pic: What are we up to this summer...

[bear24rw]

That sounds like a pretty sweet project, keep us posted on how it goes

[Adam Shapiro]

Are you using a ground plane with this board? There is no trace for gnd visible. If so, make sure you select the correct options when you send it to be made. Also, you may want to trim the board down and reduce some of that text, boards get pretty expensive pretty fast as they get bigger.

[ZZII 527]

Originally Posted by Adam Shapiro

Are you using a ground plane with this board? There is no trace for gnd visible. If so, make sure you select the correct options when you send it to be made. Also, you may want to trim the board down and reduce some of that text, boards get pretty expensive pretty fast as they get bigger.

Oops: Yes, there is a ground plane. I turned it off so I could see what I was doing, but it fills everywhere inside the green outline and all the pads that look like they aren't connected to anything are on that plane.

As for the cost, www.33each.com is my new favorite fab place. $33 boards up to 60 in^2 with no minimum quantity for students. Plus, they send you free popcorn and a Domino's coupon.

Anyone know if the Schottky diode in series (D1) approach is okay for reverse polarity protection for something like this? I'm looking to protect the sensor - the PIC and radio are relatively expendable. Are there any other good methods of making sure the sensor (bottom right connectors) doesn't get toasted?

[ZZII 527]

Works like a charm. Um, not the Segway part yet, just the PCB. I can grab the 3-axis gyro and accel measurements off the sensor at about 300 samples per second and drive two PWMs, plus communicate everything to a PC wirelessly.

Hooking up the $275 sensor for the first time was scary. No matter how many times you check the pin diagram, it's still an adventure.