How to make a GoGo Board

How to make a GoGo board

Contents:

General Guidelines

Ordering a PCB from AP Circuits

Buying a PIC Programmer

Programming the PIC

Assembling the GoGo board

General Guidelines

The GoGo board is designed to make the construction process as easy and as inexpensive as possible. Here’s basically what you need to do:

Get the parts. In the United States, you can get all parts from digikey.com. It should cost roughly $30 ($20 if you do not use the output ports). In other countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Thailand, we have found that some of the parts cost more than 50% less than those in the US. Please refer to the part list for detailed information.

Make the printed circuit board (PCB). There are two choices here:

Making the PCB yourself. You can make PCBs yourself with a simple PCB kit. They are available at electronic stores. This process involves printing, etching a copper plate in acid, and drilling holes.

Ordering PCBs. This is an easy way but it takes more time and money. PCB manufacturing companies (such as AP Circuits) normally charge you something like US$40 for a setup fee. Then you pay roughly US$10 per board. The more you order the cheaper the cost per board.

To submit an order, you'll need to send the PCB layout technical files (called Gerber files). Here’s an example of how to order the GoGo PCB from APCircuits.com.

Configure the microcontroller.

The microcontroller needs to be programmed for it to function on the GoGo board. This This step requires you to have a PIC burner. You will be using it only once, so it may not be worth buying one. This burner will cost you anywhere between $20 and $200. See buying a PIC programmer.

The code that is to be burned to the microcontroller is called the Bootloader. Please visit the Bootloader page to learn more about what it is.

Download the Bootleader (HEX file) from the Bootloader page and burn it to the PIC microcontroller. See Programming the PIC for an overview of the burning process.

Assemble the components onto the PCB. This means soldering the parts to the PCB. You'll need basic soldering tools such as a soldering iron, solder, and pliers. See GoGo assembly guide for an example

Install GoGo board firmware

The GoGo board firmware contains the main functionalities of the GoGo board. To install the firmware:

Obtain the latest GoGo board firmware (HEX file) from the download page.

Download and install the Firmware downloader software from the Bootloader page.

Download the firmware to the board (PIC burner not required) by following the instructions on the Bootloader page.

Once the firmware is successfully downloaded, the board should be fully functional. You can run the GoGo monitor program to test the functionalities of the board.

Building A Board

Here's what you'll need:

1. Part list

    - Part list with photos
    - Bill of materials & prices

2. PCB construction files
    - PCB layout (PDF)
    OR
    - Gerber files

3. Bootloader Firmware and
    the Firmware downloader.

4. Microcontroller Firmware
    Available in the "GoGo board
    Firmware" section of the
    download page.

5. A PIC programmer
     See the general guidelines below
     for more info.

6. Soldering tools + pliers

Other guidelines:
   - Board Assembly Guide
   - Parts Map
   - PCB Manufacturing cost.

Ordering a PCB from AP Circuits (www.apcircuits.com)

If you live in the US or Canada and you want to make more than 10 PCBs, you can order them form PCB manufacturers such as AP Circuits. They usually charge abit more than $US10 per board. You place an order by sending e-mail to them together with the following files.

OrderForm.txt – This is the order form. See example below.

All the PCB files (Gerber files). - These files describe the traces on both the component and the soldering side. They also describe drill locations and hole sizes. You can get the GoGo Gerber files from the download page.

You need to ZIP all these files together and send it to staff@apcircuits.com. They normally ships the next day.

You can get the PCB files .

After submission they will send you a confirmation e-mail and status updates. For more information about payment or other concerns, please visit APC website.

Here’s an example of an order form. Apart from your payment info, you have to make sure the red fields correspond to the board you are ordering.

Date            ;04/08/03
First Name      ;John
Last Name       ;Doe
Address         ;1 main st.
City            ;Boston
Prov/ST.        ;MA
Country         ;USA
zC/ZIP          ;02144
Company         ;John’s Co.
Area Code       ;617
Phone           ;123-4567
Fax             ;123-4567
Email Address   ;john@johnco.com
CAD System      ;protel99se
Shipping Method ; FEDEX
Shipping ACCNT# ;n/a
Credit Card#    ;1234 5678 9012 3456
Visa/MC         ;Visa
Exp. Date       ;06/03
Cheque/MO#      ;n/a
PO #            ;n/a
SERVICE TYPE                          ;P1
Laminate Type                         ;FR4
Laminate Thickness                    ;.062
Circuit Board Size (in DECIMAL INCHES);3.90 X 2.70   
Quantity Required (even numbers only) ;10
GERBER TOP LAYER FILE NAME            ;GOGO22d.CMP
GERBER BOTTOM LAYER FILE NAME         ;GOGO22d.SOL
GERBER TOP SOLDER MASK FILE NAME      ;N/A on P1
GERBER BOTTOM SOLDER MASK FILE NAME   ;N/A on P1
GERBER TOP COMPONENT MASK FILE NAME   ;N/A on P1
GERBER BOTTOM COMP MASK FILE NAME     ;N/A on P1
GERBER APERTURE TABLE FILE NAME       ;N/A on P1
ASCII NC DRILL FILE NAME              ;GOGO22d.DRD
NC DRILL TOOL SIZE FILE NAME          ;GOGO22d.DRI
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FILE NAME        ;N/A

Buying a PIC Programmer (PIC Burner)

Disclaimer. I provide this information just as a guideline for those who are interested. I have no connection with any of the suppliers mentioned in this page. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information and I will take no responsibility of any kind of damage it may cause.

[Prices are as of Jan 2003]

There are many PIC programmers available in the market. Here are two examples:

PICStart plus from Microchip. $199.

The standard beginner’s kit from Microchip. It comes with all the necessary parts and software. Expensive. See www.microchip.com.

P16Pro40. $19 to $42.5.

This is the one I use. It uses a parallel interface and programs the PIC much faster than the PICstart plus. And it’s cheaper. See www.picallw.com.

In the US you can get it from Amazon Electronics. Here are the parts you'll need:

Part Price Order Code

P16PRO40 PIC Programmer $17.95

Parallel straight through cable $4.95 BB040

AC power supply $5.95 BB041

40 Pin ZIF socket (Optional) $13.45 BB007

The P16Pro40 does not come with the necessary software to use it. Here are two programs that work with the burner.

1. WinPicProg. Free. http://www.winpicprog.co.uk. Works.

2. PicAll. $25. http://www.picallw.com. Fully implemented with support for a wide range of PICs.

Programming the PIC

The PIC is a general purpose micro-controller. It needs to be programmed for it to work the way you want. This program is often referred to as the firmware. The firmware must function according to hardware design. Thus, you need a GoGo firmware to make the PIC work with the GoGo board.

Here’s what you need:

A PIC programmer. See buying a PIC Programmer above.

A firmware. This is a single .HEX file containing the code that will be programmed to the PIC. Usually this is the Bootloader HEX file.

Here’s what you need to do:

Connect the PIC burner to you computer.

Make sure the PIC burner software is properly installed (MPLAB for the PICStart Plus, PICAll or WinPicProg for the P16PRO).

Burn the GoGo firmware to the PIC.

The following is a brief guide of how to burn the GoGo board firmware using MPLAB, PICAll, and WinPicProg. Please consult the user guide of each program for more precise instructions.

MPLAB (version 6.x)

Open the firmware (*.HEX). Choose menu File / Import / Import to Memory.

Make sure the right programmer is selected by choosing menu Programmer / Select Programmer. Make sure PICStart Plus is selected.

Make sure the comm port setting corresponds to the serial port you to which you connect the PICStart Plus. Choose menu Programmer / Settings and click on the Communications tab.

Make sure the processor settings matches the PIC model you are using. Choose menu Configure / Select Device.

Choose menu Programmer / Program to start the burning process.

PICAll

Open the firmware (*.HEX). Choose menu File / Open Program.

Make sure the settings are correct. Check menu Settings / LPT Port and Settings / Hardware. The default normally works.

Make sure the PIC model matches the one you are using. See the drop-down list on the upper right corner.

Hit the “Program” button or F4 to begin burning. It should take less than 30 seconds.

WinPicProg

Open the firmware (*.HEX). Choose menu File / Open.

Make sure the processor settings (drop-down list in the middle of the screen) matches the PIC model you are using.

Make sure the hardware settings are correct. Go to menu Options / Hardware. In the “Hardware Settings” dialog box, choose the “Programmer Type” menu and choose the model of your PIC programmer. If you don’t know. Make a guess.

Click Write PIC to begin burning.

Note: I’m not sure how stable this program is. If you run into problems, I recommend you restart the program before tweaking the settings.

Assembling the GoGo board

Assembling involves soldering electronic components to the GoGo PCB. You'll need to have a soldering iron, solder, and pliers. Since the board is designed using large soldering pads and large components, assembling a GoGo board doesn't require much soldering skills. But please be cautious. The soldering iron is hot. See GoGo 2.2d assembly guide for more information.

Last updated: July 8, 2004