Ordering PCB to testfly the Tiny4FSK

[meteorkees]

Hi,
I would like to order a few Tiny4FSK pcb's via PCBWay. Good to go, or do I have to wait a bit longer.

Really like the 4FSK mode for HAB :-)

Thx in advance and success with the R&D!

Kees

[mpkendall]

Hello Kees!
While ground testing has shown great success with the Tiny4FSK boards, we're still working on arranging a test flight on an actual high-altitude balloon. I'll also go ahead and push some updates to the board (fixing a footprint) sometime this week. Also, a few notes:

• There are pads on the underside of the module which allow for two Keystone 53 battery holders, designed for AA batteries. However, these need to be ordered separate.
• I heavily suggest using a backup tracker along with the Tiny4FSK board until we establish that it works reliably on a balloon flight. When are you planning your flight, and do you have any other trackers (e.g. radiosondes) laying around?
• I'll attach and update all of the production files in the next week. The current ones are out-of-date.
• This board operates on the amateur radio bands, so you'll need an amateur radio license (Technician or above) to legally operate this device.
• Let me know if I should improve and documentation, and let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks,
Max Kendall, W0MXX

[meteorkees]

Hi Max, thx for your reply! There are pads on the underside of the module which allow for two Keystone

53 battery holders, designed for AA batteries. However, these need to be ordered separate.

I am planning to use solar power if possible. What is the max and min voltage for the Tiny4FSK? If not possible to use solar power, I will swap to battery. I heavily suggest using a backup tracker along with the Tiny4FSK board

until we establish that it works reliably on a balloon flight. When are you planning your flight, and do you have any other trackers (e.g. radiosondes) laying around?

I have a few Traquito Jetpacks, Zachtecs and a U4B tracker on the shelf, waiting to get a flight on a pico. What do you mean with: '" I heavily suggest using a backup tracker along with the Tiny4FSK board until we establish that it works reliably on a balloon flight"? I have a radio-amateur license. My callsign is PD2CH currently one balloon in the air (my first one!) see: https://traquito.github.io/search/spots/dashboard/?band=20m&channel=259&callsign=PD2CH&dtGte=2025-02-01

- Let me know if I should improve and documentation, and let me know if you have any questions! Thanks,

Some documentation about the order process at PCBWay would help. e.g. I see now a couple of Gerber files and only 1 BOM file. Also I need to know how to order. Like; a single layer, double layer and so on, ordering-pocess-details. If you could provide an example, that would be great. Thanks! Do you want to publish your schema from the hole pcb, so I can see e.g. what the power requirements are? I wait for your updates and your sign to go for ordering. (No worries, I am well aware it is still prototyping and all the (My!) risk along with it) Krgds, Kees PD2CH Op vr 7 feb 2025 om 22:17 schreef Max Kendall ***@***.***>:

…

Hello Kees! While ground testing has shown great success with the Tiny4FSK boards, we're still working on arranging a test flight on an actual high-altitude balloon. I'll also go ahead and push some updates to the board (fixing a footprint) sometime this week. Also, a few notes: - There are pads on the underside of the module which allow for two Keystone 53 battery holders, designed for AA batteries. However, these need to be ordered separate. - I heavily suggest using a backup tracker along with the Tiny4FSK board until we establish that it works reliably on a balloon flight. When are you planning your flight, and do you have any other trackers (e.g. radiosondes) laying around? - I'll attach and update all of the production files in the next week. The current ones are out-of-date. - This board operates on the amateur radio bands, so you'll need an amateur radio license (Technician or above) to legally operate this device. - Let me know if I should improve and documentation, and let me know if you have any questions! Thanks, Max Kendall, W0MXX — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#13 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AR5EBTTAL4QN7EJV7TFRUFL2OUPHPAVCNFSM6AAAAABWUSOIUSVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDMNBUGE2DKMBTGQ> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.*** com>

[mpkendall]

Hey Kees,
I just merged most of the PCB changes into main. Here's the production folder with BOM, Gerbers, Centroid, and settings.

The current consumption may be too high for solar panels, so it would need extensive testing. I can measure with some more detail this weekend. The board runs on 3.3v (you can feed in 2~3.3v into the VBat pin. It connects directly to the boost converter. You could possibly go higher as the chip specifies automatic down regulation, but it hasn't been tested yet. I'll also test this over the weekend.

Just to clarify, is this intended for a HAB (short ~2-3 hour flight), or a circumnavigating pico? It's primarily intended for HABs, so it does not have any geofencing features at the moment, nor has it been tested at very low temperatures.

Thanks!
Max Kendall, W0MXX

[meteorkees]

Max,

Just to clarify, is this intended for a HAB (short ~2-3 hour flight), or a circumnavigating pico? It's primarily intended for HABs, so it does not have any geofencing features at the moment, nor has it been tested at very low temperatures.

I have no intentions yet to go bigger in HAB than pico balloons. So max height will be < 13000m. Geofencing is a good point to add. The Zachtec's use it already. Would be nice to be able to set a few options in the tx process, like tx timing, or no tx due to geofencing, change tx freq ref the different regions that will be possibly passed and so on. I prefer 4FSK mode above the well known WSPR mode, because a lot of weather balloons are recovered after landing. The wspr balloons just disappear and nobody knows where to look to recover. I think using the 4fsk mode can help to increase recovery of the landed balloons because of the used mode/higher frequency, and thus easier to recover with RDfing or capturing the last transmitted position just before landing, like with weatherballoons and the big HAB's 73's Kees. Op vr 7 feb 2025 om 23:20 schreef Max Kendall ***@***.***>:

…

Hey Kees, I just merged most of the PCB changes into main. Here's the production folder with BOM, Gerbers, Centroid, and settings. <https://github.com/New-England-Weather-Balloon-Society/Tiny4FSK/tree/7ba14eb164ecd251122481460dd8cf9267700805/PCB%20%2B%20Schematic/Production> The current consumption may be too high for solar panels, so it would need extensive testing. I can measure with some more detail this weekend. The board runs on 3.3v (you can feed in 2~3.3v into the VBat pin. It connects directly to the boost converter. You could possibly go higher as the chip specifies automatic down regulation, but it hasn't been tested yet. I'll also test this over the weekend. Just to clarify, is this intended for a HAB (short ~2-3 hour flight), or a circumnavigating pico? It's primarily intended for HABs, so it does not have any geofencing features at the moment, nor has it been tested at very low temperatures. Thanks! Max Kendall, W0MXX — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#13 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AR5EBTUGHLHR2PXHSSXFN5L2OUWRJAVCNFSM6AAAAABWUSOIUSVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDMNBUGIZTENJSGM> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.*** com>

[mpkendall]

Hey Kees,
I just thought of another potential issue - transmission distance. The Horus Binary protocol depends on receive stations configured to the correct frequency, baud rate, etc. That means that those stations will have to be on your exact frequency to pick it up. In addition, the receive station firmware (horusdemodlib/horus-gui) does not have automatic frequency scanning. I also don't expect the range of the board to be long enough for you to receive it all the time. A map of all the receive stations can be found at https://amateur.sondehub.org/ (all the green dots).

I'll put geofencing on my (long) to-do list, but it'll likely take me a long time. If you're interested to help, feel free to make a pull request!

Thanks,
Max Kendall, W0MXX

[meteorkees]

I sent you a question about the PCBWAY order process via the tiny4fsk gmail acount.

73's pd2ch