HardLabs

Lofence

kiu·lofence·rev_b/hardware/kicad/lofence.kicad_pcb

Lofence PCB layout, top view — open source AVR/Arduino board by kiu

About the Lofence PCB

Lofence is an open source AVR/Arduino PCB design by kiu, published on GitHub under the MIT license. It is a 2-layer board measuring 78 × 130 mm, with 57 components from 31 distinct parts.

Its main chip is the ATmega328PB-AU, from the AVR/Arduino family. Other key parts include the Opamp_Dual_Generic, MIC5504-3.3YM5, RN2483 and MCP125x. By type, the board carries 21 resistors, 14 capacitors, 8 diodes, 6 connectors, 5 ICs and 1 crystal.

It belongs with the rf & radio and iot & wireless designs in this gallery.

From the project

LoFence is a LoRaWAN capable IoT electric fence monitoring system running on the The Things Network.

Too complicated for the initial build, let�s keep it simple by measuring voltage. Well, not a little voltage, but all the way up to 12 kV. Difficult, but a voltage divider with an op-amp will do fine. With this setup, we can measure any disconnects on the line between the energizer and the LoFence measuring point, even short circuits after the measuring point. Your mileage may vary though. This setup is heavily dependent on weather conditions, e.g. having dry soil will provide a different readout than after heavy rain.

Lofence, from the project README
From the project README

Main components on the Lofence

Opamp_Dual_GenericMIC5504-3.3YM5ATmega328PB-AURN2483MCP125x

Lofence bill of materials (BOM)

57 components, 31 distinct parts.

QtyPartRefs
1
Opamp_Dual_Generic
U1
1
MIC5504-3.3YM5
U2
1
ATmega328PB-AU
U3
1
RN2483
U4
1
MCP125x
U5
1
32768 Hz
Y1
1
ISP
J3
1
DEBUG RN
J4
1
DEBUG LED
J5
1
DEBUG MCU
J6
1
868
J7
1
PWR
J8
1
Battery_Cell
BT1
1
RESET
SW1
1
D_Schottky
D1
2
BAV70LT
D2, D8
5
LED
D3, D4, D5, D6, D7
8
100nF
C1, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9, C10, C11
2
1.0uF
C2, C3
1
10uF
C4
Show 11 more
QtyPartRefs
1
1uF
C12
2
10uF
C13, C14
2
10M 6KV
R1, R2
1
1M 700V
R3
1
3k9
R4
2
232R
R5, R6
6
100k
R7, R10, R16, R17, R18, R21
5
R
R8, R11, R13, R14, R15
1
4k7
R9
2
1M
R12, R19
1
47R
R20

Lofence design files

The KiCad project lives in the kiu/lofence repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.

Lofence: common questions

What microcontroller does the Lofence use?

The Lofence is built around the ATmega328PB-AU, from the AVR/Arduino family.

How big is the Lofence PCB?

The Lofence measures 78 × 130 mm, has 2 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.

How many components are on the Lofence?

57 components, from 31 distinct parts. The full bill of materials is listed on this page.

Where can I download the Lofence design files?

From the kiu/lofence repository on GitHub, which has the KiCad layout; the links under Design files point to each one.

Can I use the Lofence design in my own project?

Yes, under the terms of its MIT license, which kiu chose for the repository.

Can I test firmware for the Lofence without the hardware?

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

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