Insane Hydraulics

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Wireless Industrial Monitor Progress Log - 10 November 2019

I finally received the parts and the latest PCBs, which means that I can run some more tests, Hurray!

Here's the current progress.

Battery reverse polarity protection circuit has been tested and is functional. Well - to be perfectly honest - it became 100% functional right after I realized that by mistake I switched a MOSFET's source and drain, and crow-barred it back into the correct position. I am only human, you know...

Switched pins or not - I am happy with the tiny voltage drop and the protection it offers, I'll get it right next time!

The current prototype, as it is, has also been redesigned to allow "quick attachment replacement". I want to be able to test all sorts of analog circuits without using complex multiplexers, so - I designed a magnetic connector with Mill-Max gold plated target pads and pogo-pins - their specs look very good on paper, I want to see how they behave in real life, though.

The design stage is finished, and you can check out the renders to the left (rendered with a model of a Gems Sensors 3100 series pressure sensor). Now I have to 3d print the enclosures and assemble it all together and bam! - I should be able to test the hell out of this system without reaching for a soldering iron whenever I want to test something different.

The idea is to be able to quickly "snap" between pressure sensors and other good stuff like combined voltage/current probes, flow meters, and whatnot.

Also - I connected the programming interface to the USB port, which so far has only been used for charging - so now I can update the firmware whenever I fell like it without even opening the enclosure!