Category: Projects

Ethernet Ground Plane

Just showing the ground plane on the Ethernet/Wifi Hat. I am very pleased with this one and the approach I used here. Earlier as I routed I have routed on both sides with ground plane becoming very fragmented. On this one I only used ground plane as an exception and only for minimum distances. The…

Read the full article

Modular Control System

This drawing is an overview of the Hat’s in progress. A few is only on the planning stage, but most electronics is on prototype level and SW is coming on. Raspberry PI is the obvious core if I need heavier processing. Due to the nature of it’s SPI I can only connect one of these…

Read the full article

LAN8710 vs Pro-EP10

Again I am not done routing, but I wanted to illustrate ca the space cost of adding an Ethernet Phy and why I was so interested in Pro-EP10. You can see Pro-EP10 footprint at left in green, while LAN8710 and RJ45 w/magnets build in is in blue at left. Using Pro-EP10 would be a huge…

Read the full article

Wifi/Ethernet Hat

Not routed the Hat yet, but got all components on the PCB and it looks possible. Using an optional 2.4Ghz antenna on this one. It will take ca 1 week and I probably have the first draft routed. It tends to og fast once I start. What I usually do is to do a bit…

Read the full article

Wifi/Ethernet Hat Drafts

Getting on with my ESP32 based Wifi/Ethernet Hat. First draft of schematics below. This is the first time I try LAN8710 so all bets off. I am most worried about the 100Mhz signals here. The next picture show components before I place and route the PCB. This looks tight tbh. LANEnable will switch power on/off…

Read the full article

Ethernet Hat’s ESP32/HLK-7688A

I decided that I want to make 2 different Ethernet/Wifi modules With different purpose. With Raspberry PI it will be 3, but RPI and ESP32 overlap in functionality. ESP32 with Ethernet/Wifi/Bluetooth is a very attractive “Connector” solution where I can add more connections by adding multiple Hat’s. I can sadly only add a single Raspberry…

Read the full article

3KW Thunder Stick

This is my 3KW 3-Phase Motor Driver Rev 1.3. Revision 1.0 and 1.1 had air wiring, 3 current sensors and output at right. Rev 1.2 lacked RS485 while Revision 1.3 have CAN and RS485 + 2 temp sensors between MOSFET’s + I solder on cobber wires directly on PCB for 60V and GND to sustain…

Read the full article

Hat Summary

Its been a few Hat’s since I started the latest series using SPI as backbone, so it’s time to consolidate on those I want to finish first. I have a list of close to 40 different Hat’s I want to make. Key to them all is that I use STM32F405 as a reusable component to…

Read the full article

Wifi/Ethernet Hat

This early draft uses ESP32 and a HR911105A RJ45 connector. I want to attempt using LAN8720A as Phy. The Hat will contain SPI as backbone, CAN as secondary control, an USB, Wifi, Bluetooth and Ethernet. The schematics look straight forward, but I have a lot of reading up to do. ESP32 is as fast as…

Read the full article

Ethernet Hat Options

I am as mentioned before looking for alternatives to connect to Wifi/Ethernet that don’t include a SD Card or going outside the Hat format. I also have an interest in making Ethernet available from embedded systems in general. The main reason is however to be able to Connect multiple Ethernet/Wifi Connections. The block diagram above…

Read the full article