and it can run any LCDs TFTs i have a 1.8"TFT runing on it now

These are awesome looking! Nice work. I have a few experments myself that this would be great for if you're interested and wouldn't mind kicking around some ideas. Been looking for something -exactly- like this to use as a Xbee radio test bed for quite a while, but only found FIO , high end expensive dev kits, etc.

In regards to the design, I do agree about the USB port being alleviated- of course that is good for the pros and manufacturing $$$. But then again, if your target user is the weekend experimenter type home/hobbyist it makes things perhaps easier for the novice if there's USB. I would bet there is a lot of folks wanting to increase their Arduino knowledge base with a feature packed but small Xbee enabled board system like this to use for dev , not just me. The TFT LCD success is definitely a plus as well. Get in touch, i like what I am seeing here...alot! Could use one tomorrow if it checks out. Tired , myself, of reinventing wheels. Again, nice work. :wink:

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But then again, if your target user is the weekend experimenter type home/hobbyist it makes things perhaps easier for the novice if there's USB. I would bet there is a lot of folks wanting to increase their Arduino knowledge base with a feature packed but small Xbee enabled board system like this to use for dev , not just me.

If you want to increase your Arduino knowledge and save some dough, buy a $5 USBasp ICSP programmer off ebay. Actually, it's no harder to program a dev board with one of these in the Arduino IDE than using the standard USB method. Just select to use the programmer rather than a COM port from within the IDE.

Another XBee enabled board you might want to check out is the Iteadstudio IBoard. It's also got the equivalent of an ethernet shield built in! All for about the same price as an Uno. But -- you will have to program it using either ICSP, or a USB->TTY serial converter (get a converter with an Xbee socket on it, and you can program/communicate with your Xbee chips from your PC as well. Maybe you've even already got one...)

I suspect an important reason it is such good value compared to the Uno is because it doesn't have the expensive and basically unnecessary USB bumpf the Arduino boards have.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you have the PCBs manufactured? I am looking for a cheap PCB manufacturer.

What are you gonna do with all the extra boards you made? Wanna sell one of them? :wink:

  1. hay guys thanks for all the interest in the boards well i would like to sell them but i need to make some small changes to the PCBs and get some more made if you have any other ideas or what else i could add into the design let me know.
    oh and the 6pin header com port is for a USB to Serial adapter module this type
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/FT232RL-USB-to-Serial-adapter-module-USB-TO-232-Arduino-download-cable-/170910289160?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27cb0c0d08
    i realy just use the SPI port to Brun the bootloader on the chip the i use the usb serial for the rest.
    i have had a I2c 4line display working on it aswell ill get some better photos done in the moring and post them up.
    its good having the xbee built onto the boad so no more sheilds :slight_smile:
    one other thing the 8x2 header is for the sd card Sheild to plug into

:slight_smile: here are some better photos

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For as a nifty (and maybe useful to many) output other than the existing relay outputs, I'd personally like to see a 3-pin 100k digital pot output header. I mean, interfacing to one is not hard but no experimenters Xbee board I know of personally has one. I guess either the SPI type or whatever could be used, but for an experimenters board (and maybe for more utility in practice) it'd be a "nice to have" option even if it was provided as a little externally linked board. At any rate, just a fleeting thought. As far as anything ELSE, nah...at least not for any other "suggested" bells and whistles. It's easy to over-feature something, but hard to actually provide truly useful utility across the board. i mean, there's lots of Xbee adapters and shields and blah blah, but who wants all that junk all over ones desk when something like your new board would suffice? People like me who work with Xbee on at least a rudimentary level as serial ports or for simple actuation could use this thing. Would replace a lot of modules cluttering the bench!

-All the best!

:)Hello all here are some more photos of the PCB
1 of the cams board plug in and SD card
allso the difference in size my PCB and the arduino duemilanove and Mega
But mine has all them extra features.

dht22 digital temperature humidity sensor
SD card
can use 12V or USB power
Xbee
2 Realays
I2C port
4way Dip switch
RTC clock
also usb Coms pulg in

I have been making some changes to the board i have added in a voltage driver so you can read the input voltage when using the 12V input if you use a battery.

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Should i add in the Arduino Headers so sheilds can be plugd on to the PCB not that i need them.
The way i have designd the board got rid of all them big headers and now i have pads to solder wires on where i need them.
What else could i do to improve the PCB?

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I'm doing something similar at present, it has a very specific form factor and I am NOT adding standard headers. It's up to you of course but will mean a total re-lay of the tracks and you may have a clash with the Xbee and the shield.

now i have pads to solder wires on where i need them.

Are these pads on a standard 100mil grid so you can use a header and ribbon cable? It doesn't look like it but that may be worth doing.

How come there's no thermal relief on the 2x7 header GND pins?


Rob

How come there's no thermal relief on the 2x7 header GND pins?

what do you mean By thermal relief ?
well i wont be puting the headers on to much work in changing the PCB design and i dont need to but would have been good for the ethernet sheild.

what do you mean By thermal relief ?

Normally when a plane connects to a pin it does so with just 4 very short tracks to the main body of copper rather than the copper "swamping" the pin. This stops too much heat being wicked away into the copper during soldering which can cause a bad joint.

This is usually an option in the CAD software.

If you will be hand soldering the header I doubt it matters but it's strange that the CAD package didn't do that by default.

Good call on the shield headers, what pins does the Enet shield need, probably just SPI isn't it. Maybe you could add the 2x3 ISP header to get that.

EDIT: I just noticed, no mounting holes, people will crucify you for that :slight_smile:


Rob

EDIT: I just noticed, no mounting holes, people will crucify you for that

Yes there is 1 mounting hole at the top beside the realy i only wanted the one becouse i have designd this for a box i have that will be CNC cut.

Maybe you could add the 2x3 ISP

Yes that is allready on the PCB

Yes I see them now.


Rob

:slight_smile:
what do you guys think of this for my next PCB design it would have the following
ATmega2560 or 1206 processor
3.2" TFT touch Display
Ethernet
SD Card
Usb Coms
RTC Clock
Xbee
12V and USB power
maybe some relays
What else?

1206 processor

?


Rob

:slight_smile: ATmega1280
Is what i mean
:slight_smile:

Both the 1280 are 2560 are about $10-15 so there's no point using the 1280 I think.

But I would also question using either these days when you can buy most ARM chips for a lot less. How about doing a clone of the Due?


Rob