This was a large amount of development in this log. I completed the routing of the board, confirmed the schematics again, and made some final decisions. The process was straightforward thanks to the work that I did earlier. After completing the routing, I exported some project data for a review on the Printed Circuit Board community on Reddit. Once the review is complete, I will make the required changes and ensure everything is good. Then I will create a readme and submit for funding.
I did a few things in this devlog. First, I finalized the schematic of this project that I was working on. The Smart Card will be a credit card sized Bluetooth tracker with a wireless rechargeable battery. I had already done the initial schematic in June before I learned about Stardance then I decided to continue it now with the program. After finishing the schematic, I placed the components and did a little routing. However, I soon realized that it would be impossible to route the wireless charger IC without using VIP and .15mm vias which would have been prohibitively expensive, so I pivoted to another TI chip with the exact same functionality in a different QFN package. After making these changes I saved the board and got ready for routing round two.
Just some minor cleanup and finalization of the project, its description, and its GitHub page.
I switched the main MCU from a nRF52840 to the RP2040 for now as I needed to make the board smaller and I would not be able to access the small pads underneath the Xiao nRF52840 with the new design. I also started working more on CAD. Both parts on now complete and I am just finishing up on the firmware.
The initial schematic and PCB routing are done for the Hackpad. I decided to try and make it wireless to add some complexity to the project, so I am using a Xiao nRF52840 instead. I also added hotswap sockets instead of the solder sockets so I could test different switches. I also went with two encoders for more inputs. The setup should also work with the default RP2040; however, the left encoder will not work. Next up is designing the case for it.
