Parallax Proto-DB User manual

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© arallax, Inc. • roto-DB (2010.12.10) age 1 of 6
Proto-DB (#2 310): Prototyping Daughterboard
General Description
The Proto-DB provides the means to build your own circuits that interface with the MoBoStamp-pe and/or
the MoBoProp motherboards.
Features
• Plug-compatible with Paralla motherboards.
• Ground plane for quiet operation.
• 70 uncommitted plated through-holes on a 0.1” grid for your components.
• 14 grounded through-holes.
• 7 plated through-holes each in two uncommitted voltage busses.
• 11 connecting pads for daughterboard connector supply lines and signals.
Application Ideas
• Robotic Controls.
• Custom Sensors.
• Data Acquisition Circuitry.
• Industrial Control I/O.
• Pushbuttons and LEDs.
What’s Included
What You Need to Provide
• Components and wires.
• Filter and bypass capacitors.
• Paralla motherboard or DB-E pander.
• Connector(s) to the outside world.
• Your imagination!
Assembly
The Proto-DB comes in kit form with the circuit board and motherboard connector separate. If you are
using the Proto-DB with a Paralla motherboard, you will need to solder the connector to the board.
1 ea. Bare prototyping board
and daughterboard connector.

© arallax, Inc. • roto-DB (2010.12.10) age 2 of 6
There are four possible ways to do this. Only one of the four is correct , so pay careful attention to the
following illustration to determine the proper side of the board and proper orientation for the connector:
Rear View
Side View
Top View
Note keying
slot orientation.
Solder 12 pins
on this side.
It is best to solder two pins on opposite corners of the connector first. Then double check to make sure
the circuit board side and orientation are correct and that the connector lies flat against the circuit board.
Once this is done, you can solder the remaining pins.
Connections
The Proto-DB is labeled to identify the pads available for soldering wires and components, as shown
below, and described further:
Bottom Top

© arallax, Inc. • roto-DB (2010.12.10) age 3 of 6
Ground Busses
Grounding busses run along either side of the board, ne t to the “Gnd” labels. These 14 holes connect to
the daughterboard connector’s ground pin through the ground plane.
Power Busses
Two independent power busses run ne t to the grounding busses. One end of each is located near one of
the voltage sources: +5V on one side; Vdd on the other. But the busses can be used for any voltage
supply or signal you wish to connect.
Daughterboard Connect Points
Eleven pads are dedicated to daughterboard connector signals. These are:
• Vdd: Motherboard logic supply voltage. This may be either 3.3V or 5V for the MoBoStamp-pe. It
will always be 3.3V for the MoBoProp.
• +5V: Nominal five-volt supply from the motherboard. This may either be a regulated 5V from
the motherboard’s own regulator, when it’s being powered e ternally, or a 4.3-5V supply when
it’s being powered from the USB port.
• V: This is the motherboard’s Vin line when plugged into daughterboard socket “A”; a no-connect,
when plugged into “B”.
• A-H: Signal lines from the motherboard.
The signal line connections will depend on which motherboard the Proto-DB is plugged into, as well as
which socket. These are shown in the table on the following page.
Proto-DB
Label
MoboStamp-pe
“A”
MoBoStamp-pe
“B”
MoBoProp
“A”
Propeller
Backpack &
MoBoProp
“B”
Spinneret
A A0 (Analog In) B0 (Analog In) A8 (Analog In) A0 (Analog In) A24
B A1 (Analog In) B1 (Analog In) A9 (Analog In) A1 (Analog In) A25
C A2 (PWM Out)/P11 B2 (PWM Out)/P7 A10 A2 A26
D A3 (PWM Out)/P12 B3 (PWM Out)/P5 A11 A3 A27
P9 (SCL) P1 (SCL) A12 A4 A28 (SCL)
F P8 (SDA) P0 (SDA) A13 A5 A29 (SDA)
G P3 (Common 1) P3 (Common 1) A14 A6 A30 (T D)
H P2 (Common 0) P2 (Common 0) A15 A7 A31 (R D)
According to the motherboard specs, pins through H will be pulled up on the motherboard to Vdd via
4.7K resistors.

© arallax, Inc. • roto-DB (2010.12.10) age 4 of 6
Hints for Construction
• Use a 10µF tantalum cap on any power supply line from the motherboard that you employ in
your circuitry.
• Use 0.1µF bypass caps on the power supply lines to each IC, located near the IC.
• The pads near the top edge of the card are spaced from the edge to properly accommodate a
single- or dual-row right-angle header. Employing one of these will allow connection to the
outside world without adding significantly to the profile height of the Proto-DB.
• Any parts soldered to the bottom of the Proto-DB should be of very low profile, to avoid conflict
with, and possible shorts to, motherboard components.
• Ground connections to high-current devices should be made to a single point, as near to the
“Vdd” label as possible.
• Be very careful when soldering not to melt the plastic shroud that surrounds the motherboard
connector.
• Do not allow any components or wires to e tend outside the white “Gnd” lines. You may wish to
slide your board into an e trusion, and keeping parts away from the edges will make this
possible.
• Neatness counts! Plan ahead and take your time. The template and signal worksheet on the last
page can be printed and used to plan your layout and signal routing.
Example
The following e ample demonstrates how the Proto-DB might be used. We’re going to construct an
analog output board that converts a PWM output from one of the MoBoStamp’s AVR coprocessors to a
voltage, ranging from 0 to Vdd. This is done with a simple first-order low-pass filter coupled to the
positive input of a unity-gain op amp. The schematic follows on the ne t page.
Schematic of PWM-to-Voltage Converter

© arallax, Inc. • roto-DB (2010.12.10) age 5 of 6
The following illustration shows how this circuit might be realized using the Proto-DB. The magenta lines
indicate connections made on the rear of the board.
MCP6021
.1µF
+
10µF
.
1
µ
F
Wiring xample of PWM-to-Voltage Converter

© arallax, Inc. • roto-DB (2010.12.10) age 6 of 6
Proto-DB Wiring Template
Proto-DB
Connection
Stamp/Propeller Signal
(from table on page 3) Your Signal
A
B
C
D
F
G
H
Signal Cross-reference Worksheet