First post, probably not the last.
Speeduino Project PCB (printed circuit board) design is an interesting topic. I have been following various Speeduino clone PCB development(s), and to do this work is above my pay grade at this time.
Those who go down this road are doing a fantastic job of presenting new and innovative designs that, if the design is to your liking and meets your ECU project requirements, will be an asset to you as you develop your project.
Most designs are based on the Speeduino ECU interface board v0.4.4 by Josh Stewart, the founder of this project. Josh Stewart’s primary goal from what I can determine is to allow the 3rd party vendors/inventors modify the existing designs for the benefit of the Speeduino ECU world, and his main focus will be on continued development of the firmware for the Speeduino ECUs. He has chosen to develop a high profile Speeduino ECU, the Dropbear, an 8-channel injector and ignition timing unit that can be a out of the box alternative to existing DIY units.
Having mentioned this, Speeduino is still selling the v0.4 and v0.3 PCBs and the components to populate theses PCBs. Not being an adventurous type, there are many aftermarket Speeduino clone ECUs available for you to choose from.
What is a PCB? It is a laminated board consisting of conductive and insulating layers that provide a pattern of traces and other features to wire components to one another in a circuit. The electrical components are surface components, either through hole or surface mounted. You will have to know how to solder if you want to install the components yourself, or have someone else do it for you. I will mention that the component soldering area is quite small and that you should put in some time and practice your soldering technique.
The number of circuits in the Speeduino interface board v0.4.4 is quite impressive for the uninitiated, myself included. This is a picture of the v0.4 PCB:
This picture of the v0.4 PCB schematic should demonstrate that there is considerable design work undertaken to produce a working ECU interface board. This schematic layout is the basis for most Speeduino clone PCBs. I have ordered and should receive a new Speeduino clone ECU soon. This new Speeduino clone ECU has additional features imbedded in the PCB such as;
- A circuit for an on-board barometric sensor, circuitry for a fuel pump connection – no need to manipulate the tuning software settings to operate the fuel pump
- A pre-configured output for tachometer
- An extra trigger input for a second camshaft sensor
Speeduino ECU PCBs come in all sizes and varying configurations. There are PCBs available that are all inclusive including an on-board wide band O2 (WBO2) controller.
The latest evolution for aftermarket vendors is to include the Arduino processor in the PCB design, eliminating the need for an add-on Arduino Mega 2560 or Arduino Mega Pro. Save a few dollars, and saves on ECU design space. This evolution of the Speeduino clone PCBs is relatively new, but will probably become the norm as time goes on. Until then we will have to be satisfied with the existing crop of microprocessors that are being used.
To do a PCB design there are several computer programs, now called apps, to do this. KiCad, Eagle, Fritzing, and many others. There are many videos, and other information available to assist you in understanding the complexities and design of a PCB, and how to design a PCB. I’m certain that the people out there that are designing new Speeduino clone PCBs, or just using existing designs, started out as we are doing. They learned the design software of choice, learned the design specifics – best practice(s), and good PCB layout. This is what we shall discuss as this topic develops.
Enough for now.
