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Goldfish v2 - A super thin USB-C Pro Micro clone

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dr_derivative:
Goldfish v2

Goldfish is a Pro Micro compatible microcontroller board designed for use in mechanical keyboards. It is based on the same Atmel ATMega32U4 chip and is programmable using the Arduino IDE or a keyboard specific firmware such as TMK or QMK. Of course it is perfectly usable for any other electronics projects too, not just keyboards.



Github repo

Features
* Lower board profile with the mid-mounted USB-C connector
* Two internal pins make the USB data lines easily accessible
* USB-C is more durable, reversible and just plain cool
* 5 additional pins on the bottom edge of the board
* Pin-compatible with the original Pro Micro
* Sturdier through-hole USB connector
* On board ESD protection for USB linesChanges compared to Goldfish v1
* Addition of on board ESD protection and fuse
* All 0603 resistors and capacitors for (slightly) easier hand assembly
* Castellated edge connectors similar to the Elite-C
* Less obscure USB-C connector
* Use of more commonly available components in 2022
* Choice between multiple compatible connectors and suppliers
* Uses USB 2.0-only connector for easier and cheaper assembly

Disadvantages

* No onboard RX, TX LEDs
* No onboard voltage regulator (this makes no difference for keyboards; a regulator is only required when power supplies of over 5.5V are used)
* No onboard reset button
Vendors Selling Goldfish

Goldfish v1 rev. C

* BeeKeebComet (modified design based on Goldfish v1; see related projects)

* Tokas' Kable WorksNote: These products are sold by 3rd party vendors and are not 'officially' endorsed by me. I'm simply listing them here for convenience.

(Also please let me know if anything is missing from this list)

Related Projects

Alvaro by Ariamelon

* A modified Goldfish v1 using 0603 components instead of 0402Comet by Tokas

* A modified Goldfish v1 using a HRO TYPE-C-31-M-12 connectorWhale by Jia Geng Chang

* A modified Goldfish v1 using a Jing 918-418K2024S40000 connectorGoldfish-clone-JLCPCB by Jeremy J Starcher

* A modified Goldfish v1 designed to meet JLCPCB's assembly requirementsElite-C from keeb.io

* An unrelated and closed source project with similar design goals(Please let me know if anything is missing form this list)

Old Goldfish v1 info: More
Introduction
During my free time over the past couple of months I've been playing around with KiCad designing this. I have no idea if anyone will be interested, but whatever.  :) )
For now I've named it 'Goldfish', mainly because I drew a cartoony goldfish when I was bored and have used that as artwork on the PCB. Also, like a goldfish, it's small.
It is pin compatible with a regular Pro Micro, uses the same ATMega32u4. It uses a mid-mounted USB-C connector to make the board thinner while making the connector more durable than the usual SMD connector.

Pics
I only have renders for now, I will order prototypes soon. Soldermask will probably be yellow to fit in with the goldfish theme.
The USB-C connector isn't shown since KiCad doesn't have a model for it, but it will look something like the picture below.





Advantages (over a Pro Micro)
* The through-hole USB connector is much less likely to break off compared to surface mount connectors.
* USB-C is reversible, more durable and just plain cool.
* Pin-compatible with the original Pro Micro and Pro Micro clones.
* Goldfish has five extra pins available along its bottom edge if more pins are required.
* USB data lines are easily accessible through two internal pins.
* A mid-mounted USB-C connector allows goldfish to be much thinner than a Pro Micro.Disadvantages (over a Pro Micro)
* Fewer custom cable options for USB-C when compared to Mini-B/Micro-B.
* More expensive (depends on MOQ of course).
* No onboard voltage regulator (this makes no difference for keyboards; an external regulator is only required when power supplies of over 5.5V are used).
* No onboard RX, TX or Power indicator LEDs.CAD Files
CAD file are on GitHub at https://github.com/Dr-Derivative/Goldfish.

Disclaimer
I haven't tested this board yet. If you decide to have a few of these produced do so at your own risk!
Edit: Others have tested it and it looks like it works well ;D

synonzelra:
I would still say some regulator is required since there might be spikes when pluging or unpluging.

suicidal_orange:
This looks great - compatible yet better as it has more pins :thumb:

I don't think the missing LEDs are a disadvantage either, if you can see the power one under your keyboard you can see the cable is plugged in and TX/RX just complicate things when choosing pins for the matrix.

dr_derivative:

--- Quote from: synonzelra on Tue, 16 January 2018, 21:23:35 ---I would still say some regulator is required since there might be spikes when pluging or unpluging.

--- End quote ---

I don't think this will be much of an issue; there are plenty of PCBs based on the ATMega32u4 without any form of voltage regulator. I can add some TVS diodes if transients do end up being a problem, but I doubt it's needed.


--- Quote from: suicidal_orange on Wed, 17 January 2018, 04:48:42 ---This looks great - compatible yet better as it has more pins :thumb:

--- End quote ---

Thank you :thumb:

steinerlein:
I think this is a great idea! Would be interested in a couple of these, depending of the price of course..

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