The PKD2019 Boards so far
Yesterday, I received the latest PCB design on a late afternoon. And after experiencing an embarrassing design mistake, I am not too keen to start on the board so quickly. So, the whole evening was spent on Family errands and a nice little after-dinner nap which was so exhausting, I had to rest until this morning. Yes, napping is hard work.
The Evolution
- Version 4.0
This is the first version which had the design finalised. It was using the CR2032 coin/ button cell battery. On paper, the design was solid. During the test fit, there were a lot of other issues which I did not anticipate.
a. Although the board was a good fit inside the 3D printed piece, once the 3mm LEDs and slide switch (on the right) fits, the left side 3mm LEDs could not without the user hacking the resin.
b. The stiff SMD slide switch could not withstand multiple switching and thus tears the copper tracks off the board.
c. At the same time, when sliding in the right side of the board into the clip, the left hand top corner would scratch into the 3D resin.
d. The software allowed two modes; normal and mode. The latter ramp up the red LEDs during power on. - Version 4.1
With the errors in the previous version, I redesigned the board a little.
a. The board was extended a little and its top left corner was cut.
b. Spacing for the two left 3mm LEDs were cut deeper to allow for fixing into the holes.
c. The SMD slide switch has been replaced with a more sturdy DIL version. I could have just used a PC header and save more space but in this design, the components are complete.
d. Nudged all components around the microcontroller chip so that I can use the makeshift ICSP clip if I wanted to change/ update its programming. I can design the board to slot into a USB port but this would mean thicker board and also, the USB connectors have only four connections when I needed five for the ICSP to work.
e. Revised software has an added programming where after all the 5 red LEDs ramp up, the bottom 5mm LED would start to blink slowly. - Version 5.01
After some discussion and suggestion on the Forum, I have created this version.
a. The board now uses Lithium Polymer batteries as power source. This was due to the limitation of CD2032’s 3volt battery which could not sustain the circuit once it reaches 3volts. Continued use at this voltage results in the 2.2volts green LEDs to dim and eventually, all LEDs would glow instead. This is very apparent on the Ghost version where the Ice Blue LEDs uses higher voltage of 3.2volts.
b. The right side area for the 3mm LEDs has also been cut deeper to allow for potential fitting on the Tomenosuke Blaster. Since I do not have one, The measurements relied on online help from theRFP Forummers.
c. Removed the extra 10K resistor as I don’t think I will use the last Port for switch detection.
d. Changed the resistors to accommodate the voltage change from 3.0volts to 3.7.volts
e. Replace the CR2032 battery holder with JST 2.54mm and JST 1.27mm sockets for LiPo battery connections. I hope whatever LiPos you have would fit into the clip and also the sockets. Do be aware of the polarity and you might have to modify the battery sockets.
f. As an afterthought, I put in a header socket JP1 in case of future boards where the used might want to access the LiPo batteries. But it would only work if the slide switch is ON.
g. Just for fun (but this is optional) I have added a flashing LED to the circuit board. You know, when you remove the clip, as long as the switch is on, the LED will flash at the rate of 1.5kHz. It will be orange for the normal PKD2019 board and white for the Ghost board.
Where to get what:
AndersFP (Anders Fogde Pedersen) PKD-2019 Blaster Download File
Duplex Designs Lighting Kit for AndersFP PKD-2019
