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Firmware development + Front Lights case

A project log for Electric mountainboard with CAN bus + Android app

Mountainboard with BLDC motors, open source drivers, CAN bus communication, custom Android application and cool lights.

lukeLuke 07/05/2017 at 16:350 Comments

I modified Android application and Control Unit firmware so that front lights can also be controlled (brightness, blinking mode) via Bluetooth. Previously only rear lights settings were being sent from the phone. Now Control Unit receives all the settings and sends two CAN packets. One for Front Lights module and one for Drivers Unit Controller. I updated the firmware (for CU and FL) on GitHub.

I also printed and assembled Front Lights module case and mount. I discovered an error in my design. Mounting element screw collides with part of the truck and I cannot move the mounts too close together, so for now I had to use 6mm bushings to compensate for this error.

This mistake can be easily fixed by making the mounting element arms a bit longer (so that the crew is a little bit higher relative to the truck).

Next step now is replacing the voltage regulator on Front Lights module. I didn't check the maximum input voltage of used linear voltage regulator (used to provide 3V3 voltage for MCU), which turned out to be 13V. The on-board voltage is nominally 22.2V (max 25.2V), so I had to find a replacement. I found another chip, but in different package (first one is in SOT-23, the new one i SOT-89), so a bit of tinkering will be necessary.

After replacing the voltage regulator I will carry out final assembly and testing and the Front Lights module should be 100% ready to use!

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