How To Fix Your Broken Onion Omega2 Board For Only $3.20

Yes, it is broken. Step One is to accept this fact:

Above: a $5 Linux computer that uses 2mm header pins, meaning it requires a $10 - $15 dock to use.

Step Two is to bitch about the problem on Hack Chat (you have to scroll back a few weeks to see the post). Half an hour later, be gracious when @davedarko throws together a quick PCB design and sends you the @oshpark purchase link. Get stoked and order the boards immediately (including one free!):

Step Three: wait two weeks, find an envelope in the mail, snap apart a header, solder 64 thru-hole joints, and be excited that you saved money:

Yes, it fits -- the board straddles half a breadboard and gives you plenty of space to pick up all 32 pins. @Onion.io: please consider changing to 0.1"/2.54mm headers like the rest of the world for your next spin, it wouldn't change the board dimensions by much and would make your product substantially more user-friendly!

Thanks again, Dave!

Discussions

Alexandr wrote 11/13/2019 at 09:33

I do not understand. What have you broken?

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Chris Stratton wrote 02/12/2017 at 20:12

If the goal is something breadboardable, it may make more sense to get the same SoC in the form of the Linkit Smart - comparable specs to the Omega2+ (without the 2+'s flash memory reset problem) and costs about the same as a 2+ by the time you add these breakout adapters.

Generally though these will go into setups where you only need to hook up a few pins, so it may be better to do so directly. 2mm does offer a compactness advantage. And the plain Omega2 in 16/64 configuration offers a better price for a low end option once you've decided what you want to deploy. Software issues will be a time sink either way.

So it's really about picking the solution that best fits a need.

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zoobab wrote 02/12/2017 at 16:20

I was wondering if the Omega2 would fit on this cheap board:

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/Prototype-PCB-for-ArduinoUNO-R3-Shield-Board-DIY-Combo-2mm-2-54mm-Pitch-bte16-07-pins/32667474401.html

Otherwise, it would be great if you could redesign your PCB to fit on DirtCheapPCB dimensions (5cmx5cm, or 10cmx10cm).

People should not end up paying half the price of the device just for those PCB adaptors.

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zakqwy wrote 02/12/2017 at 19:35

Looks like it would fit in the center section of the proto board you linked. Not sure the hole spacing would line up widthwise, I haven't verified that the two 16-pin 2mm headers are actually on 2mm centers with respect to each other.

Feel free to redesign around a cheaper PCB house. I'll happily pay a bit extra for the matchy purple wings, though. Sure beats a $15 dock. Even better -- Omega3 with 0.1" headers on board!

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davedarko wrote 02/12/2017 at 20:02

hm. you would pay 14USD for around ten boards with dirtypcbs.com, so OSHpark seems pretty reasonable :) matching purple is also quite awesome. There's a sweet spot for both producers, but this seems well suited with OSHpark. But the board also fits a 5x5 dpcb board and putting two headers together isn't that hard ;)

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hallard04 wrote 02/03/2017 at 21:01

Nice,

Didn't even thought about this one so simple when I created those with FTDI and Power, shame on me ;-)

https://github.com/hallard/Omega2-IO-Power

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oshpark wrote 02/03/2017 at 19:53

Well done!

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davedarko wrote 02/03/2017 at 18:17

This makes me so happy to see - the spacing was pure luck, glad it turned out this way :)

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zakqwy wrote 02/03/2017 at 18:21

Me too! Yeah, I didn't even test fit it or anything before soldering. Fits perfectly with no strain on the pins, and bridging a row plus a power rail provides four open connections per pin on each side. It's pretty ideal.

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PiZero curiosities

I've got extra time in a 10m EMC test chamber next week!

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