Hi Hol,
I have lots of opinions and advice about this design, but i would like
more info about the state of the project first. For example i am curious
whether this thing will have a USB port or use the 6-pin serial header
like a Boarduino.
I have a bunch of Atmega32U4 chips that you can use for this project.
True that they are surfacemount but it's not harder to do than
through-hole, in fact it can be much easier even for newbies. I have
syringes of solder paste, although it can be done with regular solder
easily.
here's a video of someone doing it with hot air (note: they fool around
with the narrow stream of hot air, but you can just do it in a blast with
a regular hotair gun in much less time)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2Z7nCAxS2Rg#t=…
the nice thing about the atmega32U4 chips (besides the fact that I will
donate them to the project for free) is that they have native USB, which
means your boards can plug straight into a computer like an arduino
leonardo. Also they will be able to pretend to be other devices, like a
keyboard, mouse, printer, disk, or whatever you want.
specifically about the SAE connectors, I am against them. I think the
board should just have 1/8" holes for wires to be soldered into.
-jake
Hol wrote:
Almost done w/ PCB design. That's an ATMega328p processor and a ULN2003
for power output up to 3.5 amps out of the box. Still need to add some
connectors for I2C and 12V, 5V. I usually use SAE connectors
http://www.vetco.net/catalog/images/G-QD-10-2.jpg for my 12V loads but we
could solder on a barrel jack, or just ship it with holes for DIY
soldering of connectors. Suggestions?