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Transmitter

finnhittson·RC-Car-Build-Workshop·schematics/transmitter/transmitter.kicad_pcb

Transmitter PCB layout, top view — open source PIC board by finnhittson
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About the Transmitter PCB

Transmitter is an open source PIC PCB design by finnhittson, published on GitHub. It is a 4-layer board measuring 38 × 72.6 mm, with 27 components from 20 distinct parts.

Its main chip is the PIC32MX170F256B, from the PIC family. Other key parts include the NRF24L01_Breakout and AMS1117-3.3. By type, the board carries 7 capacitors, 5 resistors, 3 ICs, 2 connectors, 2 switches and 2 diodes.

It belongs with the robotics & motion and power & battery designs in this gallery.

From the project

Because this project is intended to be a workshop only one version of code or main.c file is written for simplicity. Therefore, for the main.c to differentiate between running transmitter code and receiver, a GPIO pin on the micro is dedicated for this indication. The pin under q

Because this project is intended to be a workshop only one version of code or main.c file is written for simplicity. Therefore, for the main.c to differentiate between running transmitter code and receiver, a GPIO pin on the micro is dedicated for this indication. The pin under questions is RA5 (pin 2) from the tables below which descripe the pinout for the PIC16 in both the receiver and transmitter. If RA5 is pulled high, then the main.c executes transmitter code only. Similarly if RA5 is pulled low, then the main.c only executes receiver code.

Transmitter, from the project README
From the project README

Main components on the Transmitter

NRF24L01_BreakoutAMS1117-3.3PIC32MX170F256B

Transmitter bill of materials (BOM)

27 components, 20 distinct parts — part numbers from the project's BOM.

QtyPartRefs
1
NRF24L01_Breakout
U2
1
AMS1117-3.3
U3
1
PIC32MX170F256B
U4
1
2N7000
Q2
1
Program
J1
1
Debug
J2
1
Battery_Cell
BT1
2
Control Pot
RV1, RV2
2
Trim Pot
RV3, RV4
1
Power
SW1
1
~{MCLR}
SW2
2
LED
D1, D2
1
10u
C1
3
0.1u
C2, C6, C8
1
220u
C3
1
22u
C5
1
10u
C7
2
470
R1, R6
2
10k
R3, R5
1
1k
R4

Transmitter design files

The KiCad project lives in the finnhittson/RC-Car-Build-Workshop repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.

Transmitter: common questions

What microcontroller does the Transmitter use?

The Transmitter is built around the PIC32MX170F256B, from the PIC family.

How big is the Transmitter PCB?

The Transmitter measures 38 × 72.6 mm, has 4 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.

How many components are on the Transmitter?

27 components, from 20 distinct parts, with part numbers taken from the project's own BOM. The full bill of materials is listed on this page.

Where can I download the Transmitter design files?

From the finnhittson/RC-Car-Build-Workshop repository on GitHub, which has the KiCad layout, the schematic and the BOM; the links under Design files point to each one.

Can I use the Transmitter design in my own project?

The repository has no license, so all rights stay with finnhittson. Use it as a reference, and ask the author before reusing the design.

Can I test firmware for the Transmitter without the hardware?

Yes. HardLabs builds a simulation of the board from its netlist and BOM, so you can run and debug PIC firmware against it before you order a PCB.

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