I’m very happy to report that the new VAYU-NTX v1.04 PCBs have arrived along with a solder stencil. The boards and stencil are of the normal high quality from Hackvana (Thanks again Mitch).

VAYU-NTX v1.04 PCBs

Although I enjoy the process of hand soldering SMDs, I wanted to streamline the process a little. To that end, I ordered a Solder Stencil with these boards. I made several modifications to the v1.04 updated board, including the editing of three holes to facilitate use with the Arachnid Labs PCB Fixture Block.

VAYU-NTX v1.04 Solder Stencil

I have left the protective covering on the stencil for now. Once the components arrive for the next build, I’ll document the whole process.

Other modifications to the board are as follows:

1. Additional surface on the crystal pads to accommodate either a standard SMD crystal package or the smaller 5052 SMD package.
2. Removal of three redundant resistors and routing directly to the NTX2b module.
3. The addition of TXD and RXD test points for ‘scoping the GPS module output
4. The addition of +VCC and GND test points to check the regulator output.

VAYU-NTX v1.03 – v1.04 PCB Comparison

I also tidied up a few of the silk screen positions with additions and deletions as required. You can find the full set of design files on the VAYU-NTX page on this site. Either for self fabrication or a commercial fabrication house. Judging on their past performance, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Hackvana as your first port of call for the latter.

[UPDATE 19.12.2013]
I’m chuffed to bits, the daughter boards for VAYU-NTX arrived today. I’m really looking forward to getting a complete VAYU-NTX v1.04 board made up along with a Temp/Humid. board.

VAYU-NTX Daughter Boards VAYU-NTX-MOD1 & VAYU-NTS-MOD2

VAYU-NTX-MOD1 has spaces for specific Temperature and Humidity sensors, with a connection table on the back. VAYU-NTX-MOD2 is a general prototyping board for adding multiple sensors or circuits with all the GPIO lines marked up on the first line of connectors.