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What's the smallest Prop board out there? — Parallax Forums

What's the smallest Prop board out there?

Chad GeorgeChad George Posts: 138
edited 2009-07-29 19:51 in Propeller 1
I've been working on a new "pet" project and I want to get the prop in the smallest form factor possible.

Here's what I've got on there so far:
- XBEE header
- Propeller (obviously)
- EEPROM 512k or 1024k
- 10 Mhz Crystal
- 30 pin .100in header
- 16 direct I/O lines
- 6 analog lines connected to XBEE (includes analog RC filter for each line)
- I2C
- multiple power and ground

- mini USB (thought about micro but I have so many more mini cables laying around)
- FTDI UART
- 1 Cell LIPO battery charger (no protection circuit, needs one in the battery pack)
- Software On/Off circuit, with the power on button used as general purpose input when powered on
- Auto switching power mux (this is to help isolate and switch between battery and external/usb power)
- 1 aux switch (optionally jumpered to reset line)
- 1 RGB led
- 1 switch and led connected to XBEE (associate button and led for Zigbee mode)

Also I sent 6 lines up to the XBEE, which is more than it really needs, but that will allow me to use other wireless (like the nordic or bluetooth) if I get it in the XBEE footprint.

Its currently in a 1.5 in x 1.5 in form factor. Which I think is small enough for what I need, but I was interested in what other people thought.
top view.PNG
720 x 546 - 94K
bottom view.PNG
720 x 496 - 50K

Comments

  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2009-07-29 04:45
    That is impressive my smallest module is 1x0.9 and only has esentials.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    propmod_us and propmod_1x1 are in stock. Only $30. PCB available for $5

    Want to make projects and have Gadget Gangster sell them for you? propmod-us_ps_sd and propmod-1x1 are now available for use in your Gadget Gangster Projects.

    Need to upload large images or movies for use in the forum. you can do so at uploader.propmodule.com for free.
  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2009-07-29 06:40
    Don't forget the silk-screen placement square on that QFN [noparse];)[/noparse]

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    --Steve


    Propalyzer: Propeller PC Logic Analyzer
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=788230
  • Chad GeorgeChad George Posts: 138
    edited 2009-07-29 11:51
    mctrivia said...
    my smallest module is 1x0.9 and only has esentials.
    yes, I definitely think yours is the absolute smallest possible (at least with reasonable headers)

    I went back and forth alot about whether to make an "absolute" minimal version or a "fairly" minimal version. I ended up with this feature set because once I convinced myself I wanted xbee header for sure, the minimal form factor (including the 6-32 mounting holes) was pretty much set. I kept adding things back into the design until there was no room left and no unused pins on the prop. [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    I'm also trying to keep costs really low. One of my projects I want to use this for is a swarm of really small robots. and those need to be cheap if I'm ever going to do it all by myself.

    jazzed said...
    Don't forget the silk-screen placement square on that QFN [noparse];)[/noparse]
    Hmmm, I intentionally didn't use any QFN parts. (Probably could have fit things a bit easier if I had used QFN for at least the Prop and FTDI)

    Are you referring to the RGB LED between SW1 and SW2?

    And is this mostly a cosmetic concern? if so I agree it would look more uniform with the other parts nearby. or something more critical that I'm overlooking?
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2009-07-29 16:06
    I think he is refering to the prop i modified the package to have a placement skreen around the qfn prop. if using pick and place machine it does not help at all.

    like the 3d images what do you use?

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    propmod_us and propmod_1x1 are in stock. Only $30. PCB available for $5

    Want to make projects and have Gadget Gangster sell them for you? propmod-us_ps_sd and propmod-1x1 are now available for use in your Gadget Gangster Projects.

    Need to upload large images or movies for use in the forum. you can do so at uploader.propmodule.com for free.
  • Chad GeorgeChad George Posts: 138
    edited 2009-07-29 17:03
    Altium Designer. I really like their whole package. They've been making alot of progress lately in their 3D integration. Its really nice to see what the board will look like with parts on it.
  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2009-07-29 19:00
    A while back I made a 40-pin Propeller DIP module with the pinout compatible with the BS2p40 Stamp. It is pretty small.

    http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=25&m=172771

    If there is interest I could get another batch of the PCB's made up.

    Robert
  • BergamotBergamot Posts: 185
    edited 2009-07-29 19:48
    I think the Spin Stamp is probably the smallest:

    ss1-ica-L.jpg
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2009-07-29 19:51
    I want to know the part number for those headers.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    propmod_us and propmod_1x1 are in stock. Only $30. PCB available for $5

    Want to make projects and have Gadget Gangster sell them for you? propmod-us_ps_sd and propmod-1x1 are now available for use in your Gadget Gangster Projects.

    Need to upload large images or movies for use in the forum. you can do so at uploader.propmodule.com for free.
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