PIC16F1824 Development Board

[Xenophotean]

Xenophotean submitted a new Showcase Item:

PIC16F1824 Development Board

Hello,

Recently I have sourced a whole bunch of PIC16F1824 chips and found that I wanted an easy way to set up a development board to utilize this chip with external circuitry. I have gone through 9 revisions of the board initially starting with a specific board for the project I was working on, and later changing to a generic development board. My latest revision supports and SPI bus, a programming header, and LED indications for power, programming, and SPI data. I am attaching all of my eagle designs and schematics for anyone who would like to move forward with them. I was hoping to source ideas for version 2.0 as well since I would like to make this a useful little board for future projects. I would like to make this open hardware so any question any one has I will try my best to answer. I also have included pictures in my attached archive to give you a better idea as to how I have been creating these boards. I currently am doing a toner transfer method which I have been trying to perfect. My end goal is to be able to create prototype boards with revision after revision until I am happy with the design. Then I would like to send the design off to a service like 'OSH Park' for proper fabrication.

View attachment 16643​

I couldn't quite get the upload to work because the ZIP archive seems to big, so I am hosting the files at file factory for download. Here is the link,

http://www.filefactory.com/file/2kglimhjwjsh/n/PIC16F1824MODULE_zip

Read more about this showcase item here...

 

[chopnhack]

Looks good Xeno. When you mean development board, I take it that the board is used for chips that have already been programmed, is that correct? How are you programming them currently?

I too have used the toner transfer method with variable success. As long as the trace width required doesn't go below about 12 thou, everything seems to work out ok. One thing I learned while rinsing off the paper is to not be too aggressive - using hot water and ammonia to soften the fibers seems to work without affecting the toner. A gentle rubbing releases the fibers that have been saturated, then leave to soak again. The longer the soaking time (30min +) between rubbings seems to work out better with intricate designs. I also noticed that if you leave behind paper fuzz it will not affect the etching process at all. I have been using peroxide and muriatic acid.

BTW - the file link is not working.