I am not a big fan of the special designs. It may appeal for a limited batch, but since the expansion board is touted as “premier” or “professional”, black is better.
I have mixed feelings about the new design. It tries to merge the two scenarios I’ve mentioned earlier, a Development expansion board and an Expansion board.
1. Development expansion board
I strongly recommend using a SWD connector instead of the 0.1" pins of the last iteration. The SWD connector is fool-proof and standard debuggers like the Segger Edu mini comes with the right cable to plug and play.
I would prefer design E or C.
2. Expansion board
As an expansion board, the last iteration lacks a second I²C Grove connector. As I²C is very popular for connecting Grove sensors and devices, I would expect a second I²C connector. I would prefer design A or design II or III.
Other comments
- Doesn’t the SAMD21 MCU already include an RTC? So we could get rid of the additional RTC IC.
- I would prefer a battery holder to another connector for the RTC battery (as in design
A). - Do all designs include an SPI Flash memory, required for Python?
Conclusion
- I am not sure about the screen. So I would go for design
IIIwith a screen or designCwithout. Both bring a large number of Grove connectors within a constrained size, and could answer the two scenarios I’ve exposed earlier.
Seeed Ranger Program
I’ve applied to the Seeed Ranger Program and I’m awaiting the answer.
Choosing the hardware wasn’t easy as I’ve already ordered most of it, including boards and peripherals.