• Schematic Drop

    Apollo Timbers • 03/04/2026 at 13:02 • 0 comments

    See Attached files...

  • Schematic Almost ready

    Apollo Timbers • 02/21/2026 at 16:26 • 0 comments

    The schematic is almost ready, then we will move onto PCB layout.  Will post when the completed on has the revisions below added. 

    Right now a few changes were made:

    • a single NEOpixel. They are pretty common on educational boards so i thought it would be a good fit.
    • A 2.53 3pin header was chosen to swap from internal 5v USB power to external power for the single Mosfet control screw header. 

    Small changes, sure but meaningful ones for v1 of the board. Current plan is to get x10 assembled via JLCPCB (SMD only). When they come in I can finish off the back and any though hole components. if working or a little rework is needed to get them operational I will start knocking out as many of the starter projects as i can just so people are not starting from scratch. 

    Software wise, is I will likely make a board library or something similar so they can select that in Arduino or just load up the pin definitions. 

  • Why This Board Will Exist

    Apollo Timbers • 02/14/2026 at 16:15 • 0 comments

    I've been building hardware for 19 years. Missile systems, flight sims, medical devices. Last week I looked up what Qualcomm did to Arduino and got angry enough to design a board.

    Not internet angry. Engineer angry.

    I went through every RP2350 board on the market. Adafruit Metro. SparkFun RedBoard. Pico 2. Not one of them ships with a single onboard sensor. The most common beginner project,  a simple weather station, costs $50+ in breakouts before you see your first data point. On every platform. In 2026.

    So I designed Scout in ~2 days. BME280, LIS3DH, VEML7700, DS3231 RTC, SD card slot, and a 30V/2A PWM output, all on board, Uno form factor, ~$34.99 USD. 25 complete projects with zero additional hardware.

    Every design decision came from scars, not spreadsheets. The dual I2C buses exist because I've watched students debug address conflicts for 45 minutes. The gate conditioning exists because I've popped FETs. The solder-bridge power select exists because I've watched beginners kill boards.

    The spec is locked. The BOM is validated at ~$15.55 USD I'm bringing on a professional PCB designer now to turn the spec into Gerbers, I can design circuits/dev boards all day, but I want someone who routes RP2350 boards for a living handling the layout. No ego about it. Build what you're good at, hire what you're not.

    "Full disclosure: I used Claude as an engineering partner through the design process, market research, spec validation, design review. But the board is mine. Every sensor choice, every circuit decision, every pin assignment came from my head. AI is a tool. The experience that tells you which eight cents to spend on gate conditioning comes from 19 years at a bench."

    CERN-OHL-S v2 licensed. OSHWA certification pending. KiCad files on GitHub when layout is done.

    Open Source is Love. For real this time.

    More updates as layout progresses.