I don't know why, but I have a fascination with circuit boards at the moment and wanting to create my own. Maybe something to do with Aspergers. I got someone in Nigeria to design me one from one for a fiver ;-) but it didn't have half the bits that I wanted, like a Fakra GPS antenna or the 12v input for the car.

So I thought I'd have a go myself.

Im essentially making a circuit board containing a GPS Chip, USB Hub, and 2x3A USB outputs to power a Raspberry Pi.

When i look for USB Type A however, even USB 3.0 ones, they seem to be rated for 1.8, 2.1A. This makes me wondering, where do you get a USB port that supports 5V 3A? These are the typically power requirements of a lot of modern devices including the Raspberry Pi 4. Has anybody ever found one?

Thanks
Simon

 

I don't know why, but I have a fascination with circuit boards at the moment and wanting to create my own. Maybe something to do with Aspergers. I got someone in Nigeria to design me one from one for a fiver ;-) but it didn't have half the bits that I wanted, like a Fakra GPS antenna or the 12v input for the car.

So I thought I'd have a go myself.

One nice aid for that is KiCad schematic capture.
Max.

 

I'll have a look at that. Im using

One nice aid for that is KiCad schematic capture.
Max.

I'll have a look at that. Im currently using AutoCad Eagle and Im quite pleased with it. I've got most of everything that I want laid out. Just need to hook the GPS into the USB Hub and then possibly have a look at adding another layer or two due to the amount of signals. Need to add two power outs. Then think about the width of the track.

If I understand correctly, the track width will depend on how much extra heat I want to generate and how many amps Im putting through. So a 1.5mm track width for 3A should be plenty, and everything else will just be signals.

this is all fascinating stuff.

There's a distinct lack of Alumin(i)um Electrolytic capacitors in ECAD Drawings. Can these be safely changed for MLCCs?