Cactus | CSQ

Schedule

Good practices to continue for future projects

Buy electronics modules for V1.0 Make it work, make it right, make it better
Ensure main BOM components are available from vendors before schematic or layout
Check pin, pitch, manufacturer part number, function before buying BOM parts
Do a power tree analysis starting with power source before the schematic design
Test out paper mockups for mechanical dimensions
Do a mechanical consideration before laying out the footprint
Design a power on/off switch to start/stop using the battery
Leave out the module's on-board LED as a possible separate indicator E.g. Not linking GPIO02 to EN for the shift register
Don't use main chip's power output to enable other components, use another GPIO pin. E.g. Not linking 5V on WeMos to Vin of a sensor or shift register
Ensure the mechanical housing has an opening above any environmental sensors E.g humidity, UV index, air pressure
Make 2 units, not just 1 especially for non-interactive projects - one for deployment, one for iteration/testing
Tag the repository with the version number when the PCB is sent out for manufacturing

For next iteration

No more modules
Reduce total BOM components
Do not use ESP8266's LED GPIO pin
Do not use ESP8266's 5V pin to power other components
Increase battery life by cutting off power to the sensors during sleep
Device an easy way to erase on board WiFi credentials and cloud connectivity details without the need to flash and re-flash the erasing firmware E.g. press a button
Tag the repository with the version number when the PCB is sent out for manufacturing
Make the measurement interval configurable without re-flashing the firmware