I am new, so please kindly correct me. I want to move my Photon from breadboard to a more permanent protoboard (only 1 unit for now).
My circuit has:
Photon with headers
— powered with USB power bank
— and power bank itself will connect to a phone wall charger
Loop detector
— powered with AC 220V
— output are dry relay contacts
— connected to Photon’s digital pins and GND
Wiegand reader
— powered with external DC adaptor 12V
— output are wiegand output D0 and D1 (5V)
— connected to Photon’s digital pins and GND
The PCB will be installed in a remote location and near passing car/trucks.
And my plan are:
For the protoboard:
Since my Photon has headers, I will solder female header to the PCB and the Photon will sit here. I want to be able to remove the Photon in future.
The PCB will have male headers so that the sensors’ can connect to these pins.
As for the loop detector and wiegand readers, I will connect their outputs with 22 AWG cables with dupont connectors. And these dupont connectors will connect to the male headers on the PCB above.
Since I have never done this before, am I correct? I have left my circuit on breadboard for several days and it is running fine. But do I need any diode for protection? And is protoboard is a good solution for a cheap but permanent solution?
My use-case is a little different, but just for ideas:
I have a Photon that’s a Wiegand reader. The board has as 12VDC input and a 12V to 5V regulator. The 12V powers the Wiegand reader. It also powers a 12V lock strike via a relay. The other connection is for a magnetic contact switch to monitor the door state. There’s a TMP36 temperature sensor on the board. The last chip on the board is a TPL5000 hardware watchdog timer that can reset the Photon. The connections are via a detachable screw terminal header. The wires are attached via screw terminals, but you can unplug the whole assembly of 8 connections to swap out the board.
As others have said, you seem like you are on a good path. Just keep the +12 and higher voltages away from the Photon and don’t run any wiring over or around the Photon’s antenna end.
Your last photo shows the 22 AWG DuPont connectors. You should know that what is shown is just the plastic shell that goes around the connecting parts. There are little springy metal parts that crimp or solder on to the wires and then slide into that shell and clip in. The metal parts usually come semi-attached to a long strip for easy handling.
Oh yeah, I missed that part. I didn't test it before and just assumed it. Thanks a lot!
uh huh, that's... what I want to be able to make/design in couple months (or years) haha
Speaking of watchdog (another thing that I missed), I will try to read/use the application watchdog. I am not in the states and we only have cheap hardware/pcb here.
Got it. I do have/use an external 2.4GHz u.FL antenna for Photon.
Thanks for your advice.
Thanks for the link. My requirement is actually not trying to control the electric.
I just want to be notified when my sensors are triggered.
Just an update, below is what I learnt from this helpful community. I installed a rain sensor and also LED screen for testing and learning. There are 4 more cables that are not connected to this setup. Next week will be installed in remote location. Hopefully it can last.
