Posts made by Jon Raymond

Thanks @ncollins. I created the issue as requested.

@ncollins Here is my version of a breakout for the nRF52805.

Been playing around with your fork/pull request and I do have one question.

Should there be a SoftDevice for this? According to Nordic it needs either S112 or S113 for BLE to function? Right now your pull request only has the "None" option in the SoftDevice menu.

Is this something you have run into? Do you have any example code that you are running on this module? Thanks again for your work in getting this device supported.

@ncollins That's great, thanks!

@ncollins Hey any update on your NRF52805 Breakout work? I've got a couple of the Ebyte modules that I have been playing around with. Found your pull request on GitHub for board support in sandeepmistry's nrf5 core. Wondering if you got any further as the pull request hasn't been merged and it would be great to see Arduino support for these modules.

@NeverDie Yes that is a good option or use the accelerometer to sense an input.

@NeverDie Ya Adafruit's Clue looks great. I just wish they would have added one more button to the front so up/down/select could be used for a menu system on the display.

@NeverDie said in wristwatches that invite development:

Is that for sure the watch with the new nRF52840 design inside it, or is that some other Cortex M4 watch with only the case that gets used by the upgraded design?

The watch linked from Banggood has a nRF52832 in it which is re-programmable. If you want a nRF52840 then you would need to assemble a custom board in that case. The most recent project log claims a 2 week battery life with the stock reprogrammed nRF52832 and TFT screen. If true, I honestly I don't know if you can ask for much more. My Pebble Time had a 7-8 day battery life and that was mind blowing compared to the Apple watches available at the time.

Another option of you want to want to go the ESP32 route.

Github link to source

@NeverDie

If you can fit your code modifications into an nRF52832 then you can buy an off the shelf watch. All the hard work is done. It's even on sale currently

@NeverDie said in wristwatches that invite development:

craft your own DIY PCB with battery and display to fit inside it. If you put your buttons in the same place as the corresponding apple watch that the case is meant for, then presumably it would work. And it would be waterproof!

So like this or this? Even has full open source Arduino firmware. Really an impressive project!

@NeverDie IC encapsulation is almost always a thermoset polymer as they need to withstand the reflow process. The added benefit of this is that they are not dissoluble by acetone. I wish they were as it would make de-encapsulating IC so much easier. I generally have to use an acid to de-encapsulate. I haven't tried brake clean but would think it would work well.

@NeverDie Before when I used SN63/PB37 Rosin Core I needed to mix a solution of IPA and Acetone to clean the flux residue off. IPA alone wouldn't do it. I have since switched to using SN63/PB37 "No Clean" solder for all through hole parts and have found using only IPA does a good job of cleaning.

You're right about the toxicity of the commercial (and home made products). Whenever possible I do all my board cleaning under a fume hood that I also use when reflowing boards. It's a simple enclosure with an exhaust fan that vents outside.

@NeverDie Here in Canada we can buy 99% ISA from our local pharmacy for a couple bucks a bottle so that's why I normally go that route. Question, have you tried the actually flux cleaner like this before?

@orhanyor Is it just me or does that micro usb connector look like it should be mounted upside down so it actually nests into the cutout in the board below it? Of course the pinout would be mirrored but it seems like a layout issue that they just ran with.

@BearWithBeard I do the 2 container method for cleaning pcbs with isopropyl. First container is the "dirty" one which gets the pcbs first and they soak for a couple minutes. Then each pcb gets the electric toothbrush treatment above the dirty container and then they go for a rinse in the "clean" container. Once the clean container starts to soil it becomes the dirty container and the old dirty container is cleaned and fresh isopropyl is added. Just like washing dishes. I actually worked for a place that used a standard dishwasher to clean (large) pcbs. It worked surprisingly well.

@orhanyor Yes that aQFN footprint does look daunting. Do you have a special paste layer for the center pad that limits the paste? I've seen issues where too much paste on the ground pad will actually float the chip off the pin connections.

There also is an "Education" version of the Jlink for $20 if you want an official one with access to nRF Command Line Tools.

@orhanyor I'd be interested in a couple bare pcbs as I have all the components. It would save me some time rolling my own and waiting for the Chinese pcb supply chain to sort itself out.

@orhanyor Your breakout board from the E73 board looks really nice. Is this something you have for sale somewhere? Would you considering selling any extra bare pcbs?