Project Objective: Develop an open source AIS Alarm that alerts sailors that a new marine vessel with AIS is within range
I worked most of last week to complete my RoadTest of the TPSM84A21EVM DC-DC Converter but on Friday the revised PCBs for the AIS Alarm arrived and today I populated two of the boards. This is an update on how things are coming along.
The revised board is shown fully populated on the right. If you have a look back at the first version it is clear how much cleaner the board is now and I much prefer this connection over a ribbon cable. The interferences have also been taken care of.
The microcontroller is programmed over the open header on the far left of the board with pogo pins. The buzzer is just above it. I have two buzzers from different manufacturers and haven't decided which I prefer. Just above the buzzer is the female header that allows connection with the dAISy radio board. The simplified user interface consists of a LED and two buttons and are aligned along the top edge. The tiny SOT363 MOSFET is just visible in the middle of the board with the TSSOP 16 pin microcontroller below it. Everything else is 0805 resistors and capacitors to support.
For some reason I was having trouble soldering the TSSOP microcontrollers today. One had a bridge I didn't think I would ever be able to remove. The next order will include a stencil and my solder paste is getting old so need that too. In the end both boards I put together are working and all hardware seems OK.
The photograph on the left shows the second board fitted into the case. I like the aesthetics of it. Everything fits nicely although snug.
I haven't made any progress on the firmware due to the RoadTest so I need to get back on that. I also need to design the end panel for the case which will fit over the LED and switches.
Past Posts from this Project:
AIS Alarm - Prototype Hardware
AIS Alarm - Prototype Code Outline
AIS Alarm - First AIS Messages
AIS Alarm - First FRAM Storage
AIS Alarm - Debouncing Momentary Button Switches
AIS Alarm - PCB Version 0.1 Arrived
References and Links:
WEGMATT LLC - dAISy AIS Receiver - low cost AIS receiver
Texas Instruments MSP430FR2xx FRAM Microcontrollers - Post No. 4
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