I wanted a universal AVR development board that would make it easier to work on multiple projects at the same time. My previous version of this on perfboard could only be used for one project at a time or i would have to reconnect all the pins, i fixed that design flaw by using a 40pin flatcable that connects the ZIF connector to my breadboard project.
The board contains headers where i can place a crystal and the capacitors that go with it, it also features a reset button and a blinky led that indicates when the AVR is being programmed.
The 9pin flatcable is used to set the programming pins (MISO, MOSI, SCK, RST, VCC, GND, X1, X2 and AVCC) thus making this board usable with pretty much any AVR that fits in the socket.
I'm not an electrical engineer of any kind, this is just a hobby so there could be major design flaws in my design. Feel free to correct me on anything.
That being said, it works so i'm happy with it.
Components
1×
40-pin ZIF socket
Socket that fits a lot of AVR microcontrollers
1×
40-pin male boxed header
For connecting any breadboard project to the board
1×
6-pin male boxed header
For connecting the programmer USB-stick to the board
1×
9-pin male header
For manually setting the programming pins (MISO, MOSI, SCK, etc).
1×
3-pin female header
For connecting a crystal to the board
I want to get rid of the 40 freaking wires at the bottom, the only
way to do this is to use thinner traces. Making it double-sided wouldn't
help, the pads are in the way on both sides.
I need to find out
if this trace-width is acceptable for this board, the image below shows a
rough idea of what i want. Normally i'm very strickt with 45 degrees
angles, but in this case it's not really doable so i'm making the
exception.
I want to create a few breakout boards for easier connecting between the 40-pin cable and a breadboard project. My idea is to make a small board with a 40-pin boxed header (where the 40-pin flatcable plugs in) that is connected to two 20-pins female headers. The 20-pin headers can be used to connect wires to the project.
I can make multiple of these and use them for many projects, when i want to work on a different project i can just switch the 40-pin flatcable with another one.