Summary of Contents for Eggtimer Rocketry Rev A4a
- Page 1 Eggtimer WiFi Switch Assembly and Users Manual Rev A4a © 2015 Eggtimer Rocketry All Rights Reserved...
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Page 2: California Proposition 65 Warning
California Proposition 65 Warning WARNING: This product contains chemicals (lead) known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or reproductive harm. This kit includes a special low-temperature ultra-fine leaded solder wire. Including the solder with the kit ensures that you will have solder that can be used to mount the surface-mount parts in the kit. -
Page 3: Important Regulatory Information
Important Regulatory Information This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. -
Page 4: Before You Start
“pocket dial” your altimeter! Like other Eggtimer Rocketry products, we sell it as a kit, to keep costs down and provide an outstanding value. This means that you have to do a little work, of course, but considering that most hobby rocketeers that would use our products have some degree of electronics expertise;... - Page 5 About Soldering Your WiFi Switch… Assembling your WiFi Switch kit isn’t that hard, but we recommend that you don’t choose it as your first kit project. You must be able to solder small components using fine solder and get nice shiny solder joints. If you have never soldered before, you need to learn anyway, because if you are going to do rocketry electronics you’re going to be doing some soldering.
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Page 6: General Assembly Information
We have listed the steps in order to make it easiest to assemble the WiFi Switch, deviating from them isn’t going to make your life any easier. We strongly recommend that you consult the assembly pictures on the Eggtimer Rocketry web site, www.EggtimerRocketry.com . - Page 7 Assembling your WiFi Switch Step 1: Sort the Components Before you start soldering anything, you need to lay everything out and make sure that you are familiar with all of components, and that you have everything. If you are missing something, let us know immediately so we can send you whatever you need.
- Page 8 Note that some of the components are static sensitive, so you should avoid sources of static electricity while you are handling them. We recommend that you assemble the WiFi Switch on a wood or metal surface unless you are fortunate enough to have a high-temperature anti- static mat (don’t buy one just to build the WiFi Switch, however!) Avoid putting it on plastic surfaces that generate static, and preferably put it together in a room that’s not carpeted.
- Page 9 If you have any questions about the assembly, please send us an email, to support@eggtimerrocketry.com , BEFORE you start building. We generally answer all questions the same day, and we do our best to ensure your success.
- Page 10 Eggtimer WiFi Switch Assembly Checklist Before you solder anything, make absolutely sure that you have the correct part and that it is inserted in the board correctly. The board has all of the component values, outlines, and polarities silk-screened on the top, so there shouldn’t be any doubt about what goes where and how.
- Page 11 Mounting the Bottom-Mount Parts There are parts mounted on both sides of the WiFi Switch board, this is done to save space. It does make the assembly task a little bit more complicated, but in general most of the smaller parts are mounted on the “bottom”...
- Page 12 When you’re done, solder the right optoisolator in place using the same procedure. Inspect the joints carefully… the optoisolators have short stubby leads, and it’s relatively easy to have the solder on the pads miss the leads if you don’t use enough solder. Mount the 3.3V Voltage Regulator Locate the large pad and the three small pads for the voltage regulator.
- Page 13 Mount the 10 uF capacitors Locate the two 10 uF capacitors, one on either side of the voltage regulator. Note that the two different valued capacitors look almost identical and are unfortunately not marked… the 10 uF capacitors are the ones that have one MORE (i.e. there are TWO 10 uF capacitors but only ONE .1 uF capacitor), and they come in a clear plastic carrier (the other ones are in a paper tape carrier).
- Page 14 Mount the MOSFET Locate the spot for the MOSFET, it’s just to the right and below the voltage regulator. Very carefully remove the MOSFET from its package. Lightly tin the large pad nearest to the right side of the board. With tweezers, hold the MOSFET in place, centering it over the pad.
- Page 15 This completes the bottom-mount part of the assembly. Check all of the solder joints carefully with a magnifying glass or 10x jeweler’s loupe to make sure that you have good solder coverage and you haven’t created any solder bridges. When you’re satisfied with your work, untape the board from your work surface.
- Page 16 The Top-Mounted Components The rest of the parts are mounted on the “top” of the board, that is, the side that you’re going to see when you hook things up. You may find that a “third hands” board holder will come in handy…...
- Page 17 Hold your soldering iron to the SIDE of one of the corner pads for about 5 seconds, then apply solder to the TOP of the pad right next to the wire. You only need a little bit, you’ll see it flow out and drop down the hole when you got it right.
- Page 18 Now, turn the board over so the WiFi module is on the bottom, and using the remaining resistors/leads stick wires through the remaining 12 WiFi module pads, soldering them and clipping them as you go. When you are done, all 16 pads (8 on each side) should be soldered on the bottom of the board, and all 16 pads on the WiFi module should be soldered.
- Page 19 Mount the 22K resistor Locate the 22K resistor (marked “223”) near the left side of the board. Solder in place. Mount the Red LED Locate the spot for the Red LED, it’s the one on the bottom left hand side of the board marked “ON”.
- Page 20 Mount the Amber LED Locate the spot for the Amber LED, it’s the one marked “PWR” on the upper-center side of the board. Note that it is polarized; you need to match up the LONG lead on the LED with the “+” pad on the board.
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Page 21: Preliminary Testing
Solder the Screw Terminal Blocks (Optional) If you’re going to use them, insert the screw terminal blocks on the board, making sure that the open side is facing outwards (to the left), away from the WiFi module. The open side of the blocks (where the wires go) should face the markings on the board. - Page 22 Loosen the screws on the terminal block screws (if you’re using them) and connect your battery “pigtail” to the leads marked IN. If you’re not using the terminal blocks, solder your battery pigtails to the pads marked IN. Make sure that the “+” lead (generally RED) goes to the “+”...
- Page 23 WiFi module is facing outwards. There’s a drilling template on the Eggtimer Rocketry web site, we recommend that you download it, print it, and cut it out with scissors so you can drill the mounting holes accurately.
- Page 24 before your flight. Fortunately, it’s easy to monitor the battery voltage of your WiFi Switch, so this shouldn’t happen. Regarding the battery voltage monitor, we recommend that if you’re using a LiPo battery you don’t fly if the battery voltage registers under 3.5V per cell. 3.7V is the nominal rated output voltage, but the reality is that a fully-charged LiPo cell will read 4.2V or near.
- Page 25 To make life easier, we’ve tried the WiFi Switch with a number of popular altimeters, and we’ve posted connection diagrams on the Eggtimer Rocketry web site. If your altimeter isn’t listed, drop an email to us at support@eggtimerrocketry.com...
- Page 26 Using Your WiFi Switch The WiFi Switch acts like a WiFi access point and a server, you simply connect your WiFi- enabled device to it and browse to its home page, and voila! you get a web page that lets you turn your switch on and off.
- Page 27 The WiFi Switch Web Page After you’ve successfully connected to your WiFi Switch using the SSID and passkey, start the browser for your device and type the following URL into the address box: http://192.168.4.1 You should immediately see the WiFi Switch page. We recommend that you add this page to your Favorites and/or bookmarks to make it easier to find.
- Page 28 The WiFi Switch page shows you several things: • The ON/OFF status of the switch’s output • The Validation Code that you need to use to turn it off/off • The status of the two continuity channels (CHA/CHB) • The battery voltage There is also a text box to enter the validation code to toggle the output, the validation code that you need to use is displayed immediately below the box.
- Page 29 Flying with your WiFi Switch Flying with the WiFi Switch is a little bit different that using a mechanical switch. With a mechanical switch, you have everything disconnected until you’re on the pad, then you turn it on. With the WiFi Switch (or any other electronic switch, for that matter) you have to connect the battery to the switch when you’re buttoning up your AV bay at your work table, then you activate it when you’re on the pad.
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Page 30: Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting If your Eggtimer WiFi Switch doesn’t work after assembly and testing, take a deep breath, get out a beverage to clear you mind, and start troubleshooting… Check Your Solder Joints The very first thing you should do is to check out all of the solder joints under a lighted magnifier, or with a 10x jeweler’s loupe or magnifier. - Page 31 If It Still Doesn’t Work… There is, of course, always an outside chance that you have a bad component. We pre-program and test every WiFi module, and the other parts are factory-direct so the likelihood that one of them is bad is very small. Nevertheless, it is always possible that something may be wrong; there may be a bridge on the PC board itself, etc.
- Page 32 Troubleshooting Tips (in approximate order of likelihood) No power-on blinks from the PWR LED • Battery cable connected incorrectly (Match “+” and “-“ on the INPUT side with your battery connector) • Bad solder joint on voltage regulator • Bad solder joint on 10 uF capacitors •...
- Page 33 Eggtimer WiFi Switch Quick Reference Guide To Connect: Connect with your device’s WiFi to “WiFi_Sw_dddddd”, where “dddddd” is the unique 6-digit hex code for your WiFi Switch, and the 8-digit passkey is the one on the package (or displayed through the serial port at power-up) To Turn ON/OFF: Enter the displayed validation code then click Submit To Find Passkey: Connect USB-Serial cable: BLACK: GND...
- Page 34 Eggtimer WiFi Switch Limited Warranty Eggtimer Rocketry warrants that all of the parts listed in the parts list necessary to build the Eggtimer WiFi Switch are included in the kit, and that they are all new and working. We don’t use surplus parts…...