Having gained experience with the Funky sensor, I am starting thinking on how to further improve it. One of the things I recognized, is the somewhat difficult programming, the user is required to install Attiny84 core and to own an ISP programmer in order to program it, yet there are still tons of limitations – incompatible libraries, only 8KB of memory.. so I thought that the Funky would be more accessible to the general public, if it was easier to work with. I already have made an attempt to equip the Funky with USB connectivity, but that is not addressing all of the issues I outlined above. So I thought, it would be nice to use a more popular processor and have USB connectivity – a perfect candidate would be the Atmega32U4,the same processor used by the Arduino Leonardo.
There are already some nice Atmega32U4+RFM12b bundles out there,for example the minion, but I need form factor of the Funky.
There is a big compromise that is done with the new board, and it is that only few pins are routed to a side header. Looking carefully, you will find that it is a JeePort. I find that using a micro node, you still end up just using few pins,so for miniature node, this is the price to pay. Having a JeePort allows me to use all the nice plugs that are available on http://jeelabs.com/
Here is how it is taking shape so far
Some lousy routing, the idea is to see how it all fits
How does something like that sound?
This PCB is interesting. It is possible to use battery holder no.1025-i at http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/15142.pdf for CR2477 (3V, 950mA/h) ?
I would like a longer operating time for sensor.
Best Regards,
Jiri Holec
Yes ,it looks the dimension ‘M’ is the same as the CR2032 battery holder: 0.807″ – it will work. Good find, thanks for pointing it out.
I’ve been pretty impressed with the Funky but also a little disapointed with the ATTiny84. I had similar ideas about putting an ATmega32U4 on there, so great job actually making a design.
The only thing I would have done differently is to widen the board slightly to put a second JeePort on there. Besides that you read my mind!
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