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Rev 2 cost reduction

A project log for Panel Mount USB UART

A quick little board to replace Level Shifters and a 9pin connector.

bharbourBharbour 10/27/2020 at 02:540 Comments

I really like the functionality that this project provides. I have used it in several projects. The USB connector is a nice, sealed connector, but it is expensive at $8.76US. I did a second iteration on the PCB using a surface mount Hirose connector that costs under $1US. Panel mounting is acheived by drilling and tapping a couple of small pieces of aluminum.

The other expensive part in the project is the 6 position screw terminal strip. The Phoenix Contact screw terminal strip costs $4.70. Replacing it with 0.1'' header strip is less than $1. Using the header strip allows using a simple connector that is easy to mate and unmate rather than unscrewing each wire and reversing that to reconnect it.

The rest of the board is pretty much the same.

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