💬 Easy/Newbie PCB for MySensors

[ErrK]

Thank you @sundberg84. I will think of that.

[Barna]

Hi,
Why have you redesigned from rev7 to rev8?
When will the rev8 be tested ?

[sundberg84]

@Barna - I just wanted to make it smaller, with the radio not sticking out so much.
I ordered them a while ago, so if they made it out of china before their new year I think it will be tested soon.

[dark-nico]

Just received Rev 8 :

I'll test it asap :smiley:

[sundberg84]

Nice. @dark-nico
The main concern is the new placement of caps and voltage divider - I hope they fit in between the radio and screw terminal. Should not be a problem - but you know, always nice to see it IRL. Might be good to solder them first before radio, arduino and screw terminal.

[dark-nico]

Ok, I'll do that.
My main problem is that I haven't received both my booster and my 5->3.3 reg. :disappointed:
So I can test Batt version by bypassing the booster, but it will not tell us if the reg placement is ok.
I'll dig in my "donor harware" if I can find a reg.

[dark-nico]

Looks good!

and works fine!

Perfect, thanks again :thumbsup:

I'll test the batt version as soon as I receive the boosters.

[sundberg84]

@dark-nico - You know its easy to cut the PCB to make it smaller? Using it as 5v you can remove the right battery part:

Either cut with a knife and brake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiC-_g3iNb8

Or sometimes i just use a saw (before components are added) - might not be recommended ;)

[dark-nico]

@sundberg84 - Yes I know that I can cut that part, but I think this one will be my test board with all this option, including the battery parts.
However I'll keep the video method in mind, I was thinking about using a dremel, but, it seems cleaner.

[sundberg84]

@dark-nico Ok, have not tested adding both Bat and reg/5v posibilities at the same time. Might be that 5v travels backwards towards the booster... try it out, but as I said, not tested.

[DutchMurk]

@sundberg84 : I have also received the rev 7 from DirtyPCB and learned how to solder. Very nice and flexible design !

Perfect for a Newbie :). Thnaks a lot for sharing

[sundberg84]

Hi!
No problems! Makes me glad to see i made something usefull for others :)
Interesting setup you got the with the HLK as power :+1:

[dakipro]

Great design and project, thank you for sharing it. I really like the rev8 approach in reducing overall size as it will fitt much better in my boxes.
Is it possible to get rev8 files needed to order PCBs from some other places?
Keep up the good work!

[sundberg84]

@dakipro If you "download all project files" @ https://www.openhardware.io/you will get all files (Eagles, Gerber (run with Iteads CAM job) and other stuff).

[chuckconnors]

Please excuse the questions, but you did say this is for Newbies, right? :)

I'm planning on using this with the 3.3v Arduino with battery power once things are debugged. I see above that you say to power from the battery input rather than the FTDI pins. Is that for 5V and 3.3V? Also, what is the resistor labeled D3 Res Temp/Hum used for?

[sundberg84]

Hi! @chuckconnors

You should input power/gnd to the 5v/GND on the PCB and not the ftdi connector on the arduino you have soldered on the pcb. See the images above. This is how the board is designed. It doesnt matter if its 3.3 or 5v.
The resistor is for if you want to use for example a dallas temp or dht22 on pin 3, then you can add a resistor there since these sensors require this.

[chuckconnors]

@sundberg84 Thanks for the reply. Please forgive my ignorance, but can you explain what happens if you connect power via the FTDI pins? Wouldn't it still power the chip and radio?

Should I supply the 5V/GND from the FTDI interface to the VCC/GND pads on the bottom left side of the board?

[sundberg84]

@chuckconnors well it depends on your setup. It can be done with powering through fdti but it's easier to just not recommend it. For example 3.3v with a booster /bat setup powering through vcc on arduino will not power the radio.

That works great. You can connect the fdti to the arduino but extend vcc and gnd with wired to the pcb. To power everything run these cables to the pads in the middle and top of the pcb.

[chuckconnors]

@sundberg84 Thanks for the clarification. I took a look at the board images and I see what you mean. Forgive me again for trying your patience, but could you be so kind as to tell me what the minimum required components are for using this board with a 3.3V Arduino?

Currently I'm only using the Arduino, radio, radio capacitor, power supply (battery or 5V ), and whatever sensors required for that node. This worked out well using the standard hookups as the radio was being powered by the Arduino and the radio is guaranteed the correct voltage via the built in regular on the Arduino, but as you've mentioned this isn't an option with your board. Do I need to include the battery caps and regulator? Again, I'm a novice and I can follow the traces on the top side of the board using the silkscreen labels as a guide but it's a bit harder to follow on the unlabeled bottom side. Do most of you guys use the 5V Arduino?

[BastienVH]

@sundberg84 said:

If you use the FTDI connector, make sure its the 3.3v and connect it to Gnd/Pwr on the PCB and not Arduino FDTI connector.
You could just exclude those pins and connect a battery directly and use that as power and the FDTI as programmer/serial debug only

Bat or Reg is nessecary!
See this picture for battery use: https://www.openhardware.io/view/4/EasyNewbie-PCB-for-MySensors
https://www.openhardware.io/uploads/568ed84b60aa3f8965fbf095/image/3.jpg
All components in the image is needed (except battery measurment).
If you dont want to use booster you need to bypass that one with a wire/jumper (or set the jumper on REG instead of BAT but that kills the logic).

The battery doesnt "need" the 0,1uF but see here:https://www.mysensors.org/build/battery
"The tap point could be bypassed with a 0.1 uF capacitor to keep the noise level low, at this otherwise high impedance point. "