Next Activity Board version
Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)
Posts: 23,514
'Been doing a lot with the AB lately and have some suggestions (#1 and #4 requested before):
Thanks!
-Phil
1. An LED to indicate a low Vin. This is vital in a classroom situation. When students' ActivitiyBots get low on power, it's not always obvious that that's the source of program issues. This is easy to remedy with just a three-pin voltage detector, a resistor, and an LED.
2. Include a solderable grid of through-hole pads under the solderless breadboard area. That way you can offer a version without the solderless breadboard and the header sockets surrounding it for folks who want a more permanent way to customize the board for one-off apps.
3. Provide a dimensional drawing of the board outline, mounting holes, and connector positions -- or more generic PCB layout files (e.g. Gerbers, PDFs, etc.) so that folks can design AB plug-ins without having to own Altium or resorting to sketchy dimensioning with a dial caliper (my current situation).
4. Fix the mislabeling of P30 and P31 LEDs on the current version.
5. Provide a +5V-to-Vin reverse-current diode (if deemed necessary) for users who want to power the board from +5V sourced to the +5V bus (e.g. via a servo header).
6. Source a more reliable three-position switch than the current version. I've had to replace a couple of these already. And they're not easy to unsolder!
2. Include a solderable grid of through-hole pads under the solderless breadboard area. That way you can offer a version without the solderless breadboard and the header sockets surrounding it for folks who want a more permanent way to customize the board for one-off apps.
3. Provide a dimensional drawing of the board outline, mounting holes, and connector positions -- or more generic PCB layout files (e.g. Gerbers, PDFs, etc.) so that folks can design AB plug-ins without having to own Altium or resorting to sketchy dimensioning with a dial caliper (my current situation).
4. Fix the mislabeling of P30 and P31 LEDs on the current version.
5. Provide a +5V-to-Vin reverse-current diode (if deemed necessary) for users who want to power the board from +5V sourced to the +5V bus (e.g. via a servo header).
6. Source a more reliable three-position switch than the current version. I've had to replace a couple of these already. And they're not easy to unsolder!
Thanks!
-Phil
Comments
-Phil