2
ScoreSure v2.0
Posted by Chris
on
Saturday, October 31, 2009
We've been pretty busy here at Nerd Towers these last few days.
After receiving some information about the soon-to-be ScoreSure photo-frame-based-pocket-devices, we've been looking into creating and building a whole new PCB to put inside each one. The new device will be built around the PIC 18LF4550 and use a massive 4Mb Flash memory SPI eeprom (that runs at 20Mhz, not the pathetic 400khz used in the earlier device).
Some of the chips - the flash memory and, although not on the schematic there's a battery charge chip too - which are tiny little SMT (surface mount) chips. The flash memory was mounted onto a custom board quite easily (since our collective soldering skills seem to have improved in recent weeks) but the battery charge IC was a nightmare. We started out with about ten of them, but pretty soon were down to four: ping! "where's that one gone?" sh*te! Dropped one on the floor. These things are seriously tiny!
Look at the size of this tiny little tiddler. About the size of a speck of dust!
The flash chip was relatively easy to solder, after spending 45 minutes getting
the battery charge chip onto the PCB. As the eagle-eyed amongst you might have spotted, we've numbered the pins "upside-down"!
After receiving some information about the soon-to-be ScoreSure photo-frame-based-pocket-devices, we've been looking into creating and building a whole new PCB to put inside each one. The new device will be built around the PIC 18LF4550 and use a massive 4Mb Flash memory SPI eeprom (that runs at 20Mhz, not the pathetic 400khz used in the earlier device).
Some of the chips - the flash memory and, although not on the schematic there's a battery charge chip too - which are tiny little SMT (surface mount) chips. The flash memory was mounted onto a custom board quite easily (since our collective soldering skills seem to have improved in recent weeks) but the battery charge IC was a nightmare. We started out with about ten of them, but pretty soon were down to four: ping! "where's that one gone?" sh*te! Dropped one on the floor. These things are seriously tiny!
Look at the size of this tiny little tiddler. About the size of a speck of dust!
The flash chip was relatively easy to solder, after spending 45 minutes getting
the battery charge chip onto the PCB. As the eagle-eyed amongst you might have spotted, we've numbered the pins "upside-down"!
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