Today I witnessed a double rainbow in the sky. Coincidence ? I think not.
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I want the real deal, doe. The latin words are also meant to carry meaning, which the fake latin names in 40K only get from the history of the people or objects they name.
Unfortunately there are no translations for switch or vandal in latin, the former isn't really surprising. Furor, ira, furia, rabies (sic) and vesania mean anger, which is the closest fit I found to vandalism, and button is bulla, but that just sounds stupid. I guess you could translate vandal with barbarus, but that also means foreigner.
Freilite Furia?
Freilite Vesania?
Freilite Bulla Ira?
But it's just a single rainbow
Oh god, imagine a larger version of this switch with two rings!Still, that is not the worst idea. Rainbow translates to Arcus or Iris in latin.
Freilite Arcus
Freilite Iris
Good options IMO, especially as they're easily pronounceable.
The problem is that I won't test the switch against the IP norms that vandal switches usually have.
Also I like latin names for things. And keep in mind that iFreilicht is myself as a person and Freilite is the company and brand I will operate under. Different things
They're called anti-vandal switches because the nut that secures the switch is on the backside of the panel and they have smooth, low-profile bezels so they're harder for vandals to steal or damage.
Since they're often intended for industrial and/or high-use applications (like elevators) they usually have IP ratings but it's not required.
Great catch there... remembered that as soon as I read you post above.
The problem is that I won't test the switch against the IP norms that vandal switches usually have.
Also I like latin names for things. And keep in mind that iFreilicht is myself as a person and Freilite is the company and brand I will operate under. Different things
i-Frei Vandal as in "I am finally free from the horrid power switch that came with my case!" :-p
I'd suggest "Mercury switch" but that's already a different thing.
Yes it's not required, but there is a certain expectation of an "Anti-Vandal Switch" being resilient to vandalism. It's an Anti-Vandal styled switch
PCBs done!
The first one didn't change too much, the second one is more interesting. You can see two 1210 footprints for hand-soldering, which will be unpopulated normally. Why did I include them? Good question! You see, the button will have four GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) pins. GPIO1 and GPIO2 are usually used to read the HDD LEDs status, GPIO3 and GPIO4 are connected to the button. But they also have secondary functions. For example, they can be used to drive regular LEDs like the ones on front panels pre-installed in cases. The button can also be read out by the MC. For these purposes, there are inline resistors on GPIO2 and GPIO4 of 330 Ohms. This is what ATX mainboards have and it's a good value for driving most through-hole LEDs. But, if the resistors aren't needed or a different value is desired, one can open the switch and install other resistors in parallel or SMD bridges to bypass the resistors completely. 1210 can be soldered by hand quite well and they are very cheap. So yeah, I over-engineered it a little.
So that's all three PCBs complete now, at least the individual ones. Now I've got to panelise them. With the two you see here, that's not going to be that hard, I already added straight edges for V-grooving. The top one with all the LEDs is going to be a different story, that one will need routing and mouse-bites. Once I'm done with that, I can ask my manufacturer and assembler for a quote.
The first one didn't change too much, the second one is more interesting. You can see two 1210 footprints for hand-soldering, which will be unpopulated normally. Why did I include them? Good question! You see, the button will have four GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) pins. GPIO1 and GPIO2 are usually used to read the HDD LEDs status, GPIO3 and GPIO4 are connected to the button. But they also have secondary functions. For example, they can be used to drive regular LEDs like the ones on front panels pre-installed in cases. The button can also be read out by the MC. For these purposes, there are inline resistors on GPIO2 and GPIO4 of 330 Ohms. This is what ATX mainboards have and it's a good value for driving most through-hole LEDs. But, if the resistors aren't needed or a different value is desired, one can open the switch and install other resistors in parallel or SMD bridges to bypass the resistors completely. 1210 can be soldered by hand quite well and they are very cheap. So yeah, I over-engineered it a little.
So that's all three PCBs complete now, at least the individual ones. Now I've got to panelise them. With the two you see here, that's not going to be that hard, I already added straight edges for V-grooving. The top one with all the LEDs is going to be a different story, that one will need routing and mouse-bites. Once I'm done with that, I can ask my manufacturer and assembler for a quote.
0805s are also easy to hand-solder. But 1210 / 1206 make sense if you have board area to spare. Also, as I mentioned previously, adding GND planes around the edges reduce radiated emissions and make the edges more abrasion resistant.
Yeah it was just a question of what the biggest package was I could fit. Ne need to make it harder for anyone
Yeah I'll put those in before sending out a quote. I have to stay clear of the edges by 0.2 to 0.5mm, though (depending on milling or v-scoring). How will the additional copper help the edges against abrasion in that case? Though for the main surface, I can absolutely see your point.
Thank you! It's been great fun so far
If the periphery is devoid of copper, there will be microscopic gaps between the fiberglass layers. GND planes prevent this and provide better protection against layers getting peeled off by forces normal to the PCB edge. This is an additional measure recommended for small boards that may be rough handled by the users. It is ok if the GND planes don't exactly reach the edge.
Ah I see, I was thinking about it the wrong way. Is that relevant with double-sided boards as well? Those don't have multiple fiberglass layers, do they? And even if so, the copper pour wouldn't reach inside the PCB.
Firmware Prototype!
As I wrote earlier, the button has four GPIOs, which are labelled SW0, SW1, HDD0 and HDD1. With the stock firmware, these pins have the following functions:
SW0 and SW1 can either be connected to the PWR_SW pins on the mainboard, or to an external LED. In both cases, the internal button can be read out by the firmware.
HDD0 and HDD1 can either be connected to the HDD_LED pins on the mainboard or to an external LED or to an external button/switch that can then be read out by the firmware.
All those functions are hot-plug capable and polarity invariant. Hot-plug capability means that no reboot or changing of settings is required to activate those functions. Polarity invariance means that these functions work regardless of which way you plug the connectors in. For this to work, the firmware monitors those GPIOs and changes the output depending on the results. Basically, it can detect what is connected to it and which way around.
I just now tested this with my current PC and an Arduino. Everything works just as expected. It's not that easy to show, but maybe this demonstrates it somewhat sufficiently:
And this is what the microcontroller sees:
It tracks button presses, LED polarity, HDD indicator activity and PWR_SW sense connection. All with less than 140 lines of code.
As I wrote earlier, the button has four GPIOs, which are labelled SW0, SW1, HDD0 and HDD1. With the stock firmware, these pins have the following functions:
SW0 and SW1 can either be connected to the PWR_SW pins on the mainboard, or to an external LED. In both cases, the internal button can be read out by the firmware.
HDD0 and HDD1 can either be connected to the HDD_LED pins on the mainboard or to an external LED or to an external button/switch that can then be read out by the firmware.
All those functions are hot-plug capable and polarity invariant. Hot-plug capability means that no reboot or changing of settings is required to activate those functions. Polarity invariance means that these functions work regardless of which way you plug the connectors in. For this to work, the firmware monitors those GPIOs and changes the output depending on the results. Basically, it can detect what is connected to it and which way around.
I just now tested this with my current PC and an Arduino. Everything works just as expected. It's not that easy to show, but maybe this demonstrates it somewhat sufficiently:
And this is what the microcontroller sees:
It tracks button presses, LED polarity, HDD indicator activity and PWR_SW sense connection. All with less than 140 lines of code.
It's shaping up to be the perfect button. Keep up the good work!
If I had one, this would be the ultimate button for @Josh | NFC 's S4 Mini and even the Sentry .
If I had one, this would be the ultimate button for @Josh | NFC 's S4 Mini and even the Sentry .
Considering how much time I've wasted over the years getting PWR LED plugged in with the right polarity, your button would be worth it for that alone
Amazing work ! I love the little details and flexibility to make this seemingly simple device into a fully featured piece of art.
Could several of these magnificent RGB buttons be used on the same chassis with something like NZXT's Internal USB Expansion hub (link, link to newer "less sff" magnetic version) or would supporting more than one be software dependent?
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