Close

do I even bother soldering Gen 1?

A project log for USB cable tester

I want something usb stick thingy-ish to check a usb cable

davedarkodavedarko 08/10/2015 at 12:145 Comments

so the boards of the first version are in and I'm thinking to just not solder them. The second generation is more sophisticated and the first board might not be worth the attiny45 on it. But since they are already here and I have to return to Marrakesh soon, it might be worth it.

Discussions

Stefan Lochbrunner wrote 08/10/2015 at 12:30 point

Since 3 of the 4 transistors are connected to the ISP header you could control these from an external board

  Are you sure? yes | no

davedarko wrote 08/10/2015 at 12:41 point

so I would use them as a breakout board for transistors?

  Are you sure? yes | no

Stefan Lochbrunner wrote 08/10/2015 at 12:47 point

You solder everything except the ATtiny and then use some other board, eg. a Pro Mini, Trinket or what ever you have lying around, to control the cable tester. Just as a workaround until you get the next version.

  Are you sure? yes | no

davedarko wrote 08/10/2015 at 12:53 point

ahhh right, because I wrote about not "wasting" an attiny - yes! You're right, good idea, thank you :) 

  Are you sure? yes | no

Stefan Lochbrunner wrote 08/10/2015 at 13:05 point

You're welcome :)

You could also use a wire to connect the 4th transistor to reset on the ISP header if you make a custom cable. Alternatively use the button to control that transistor.

Another thought is that you could solder one board as male-A to male-A and another one as male-A to female-A tester and use the "controller" for both. I can't quite tell if the USB-A jack would fit the plug footprint, but I'm fairly sure you could make it fit ;)

  Are you sure? yes | no