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Dc power monitor

seanahuynh·dc-power-monitor

Dc power monitor PCB layout, top view — open source RP2040/RP2350 board by seanahuynh

About the Dc power monitor PCB

Dc power monitor is an open source RP2040/RP2350 PCB design by seanahuynh, published on GitHub. It is a 2-layer board measuring 50 × 40 mm, with 9 components from 8 distinct parts.

Its main chip is the PICO I2C / 3.3V, from the RP2040/RP2350 family. Other key parts include the INA226AIDGSR. By type, the board carries 3 connectors, 3 resistors, 2 capacitors and 1 IC.

From the project

0–12 V, 1 A DC power monitor with a custom KiCad PCB, Raspberry Pi Pico firmware, Python logging, calibration tools, and bench-test documentation. Unbuilt prototype.

A student hardware project: design, assemble, calibrate, and characterize a USB-connected DC power monitor. Revision A measures a 0–12 V, 0–1 A DC load using a custom INA226 PCB and an external Raspberry Pi Pico H. Firmware streams nominally 10 readings/s; the Python logger saves raw data, calibrated CSV, energy estimates, and an HTML plot.

Status: CAD and software validated; physical prototype not assembled or tested. Demo plots are synthetic. See checks/release-validation.json for the generated release checks, and docs/TEST-PLAN.md for the measurements still needed.

Dc power monitor, from the project README
From the project README

Main components on the Dc power monitor

INA226AIDGSR

Dc power monitor bill of materials (BOM)

9 components, 8 distinct parts — part numbers from the project's BOM.

QtyPartRefs
1
INA226AIDGSR
U1
1
SOURCE 0-12V
J1
1
LOAD 1A MAX
J2
1
PICO I2C / 3.3V
J3
1
100nF 16V X7R
C1
1
1uF 16V X7R
C2
1
0.050 ohm 1% 1W
R1
2
4.7k 1%
R2, R3

Dc power monitor design files

The KiCad project lives in the seanahuynh/dc-power-monitor repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.

Dc power monitor: common questions

What microcontroller does the Dc power monitor use?

The Dc power monitor is built around the PICO I2C / 3.3V, from the RP2040/RP2350 family.

How big is the Dc power monitor PCB?

The Dc power monitor measures 50 × 40 mm, has 2 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.

How many components are on the Dc power monitor?

9 components, from 8 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 Dc power monitor design files?

From the seanahuynh/dc-power-monitor 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 Dc power monitor design in my own project?

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

Can I test firmware for the Dc power monitor without the hardware?

Yes. HardLabs builds a simulation of the board from its netlist and BOM, so you can run and debug RP2040/RP2350 firmware against it before you order a PCB.

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