Balsun
About the Balsun PCB
Balsun is an open source Renesas PCB design by mzks, published on GitHub under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 license. It is a 4-layer board measuring 64.4 × 53.3 mm, with 79 components from 34 distinct parts.
Its main chip is the R7FA4M1AB3CFM#AA0, from the Renesas family. Other key parts include the BP35C5, BP5293-50, XCL103D503CR-G, TPS2115APW and 2479. By type, the board carries 36 resistors, 18 capacitors, 7 ICs, 7 inductors, 6 connectors and 1 transistor.
From the project
This is an arduino-compatible board for balloon experiments.
This is an arduino-compatible board for balloon experiments.
- Arduino UNO R4 Minima-compatible hardware - Low EMC noise for general balloon RF system - Wi-SUN FAN communication (MIC/TELEC, FCC) - Open hardware and software
- MCU Renesas RA4M1 - 5V IOs (GPIO, UART, SCI, I2C, CAN, ADC, DAC, OpAmp) with castellated holes - Write bootloader/sketch/program via USB type-C - Multi power sources (1.5--5V) and more (users can mount their regurator via through holes) - PCB size is 64.5 * 53.4 mm, FR-4 1.6 mm - Wi-SUN with BP35C5 (RoHM) and two types of the anntena
Main components on the Balsun
Balsun bill of materials (BOM)
79 components, 34 distinct parts — part numbers from the project's BOM.
| Qty | Part | Footprint | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R7FA4M1AB3CFM#AA0 | QFP50P1200X1200X170-64N | IC1 |
| 1 | BP35C5 | BP35C5 | IC2 |
| 1 | BP5293-50 | BP5293-50 | IC3 |
| 1 | XCL103D503CR-G | XCL103D503CRG | IC4 |
| 2 | TPS2115APW | SOP65P640X120-8N | IC5, IC6 |
| 1 | 2479 | 2479 | U1 |
| 1 | BSS138 | SOT95P240X120-3N | Q1 |
| 1 | HPH2-A-10-UA | HDRV10W45P127_2X5_635X345X400P | J1 |
| 1 | 61301611821 | arduino_pins_2 | J2 |
| 1 | 61301611821 | HDRV16 | J4 |
| 1 | CX90B2-24P | CX90B224P | J5 |
| 1 | SMA-J-P-H-RA-TH1 | CON-SMA-EDGE-S | J6 |
| 1 | ~ | arduino_pins1 | P1 |
| 1 | ANT1204F005R0915A | ANT1204F005R0915A | ANT1 |
| 1 | ~ | power_holes | H1 |
| 1 | EVP-BB2A9B000 | EVPBB2A9B000 | S2 |
| 1 | PRTR5V0U2X,215 | PRTR5V0U2X | D1 |
| 2 | BLM18PG471SN1D | BLM18SP221SN1B | FB1, FB2 |
| 3 | SML-P11UTT86 | CSL1901MW1 | L1, L2, L5 |
| 1 | SML-P11UTT86 | CSL1901YW1 | L3 |
Show 14 more
| Qty | Part | Footprint | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SML-P11UTT86 | CSL1901UW1 | L4 |
| 2 | 1u | C_0603_1608Metric | C1, C14 |
| 4 | 100n | C_0603_1608Metric | C2, C5, C7, C8 |
| 4 | 4.7u | C_0603_1608Metric | C3, C6, C9, C10 |
| 5 | 10u | C_0603_1608Metric | C4, C11, C12, C13, C16 |
| 3 | 0.1u | C_0603_1608Metric | C15, C17, C18 |
| 17 | 5.1k | R_0603_1608Metric | R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R8, R11, R13 +9 |
| 1 | 100k | R_0603_1608Metric | R6 |
| 1 | 13.7k | R_0603_1608Metric | R7 |
| 5 | 10k | R_0603_1608Metric | R9, R10, R14, R15, R32 |
| 1 | 1M | R_0603_1608Metric | R12 |
| 4 | 0 | R_0603_1608Metric | R18, R34, R35, R36 |
| 5 | 1k | R_0603_1608Metric | R27, R28, R29, R30, R31 |
| 2 | 698 | R_0603_1608Metric | R33, R37 |
Balsun design files
The KiCad project lives in the mzks/balsun repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.
Balsun: common questions
What microcontroller does the Balsun use?
The Balsun is built around the R7FA4M1AB3CFM#AA0, from the Renesas family.
How big is the Balsun PCB?
The Balsun measures 64.4 × 53.3 mm, has 4 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.
How many components are on the Balsun?
79 components, from 34 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 Balsun design files?
From the mzks/balsun 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 Balsun design in my own project?
Yes, under the terms of its CC-BY-SA-4.0 license, which mzks chose for the repository.
Can I test firmware for the Balsun without the hardware?
Yes. HardLabs builds a simulation of the board from its netlist and BOM, so you can run and debug Renesas firmware against it before you order a PCB.