I have kept all the part numbers the same, and will make special metion of any steps that are specific to a particular revision.

If you wish to make your own PCB you can download the layouts either as a zip or a gzipped tar ball. Each includes Gerber files, PostScript files and PDF's. I am also able to supply professionally etched PCBs, complete with solder mask, through hole plating and silk screen print, please see the Ordering section for details.

Please NOTE: If you order a kit of parts, I will be supplying a UM245R module instead of the USB245M module. As the newer UM245R module is not pin compatible I also supply a conversion PCB and parts. Please see Appendix A for construction details. The following guide was designed for the original circuit. It is very important that you read Appendix A first, as this changes the order you must build the kit in.

I have split this guide up into 10 sections, each containing pictures, or screen shots to help you build the USB DMX interface.

Step 1 - The PCB Step 2 - Fitting the resistors Step 3 - Fitting the capacitors Step 4 - Fitting the IC Sockets Step 5 - Fitting the remaining components Step 6 - Finishing the PCB Step 7 - The case Step 8 - Programming Step 9 - Loading the Firmware Step 10 - DMX connection and testing Appendix A - Building the UM245R conversion PCB

Although it's fairly compact, and small, if somebody were interested in taking this forward to be surface mount then I'm sure it could be made a lot smaller and cheaper. If you're interested in doing this, and / or producing it commercially then please email me.

The USB Interface I chose is actually a surface mount device, and so I cheated and used the evaluation kit module that breaks out onto DIL spaced pins. Its made by FTDI and is called DLP-USB245M-G. This is probably the most expensive bit of the USB DMX interface, and although at the time I had trouble tracking it down, it seems to be readily avaliable now.

There is a databus shared by the SRAM, and the USB interface to the microprocessor. For PCB layout reasons I was only concerned about making D0-D7 the same on the interface and the microprocessor, as with the SRAM what you put in you will get out so it does not need to actually have D0 -> D0 etc, the same goes for the address bus.

PCB_1_2.tgz (96KB)

PCB_1_2.zip (112KB)

PCB_1_3.tgz (120KB)

PCB_1_3.zip (124KB)

PCB_UM245R.tgz (32KB)

PCB_UM245R.zip (40KB)