Projects

HTPC Control PCB

Posted in July 2020

This control board connects my HTPC, TV, and home theatre receiver to the internet. I can use my keyboard to wake up my computer and it will automatically turn on my receiver and TV. I can also put the system into other modes (PC only for remote access, etc) and change settings using Google Assistant commands. The PCB is designed with the mounting pattern of a 2.5” HDD so that it could be mounted into a PCI-slot drive mount with a rear-mounted external antenna. I leveraged the Particle Cloud and reverse-engineered the Samsung Ex-Link protocol and Yamaha AV Controller command structure.

Vehicle Control Board

Posted in July 2020

This control board controls an electric vehicle, including drive system, lighting, multiple communication interfaces, diagnostic circuitry, IMU sensors, and almost 70 digital and analog I/O.

Battery Charger Controller

Posted in July 2020

This board effectively turns an inexpensive commodity battery pack charger into a “smart” charger. The battery and charger can be remotely monitored and controlled via the internet. The board is powered by the same AC source as the charger and can communicate with the battery BMS via CAN bus. It can check for safe startup conditions, begin charging, monitor the charging process, and take action if there is a dangerous condition or when charging is complete.

Datalogger

Posted in July 2020

This datalogger board is compatible with STM Nucleo boards and Arduino shields. It expands the capability of the Nucleo boards to include multiple RS-232 ports, a CAN bus interface, a real-time clock with battery backup, and SD card logging functionality.

Sean Boyd