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group buy #2 for ultracore (core + 4x IIC + 8 banksticks)


ultra
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hi guys.  it's thursday and i started working on getting all the information together and i realized i can't remember how much the package weighs so i can properly charge shipping.  so tomorrow i'll get it weighed and send the messages out tomorrow evening.  anybody who hasn't yet, please pm me with shipping info and paypal e-mail address.  thanks.

ultra

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another update.  i'm still waiting on replies and payments from a few people, but the boards are on order and should arrive in about 10 days.

deep88 and petterniklas:  according to my records i've sent you a pm asking for shipping info and haven't received it.  please pm me with your shipping information so i can make an invoice.  valant, please pm me and let me know what's going on as my records show the invoice has been sent.

thanks,

ultra

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just received mine in Australia today. Thanks Ultra!

The board is a neat design. Not much wasted space, and seems like pretty efficient signal routing. I noticed you only put a ground plane fill on the bottom layer. I would normally have top and bottom filled with ground, and link between the top and bottom ground regions with vias. My designs are mostly for high frequency and high power applications, so the requirements are a bit different, but I think it is usually a pretty good approach for most designs, even if your circuit doesn't generate high frequencies on board (with exceptions of course).

Anyway, thank you very much for these. My plan is to use these for customisable routing and merging for my GM5 interface. Of course, I will post back to the forum when (if?) I finish the project.

Cheers Ultra. Much appreciated!

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i'm glad they're arriving :).

madox:

i will take this into account when making my next board.  not sure if i'll do it, but i'll for sure investigate whether or not it'll be needed.  i'm not sure if other boards, like smash's, use two ground planes.

i'm glad you like the layout and i appreciate the comments.

ultra

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i will take this into account when making my next board. not sure if i'll do it, but i'll for sure investigate whether or not it'll be needed. i'm not sure if other boards, like smash's, use two ground planes.

i'm glad you like the layout and i appreciate the comments.

ultra

Hi,

Often with this kind of design consideration, it more of a precaution, than a need. Most of the time, it does no harm, and has a chance of doing some good, under certain conditions.

Most low frequency circuits, with decent signal levels, and not really high power, will be pretty forgiving of layout issues. Sometimes there can still be some problems when there are both analogue and digital signals on the same region of a board, where layout precautions can avoid issues.

The first couple of boards I did when I was a student suffered from this, as there were switching signals interfering with sensor signals. Improving the layout fixed all the problems, for a circuit that almost didn't work at all. All the signals, apart from the oscillator from the micro, were less than 100kHz fundamental freq.

One board I did when I first graduated, also needed some adjustment to the layout. The board worked fine on the test bench, but had some problems when people used it in a harsh RF environment. Of course, this is not likely to be an issue here, but is just an indication of why layout is often done with precautions.

Of course, if it works well as is, in the required environment, and the signals are clean, there is no reason to change a good layout.

Oh, one small pointer I just noticed with the layout of your crystals. Obviously what you have done works, but crystals are one of the more sensative components for layout issues. I have found it is best to place these as close as possible to the oscillator pins, with tracks as short as possible, and each trace of the two nodes of equal length, and usually symetrical. Crystals can have issues with parasitic capacitance etc, and in bad cases, can fail to commence oscillation. This can be difficult to probe too, as disturbing the system can commence the oscillation, and everything appears fine. This can be inconvenient to have devices close to the IC pins, but can also save some hassles.

Anyway, hope I don't seem too critical. I really do think it is a good layout.

Cheers,

madox

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madox:  i certainly don't think you're too critical.  midibox is as much a learning tool as it is fun, and any suggestions you have help us all. :)

this is the first pcb i actually completed, and there will be more in the future.  i'll definitely be coming back to this thread when it comes time to start something new.

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