HardLabs

Altimeter

klownfish·wren-altimeter·hardware/wren/altimeter.kicad_pcb

Altimeter PCB layout, top view — open source Nordic nRF board by klownfish

About the Altimeter PCB

Altimeter is an open source Nordic nRF PCB design by klownfish, published on GitHub. It is a 4-layer board measuring 12 × 34 mm, with 36 components from 21 distinct parts.

Its main chip is the NRF52833_QDXX, from the Nordic nRF family. Other key parts include the MCP73832T-2, BMP390L, W25X40CLUXIG and LIS2DH. By type, the board carries 18 capacitors, 7 resistors, 5 ICs, 2 connectors, 2 diodes and 1 crystal.

It belongs with the iot & wireless and power & battery designs in this gallery.

From the project

A tiny altimeter for 18mm rockets. Assembled by JLCPCB and written in Rust

1. Accelerometer: A LIS2DH rotated 45° allowing it to measure accelerations up to 22.5G instead of the typical 16G limit.

1. Barometer: A BMP390 for altitude measurements.

1. Flash Memory: 4Mbit of onboard flash. Should log ~10 flights at 50Hz.

The onboard firmware is developed in Rust using the Embassy framework.

This will create firmware.bin in the current directory.

Altimeter, from the project README
From the project README

Main components on the Altimeter

NRF52833_QDXXMCP73832T-2BMP390LW25X40CLUXIGLIS2DH

Altimeter bill of materials (BOM)

36 components, 21 distinct parts — part numbers from the project's BOM.

QtyPartRefs
1
NRF52833_QDXX
nRF52833_QDxx
U1
1
MCP73832T-2
U2
1
BMP390L
U3
1
W25X40CLUXIG
U4
1
LIS2DH
U5
1
32MHZ
32MHz
Y1
1
USB_C_RECEPTACLE_USB2.0_16P
USB_C_Receptacle_USB2.0_16P
J1
1
Conn_01x05_MountingPin
J2
1
SW_SPDT
SW2
1
C917189
blue
D1
1
C7420553
red
D2
7
0.1U
0.1u
C1, C3, C4, C5, C7, C11, C18
6
4.7U
4.7u
C2, C9, C10, C12, C13, C17
1
100P
100p
C6
1
1u
C14
2
10P
10p
C15, C16
1
33U
33u
C19
2
5.1K
5.1k
R1, R3
1
100K
100k
R2
2
51K
51k
R5, R8
Show 1 more
QtyPartRefs
2
470
R6, R7

Altimeter design files

The KiCad project lives in the klownfish/wren-altimeter repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.

Altimeter: common questions

What microcontroller does the Altimeter use?

The Altimeter is built around the NRF52833_QDXX, from the Nordic nRF family.

How big is the Altimeter PCB?

The Altimeter measures 12 × 34 mm, has 4 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.

How many components are on the Altimeter?

36 components, from 21 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 Altimeter design files?

From the klownfish/wren-altimeter 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 Altimeter design in my own project?

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

Can I test firmware for the Altimeter without the hardware?

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

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