The ZigBoard (working title)

Posted 26 Sep 2010
3D rendering of a circuit board with microcontroller, radio, and PCB
        trace antenna
Computer rendering of prototype board. Created with Altium Designer 6.9; components modeled in SolidWorks 2009

Many small projects seem like they would benefit from low-power, low-bandwidth wireless connectivity. Commercial modules such as the excellent XBee series of devices exist, but are relatively large, expensive, and seem better suited to tinkering with the technology than integration into a finished project. Single-chip RF transceiver solutions are small and inexpensive, but require a fabricated PCB for every design. My goal with this project is to develop an inexpensive and small RF transceiver module that is flexible enough to use in the prototyping stages of a project while not being so general and large that it’s wasteful to use in a finished work.

Specifications

Key Design Goals

Status

The boards are completed and functional, but I haven’t had a chance to properly document them here yet. For an example of the boards in use and firmware/software code, please refer to this project on my MAS 863.10 page.

fingers holding the circuit board with the microcontroller soldered
        into place
Partially assembled prototype board
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