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PCBmedo/ESP8266
From: koswix
9 Mar 2016 09:26
To: Chris (CHRISSS)
36 of 111
41688.36
In reply to
41688.35
That took about 30 or 40 minutes
:$
From: koswix
10 Mar 2016 00:16
To: ALL
37 of 111
41688.37
Redid the board, not as pretty but it is functional. Should have made teh solder pads bigger round the pins, but hopefully it's OK. All cleaned, drilled and ready to solder. I think next time I'll just send off to seeed studio
:|
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sdj3aik1y4kax3p/2016-03-09%2023.09.31.jpg?dl=0
From: Chris (CHRISSS)
10 Mar 2016 00:41
To: koswix
38 of 111
41688.38
In reply to
41688.37
Looks good
:D
I couldn't work out what were the traces in your last picture but I can see it now things are connected up. Not used to seeing full copper boards like that.
Is that the way a normal PCB works but with a solder mask over the rest or is the copper just where the traces go?
From: ANT_THOMAS
11 Mar 2016 13:15
To: koswix
39 of 111
41688.39
In reply to
41688.37
If you haven't already seen some videos, this guy might interest you -
https://www.youtube.com/user/bigclivedotcom
I think he describes his videos as blue collar teardowns. He's recently done a few PCB videos which are quite good.
From: ANT_THOMAS
11 Mar 2016 13:20
To: Chris (CHRISSS)
40 of 111
41688.40
In reply to
41688.34
Not ordered any PCBs, parts haven't arrived to test yet, and I keep having different ideas for design.
What battery do you use? An 18650?
I've had a little look at using a Nokia BL-5C battery because they seem to be the most readily available flat cheap li-ion battery.
I was wondering whether to include a charging circuit, but it would probably be better just to replace the battery with a charged one since they're less than £1 each.
So I'd drop the 4.2V to 3.3V with a regulator, maybe put a voltage sensing bit in like yours to check the battery. I wonder if the ESP8266 can be put to sleep as well as the Arduinos can.
From: koswix
11 Mar 2016 13:43
To: ANT_THOMAS
41 of 111
41688.41
In reply to
41688.39
I've seen a couple of his videos, could listen to his voice for hours. Like a posh Kenny.
From: Chris (CHRISSS)
11 Mar 2016 13:58
To: ANT_THOMAS
42 of 111
41688.42
In reply to
41688.40
A NL-5C would be nice to sit under the board. How do you connect up to them and are they only £1? I have a load of 18650 batteries from a dead laptop I'm using.
A regulator drains too much power even when it's doing nothing so best to avoid using one. I've got a diode between one of the output pins and the power input to the radio which I switch on and off when needed, drops the voltage for the radio. I don't think it's a proper way of doing things but it works.
The voltage sensing is all internal to the ATmega chip if it's powered directly from the battery. Nice and easy to do.
All sorts of tweaks you can do and things you can switch off to minimise the power draw when sleeping.
From: ANT_THOMAS
11 Mar 2016 14:19
To: Chris (CHRISSS)
43 of 111
41688.43
In reply to
41688.42
Diode is a nice way to drop the voltage without a regulator. Looking on AliExpress the NL-5Cs are currently 81p. I'd either need to buy some sort of holder/mount which I bet is more expensive than the battery itself, or go for a screw and couple of pins to secure the battery.
I was thinking the same, to have it sat behind the board.
I've got a load of 18650s in a drawer too.
From: Chris (CHRISSS)
11 Mar 2016 15:52
To: ANT_THOMAS
44 of 111
41688.44
In reply to
41688.43
If I didn't have so many 18660s I'd consider getting some of them. Actually I probably have an old mobile I can rip a battery out of to see how well it would work.
Easy method to fix one in place here
http://strofoland.com/arduino-projects/nokias-bl-4c-battery-holder-in-just-5-minutes/
From: ANT_THOMAS
14 Mar 2016 10:50
To: Chris (CHRISSS)
45 of 111
41688.45
In reply to
41688.44
ESP8266 modules have arrived. I can already think of a load of things other than temperature sensors that I want to make. Definitely going to end up ordering some more.