💬 NModule

[ghiglie]

Hi there!
I've ordered 10 PCBs from iTEAD, so now... I'm plenty of them to do some tests.
Can you confirm these Minis are ok?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-ATMEGA328P-Pro-Mini-328-Mini-ATMEGA328-3-3V-16-MHz-for-Arduino-3-3V-16/32784455996.html?spm=a2g0s.13010208.99999999.271.swhWGM

Btw, I have some battery boosters, I have used them already with success on breadboard. Have you got any experience about it? Do you think the PCB is hackable to integrate it?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Low-Quiescent-Current-1-5V-1-8V-3V-to-3-3V-Boost-DC-DC-Converter-Board/32802383877.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.HOilhS

Thanks!

[Nca78]

@ghiglie said in 💬 NModule:

Can you confirm these Minis are ok?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-ATMEGA328P-Pro-Mini-328-Mini-ATMEGA328-3-3V-16-MHz-for-Arduino-3-3V-16/32784455996.html?spm=a2g0s.13010208.99999999.271.swhWGM

Yes they are ok, they seem to use the Sparkfun layout if I believe the reset button and the position of the A6/A7 pins. I use the boards with a smaller, rectangular reset button on my NModule PCB. The only problem I ever had with "different" ProMini board was the connection between the vcc of the programming header was cut when removing the voltage regulator so board was not powered anymore when using FTDI adapter.

Btw, I have some battery boosters, I have used them already with success on breadboard. Have you got any experience about it? Do you think the PCB is hackable to integrate it?

No, if you use a booster you need some extra caps for filtering the output, and a voltage divider to measure battery voltage, there's no space for that on NModule. I made NModule to have a compact "all included" board, so it's made to use low power sensors, that can run at low voltage so you don't need a booster.
If you really want to use a booster try EasyPCB.

[ghiglie]

Thanks @Nca78 ! I'll order some a lot of 10. Just in case...

@nca78 said in 💬 NModule:

EasyPCB

You'r right. Thanks for this clarification - really don't need to use the boosters or have battery measurements, so I'll keep the sensors small as you designed.

[Nca78]

@ghiglie said in 💬 NModule:

or have battery measurements

You will have battery measurement, because you will power the atmega with the battery directly so it's possible to read Vcc.
When you use a booster Vcc is always the same so you need a voltage divider on the battery to know it's voltage.

[ghiglie]

@nca78 said in 💬 NModule:

@ghiglie said in 💬 NModule:

or have battery measurements

You will have battery measurement, because you will power the atmega with the battery directly so it's possible to read Vcc.
When you use a booster Vcc is always the same so you need a voltage divider on the battery to know it's voltage.

Sorry, n00b here! :( Thanks again, nca!

[Nca78]

@ghiglie no use to be sorry, we were all beginners at some point in time :)

[zmatokan]

@nca78 Hi, I am trying to use nmodule without batteries and connect 12v as a power source from usb breakout. I am not sure if I should remove the voltage regulator from pro mini? Also, should I add my own regulator to the nmodule (on BRD section)? Where should I connect my + and - from usb breakout to the nmodule? Thanks alot!

[Nca78]

Hello,

what does that mean ?
@zmatokan said in 💬 NModule:

connect 12v as a power source from usb breakout.

Do you power the board from 12V or 5V ?

[zmatokan]

@nca78 said in 💬 NModule:

Hello,

what does that mean ?
@zmatokan said in 💬 NModule:

connect 12v as a power source from usb breakout.

Do you power the board from 12V or 5V ?

Hi,

thanks for a very quick reply. I am trying to use a 12v external power source to power the arduino + radio + nmodule board. I tried soldering AMS1117 3,3V to the BRD part of the nmodule board, but when I connect my 12v (+ to the RAW pin and - to the ground) I do not get the regulated voltage at the nmodule shield breakout.

In essence I would like to make my nmodule board work without batteries, by using external power source (usb breakout that is connected to android 12v adapter). This 12v would be regulated by AMS1117 that I solder on BRD part of the board. This way both arduino and radio would get 3,3v and nmodule board would push that voltage to the shield trough vcc and gnd. Maybe I am looking at this the wrong way?

This the quote on your OpenHardware page that I am using as a guidance:

"footprint for an AMS1117 regulator (light blue) if your source voltage is too high for Arduino (> 5.5 V or > 3.3V for 8MHz version). AMS1117 can handle up to 15V and 800mA but it consumes a lot of power, so this regulator should be used only for "wired" power (12V, USB, ...) and never with batteries. If you are using only this regulator, the capacitor of the radio should be enough to keep it stable, but if you want to be on the safe side, you can use the capacitor footprints on the other side of the board: C6/C7 for input C8/C9 for output."

I managed to make my double AAA version to work without problems and kudos for great work!

Thanks alot!

[NeverDie]

@zmatokan Luckily NCA78 has a really good track record of picking low priced parts that are nonetheless really good parts. If worse came to worst, that AMS1117's thermal protection would turn the AMS1117 off until it could cool down rather than overheat to the point of destroying itself.

[Nca78]

@zmatokan ok it's clear now.
So yes you should remove the regulator on the pro-mini, because it's also doing voltage regulation from RAW to VCC and it can't work in parallel with the AMS1117.
Then if you have added ceramic capacitors (one for input, one for output, 1uA each) and connect 12V on RAW and GND you should have 3.3V on VCC. Then you can short JRADIO to send the 3.3V to the radio module.

[Nca78]

@neverdie thank you for the kind words, but in this case the AMS1117 was not a "selection", it's just the cheap regulator that is used everywhere :)

[zmatokan]

@nca78 Thanks for the info, Il try it today!

Works like charm! :-D

[zmatokan]

@Nca78 Hi, looks like I am doing something wrong in my last attempts to use your design with 12v external power supply.

I am using:

• Arduino 5v, 16hz
• AMS 1117 5.0V
• 662K XC6206 - 5v to 3.3v voltage regulator for radio
• 10UF-16V CAP for radio
• NRF24L01SMD

As you can see on a picture, I am using a terminal block where i push 12v.

When I connect the power to the terminal, my Voltage regulator get veeery hot and nothing works.
When I connected my FTDI to try to upload a sketch, a capacitor on arduino got fried. You can see it in the next pic.

This happened on tree of my boards.

Can you please take a look and try to see where the problem might be?

Thanks alot!

[Nca78]

@zmatokan said in 💬 NModule:

587488927515_IMG_3554.jpeg](Uploading 100%)

Hello, I cannot see the picture, I think something went wrong during the upload...
Can you confirm that you didn't solder the jumpers ? Did you solder the input/output capacitors for each regulator on the other side of the board ?

[zmatokan]

@Nca78 Thanks for the quick reply.

I hope you will be able to see the images now:

https://imgur.com/oRBrXDu

https://imgur.com/2Dexy8Z

What jumpers are you referring to?

[Nca78]

@zmatokan said in 💬 NModule:

What jumpers are you referring to?

JPOWER and JRDIO, they should be unsoldered if you are using regulators.
I see JRDIO is not soldered, I can't see JPOWER as it's below the AMS1117, but I supposed you didn't solder it.

Components seem ok, can you explain the problem ? Do you have 5V at the output of the AMS117 and 3.3V at the output of the XC6206 ?

[edit] those "blob" modules are usually of very poor quality, so if you have the right voltages but can't make a radio connection, they might be the reason...

[zmatokan]

@Nca78 I didn't soldier JPOWER either.
Problem is that when I connect 12v to terminal block, my voltage regulator gets very hot and arduino is just showing red led ad not responding to reset.
If I try to connect FTDI cable to upload a sketch, I got my CAP on arduino fried as you can see in the image.

If I try the same thing on simple nmodule (without battery part), it works when I push 12v to RAW and GND.
Maybe the battery pcb part is making problems? Should I soldier C4...C9 on the back of the nmodule pcb?

[Nca78]

@zmatokan sorry I complained about your missing pictures and didn't notice you had explained the problem in your initial message.
A very hot regulator sounds like a short circuit on it's output. Is the red led on at full level or dimmed ? Can you confirm which regulator is getting very hot ?
Burnt tantalum capacitor is either voltage higher than rated voltage or reverse polarity. This capacitor is I think connected between RAW and GND, so I don't see how this could happen, did you have 12V on terminal block when you connected the FTDI ?

For the source of the short circuit (can you check resistance between VCC and GND, and radio VCC and GND ? Not a good idea to do that usually but it will easily confirm the problem here) I have no idea. I don't think it comes from the "power/battery" part of the board, it's pretty basic and it would short RAW not VCC. You could have a problem with radio footprint (but if it's the same module on the non 12V powered board, it's not the reason), or a short between some via on the radio module with the second radio footprint that is below it (red color on picture below)

You should have at least one capacitor for each couple of footprint for input (C6/C7) and output (C8/C9) of the AMS1117. It's not what is causing the problem now, but it will make the power more stable.

[zmatokan]

@Nca78 Thanks a lot for a quick and detailed response.

I tried last night with the regular nmodule pcb (without battery part) and that one didn't work either (seems like the ones that were working before were connected to 5v power supply, not 12v).

Arduino led is at full level and radio is not connecting.

Please confirm that you see this picture:
Should this pads be connected like this? C7 and C6 are connected, not sure if its the problem with the manufacturing or is it meant to be connected?
Another question is: should I connect pads in YELLOW or RED direction? (probably stupid question)
So far I connected them in yellow direction C7->C7
Could this be connected with the problem?

If this 12v does not work out, do you have any other advice?
What I want to do is to use your design without batteries.
It is very small and will fit into a wall socket where I would connect it to some DC power supply.
This DC powersupply will be converted from 220V AC to 12V or maybe 5v.
If I use 5v powersupply, can I still connect 3,3v arduino and sensors to it and how would be the best way?

Thanks a lot!