Solo Breakout Board & connectors

cynfab · Jan 18, 2016

Is anyone still interested in break out boards for the Solo?

I got my Solo in October, started looking at the Accessory bay for a project, and the only break out boards I found were somewhat lacking (IMHO).
So, I made my own. See attached pix. Yes, it DOES clear the gimble.

Pro's:
No expensive hard to find ClickMate connectors.
All pins broken out, so if 3DR decides to use those extra pins for something some day, it's ready.
Adjustable switching step-down regulator from raw Batt voltage.
3.3V linear regulator.
USB connected directly to Accessory Bay connector, better USB signal integrity (equal length D+ and D-, no stubs).
Isolated UGND plane.
Holes for mounting to the Solo Body.
Hole for Pairing switch.
Additional boards can be stacked using the pins at P1 & P2 arduino style.
Nice Green soldermask.

Con's:
No fuse or other protection methods. BE CAREFULL!!! (Yep, I should have put one in...)
No ClickMate connectors.
No Arduino UNO/Nano/Teensy position.
No fancy board outline, but it does clear the Gimble.
No additional mounting holes for stacking boards.
Step down regulator position takes up lots of space.

>>>3.3V linear regulator shape had wrong pinnout, all boards reworked, but copper area isn't perfect for regulator, so limit 3.3V load.<<<

Additional notes:
Be careful of the Solo's +5Volts. The Solo Dev Guide says it is 5.35V, which is .1V over the max spec for USB.
When I measured it it was 5.41V, which is .06V above 5.35V. Does this matter? Well, it might, depending on what you connect it to.
I asked about this on the dev forum and never received a response. YMMV.
In addition, the 5V is not switched, so when the iMX6 is in OTG mode the 5V is still there which may effect you if you plug it into a PC.
Why an step down module and not just put on all the parts? Well, you can buy these LM2596 modules on e-bay for less than the parts cost,
and this is just a prototype board not really meant to fly around too much.

I made 10 of these PCB's and have populated and have tested one. I'll keep a couple for myself and will put the remainder up for sale if there is any interest.

>>> I have the proper JAE and USB connectors as well <<< as they are somewhat hard to find.

If there is enough interest, I could make more, or do something different, or just climb back in my cave.

Let me know whether there is any interest, or not.....

Price for board + JAE + USB (not soldered) would be $15 + shipping, within US only.

...ken...

Diving Santa · Jan 18, 2016

Cynfab,
I guess the old saying "if you don't know what it is, you don't need it" must apply to me.

What does that do?

cynfab · Jan 18, 2016

See:
Accessory Port | 3DR Solo Development Guide
Made For Solo | 3DR | Drone & UAV Technology

Basically a break out board for the Accessory Bay connector.
If your project needs to connect to the CAN/Serial/USB interfaces available on the Accessory Bay connector, you will need to prototype using a board like this. My project needs this, and I couldn't fine one I liked so I made my own.
Google "3dr solo accessory breakout" for what's out there.
The JAE connectors are scarce at the moment, I have enough for my immediate needs and to supply one with each breakout board.
To a limit of the number of boards I have, which is now 8.

Maddog · Jan 18, 2016

Cynfab, check out post 106 in this thread for JAE connectors:
Flashing Lights? | Page 6 | 3D Robotics Drone Forum

cynfab · Jan 18, 2016

Maddog, thanks for the tip, I've seen most of the posts re accessory breakouts.
Like I said, I needed this for my project, if anyone else is interested that's great.
I thought of soldering directly to the pins of one of those connectors, until I held one in my hand...
I also needed more +5.00V than the out of spec. 5.4+V from the Solo can provide.
Then there is the USB which needs a real connector and properly routed traces.
A board makes things a whole lot simpler.

Maddog · Jan 19, 2016

cynfab said:
Maddog, thanks for the tip, I've seen most of the posts re accessory breakouts.
Like I said, I needed this for my project, if anyone else is interested that's great.
I thought of soldering directly to the pins of one of those connectors, until I held one in my hand...
I also needed more +5.00V than the out of spec. 5.4+V from the Solo can provide.
Then there is the USB which needs a real connector and properly routed traces.
A board makes things a whole lot simpler.

I was trying to point you to the alternative JAE connector which is plentiful at Mouser- not sure if I made that clear.

cynfab · Jan 19, 2016

Maddog,
Ahh, it wasn't quite clear...
That connector would be great for boards that needed components on both sides as it will give clearance between the Solo body and the board.
It's good to know there are alternates.

Dave Folts · Feb 15, 2016

Any left?
Are the USB pins on the lower left row of pins? Are the other pins in the same positions as the 3DR-specced board?
I'd like to drive a signal into a CHDK cable rigged to a Canon Camera on a custom-scratch gimbal. I'm hoping to get a PWM output similar to that from the Pixhawk. I can't tell from the development manual if the PX2 has any output to the expansion bus or if its all companion processor signals there.

PdxSteve · Feb 15, 2016

3DR didn't connect the PWM pins to the expansion bay internally, but you can do it manually . Extend 3DR Solo Accessory Bay - Hackster.io

Dave Folts · Feb 15, 2016

PdxSteve said:
3DR didn't connect the PWM pins to the expansion bay internally, but you can do it manually . Extend 3DR Solo Accessory Bay - Hackster.io

Thanks...I remember reading that....not wanting to tear down the Solo...think I'll look at the USB interface next....or I see what I can do with a Toshiba sd card with wifi.

cynfab · Feb 15, 2016

You can do it manually if your Solo is one of the earlier revisions, I have seen a Solo that doesn't have the other holes where the ribbon cable used to connect all the "removed" signals.

Dave, Yes there are some left, but unless your Solo main board has the holes where the PWM signals are, it will be very tough going to find out where they are.

I did not route the USB D+ & D- to the pins as that makes a stub which isn't good for USB2.0 signal fidelity. The D+ & D- signals go from the Accessory bay connector to the micro USB connector. I even snaked one to make them the same length.
Other than the USB signals, the pins are the same as the board that 3DR references.

Johncon · Apr 2, 2016

cynfab said:
You can do it manually if your Solo is one of the earlier revisions, I have seen a Solo that doesn't have the other holes where the ribbon cable used to connect all the "removed" signals.

Dave, Yes there are some left, but unless your Solo main board has the holes where the PWM signals are, it will be very tough going to find out where they are.

I did not route the USB D+ & D- to the pins as that makes a stub which isn't good for USB2.0 signal fidelity. The D+ & D- signals go from the Accessory bay connector to the micro USB connector. I even snaked one to make them the same length.
Other than the USB signals, the pins are the same as the board that 3DR references.

Hi. Any clues on which solo versions have the pwm pins? Build dates or version number?

Kind of a delbraker as I need pwm to trigger a servo, if it's not possible to get it otherwIse

cynfab · Apr 2, 2016

I'd love to know that info, I saw some photo of the Solo main board that didn't have all the connections where the PWM etc signals used to go. I haven't been able to find it since my Feb 15th post. I keep looking, and maybe I'll have the presence of mind to save the URL next time I run across it. ;>P

PdxSteve · Apr 2, 2016

What did you use to lay this out? Are you willing to make the files available? I'm really interested mainly in the board shape with the solo mounting holes and the main JAE connector in the right spot. Basically a "blank starter kit" that doesn't require Altium or something.

cynfab · Apr 2, 2016

PdxSteve,
I used EasyEDA. it is a web based EDA tool:
EasyEDA - Online PCB design & circuit simulator
They can produce boards (up to 4 layers) from the designs. I've done several.
They are relatively cheap, but it takes a while for the boards to arrive (US) from China.
I tried them just because I like to experiment with off the wall PCB houses.
I am satisfied with the result, the boards are good quality.
I made a few mistakes in the layout so the boards were in need of a bit or rework.
If I can find enough time in the next week or so to fix the design, I'll make it public. I've used
several of my boards (got 10 in my first order) to do various Solo related projects, I've sold a few as well.
I've used many different CAD systems over the years. From Cadnetix, Calay, Orcad, Kicad to EasyEDA. Each has its strengths
and weaknesses. Today, Kicad is probably the tool of choice for for real work, but EasyEDA can be a quick (and inexpensive)
path to descent boards.

Johncon · Apr 5, 2016

I only need one pwm output and play to solder only one connection directly to the board.

Where (pin nr) do I take the V+ and ground?
Say for pin 19.

cynfab · Apr 7, 2016

PdxSteve,
I've had some issues updating my EasyEDA project. Not unexpected while being on the bleeding edge, but it might take a bit more time than I first thought to get the PCB released.

PdxSteve · Apr 7, 2016

No worries, I am knee deep in some projects myself lol. Thanks for the update and continued work

Jerry Morrow · Jul 20, 2016

Hello,

I just purchased the small breakout board from Osh Park. Thanks if you were involved in that!

Anyway, I want to power the solo for 'desktop development' from my bench power supply (15V).

Can I assume the BATT connection on the accessory connector is the same as the connector in the battery bay?
I would much rather connect to the accessory connector than through the battery bay.

Jerry

PdxSteve · Jul 20, 2016

No, they're not. You can't supply power to the solo via the accessory bay. They are output only for powering external devices and have a max current output. Here are the docs on the pinout from the accessory bay: Accessory Bay | 3DR Solo Development Guide