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FC Carrier (RP2350A-Mini)

Carrier-FC-RP2350A-Mini v1.0 · flight-controller carrier for the single-motor cell
38.8 × 70.8 mm4-layer, 1.6 mm 32 × 64 mm datumhosts RP2350A-Mini

Project overview

From the project's own overview document (author-written).

FC Carrier v1.0 — Function

38.80 × 70.80 mm, 4-layer. Machine-pin datum 32.000 × 64.000 mm. Hosts the rp2350a-mini, bridges 5 V to two loads, and carries the E-stop.

Peripheral allocation

RP2350 has 2 UART, 2 SPI, 2 I2C, 3 PIO / 12 state machines. The cell needs three UARTs.

UART0 -> ESC            carries AM32 flashing
UART1 -> Motor module   carries DFU flashing
PIO   -> RX module      2 SM
PIO   -> DSHOT          1 SM
PIO   -> WS2812         1 SM
                        4 of 12 SM used

Both flashing links are on hardware UARTs. 18 of 28 broken-out GPIO used.

Fitted parts

Ref Part Function
U1 AP2112K-3.3 5 V → 3.3 V for the mini, which takes 3.3 V. C7 10 µF in, C1 10 µF out, both within 2.8 mm
D1 SMF6.0A TVS at the 5 V entry. Clamps at 10.3 V max
C2, C3–C6 22 µF + 4 × 10 µF distributed bulk on the 5 V rail
R1, C8 10 k + 100 n FC_RST — fixes the idle level against the 32–86 kΩ internal pull-up; 1 ms RC
R3 10 k FC_BOOT — its idle otherwise comes only from QSPI_SS's internal pull-up through 1 k
R5 10 k pull-up ToF INT is open-drain (the sensor molecule also carries R3 2.2 k)
R7 10 k pull-down ToF EN — holds the sensor off until firmware enables it
R8, R9, C10 51 k / 51 k + 100 n 5 V monitor → ADC2. 2.50 V at 5.00 V in, 49 µA. No buffer needed — the ADC's effective impedance is over 100 kΩ even at 500 kS/s
SW1 tact local reset
SW2, R2, LED1, C9 button + 10 k + LED + 100 n E-stop
J1 BM03B-SRSS-TB SWD probe landing

E-stop wiring

+3v3 --[R2 10k]--+-- /ESTOP -- MC27 -> ESC brake (TIM1_BKIN)
                 +-- SW2 (normally open) -- GND
                 +-- LED1 <- [R4 3.3k] <- +3v3
                 +-- C9 100n

LED1 shows the kill state with no firmware running, and the button sits on the same node.

Board state

0 DRC violations. All 52 contacts on the 2 mm lattice. GND is one island on In1 and one on In2. 101 vias, all 0.6/0.3. No mounting holes — machine pins only. Silkscreen outstanding.

The Molecule_RP2350A_v1 library part has Rx1 and Tx1 on the wrong pads in both symbol and footprint — see Pinout.md. Pad numbers land on the correct physical contacts.

What it does

Hosts the RP2350A-Mini flight controller, bridges 5 V to two loads, monitors the 5 V rail into the mini's ADC, and carries a hardware E-stop that drives the ESC's brake line in silicon. It breaks out all of the cell's I/O to the flight controller across a 32 × 64 mm machine-pin datum.

The board, section by section

Flight-controller nest

U2 — the RP2350A-Mini molecule seats here as a populated sub-assembly. The RP2350 has two UARTs, two SPI, two I²C and PIO; the cell needs three UARTs, so UART0 → ESC (carries AM32 flashing) and UART1 → motor module (carries DFU flashing) are on the hardware UARTs, and PIO drives the RX module, DSHOT and a WS2812 — 18 of 28 broken-out GPIO used.

Power in / protect

5 V enters at the contacts, is clamped by a SMF6.0A TVS (D1) and bulked (a 22 µF plus four 10 µF distributed on the rail, 10 µF per VBUS out), and an AP2112K-3.3 (U1) makes the 3.3 V the mini runs on. "5 V Present" is indicated.

E-stop

A hardware E-stop: SW2 drives the ESC's brake line (TIM1_BKIN), killing the gate outputs in silicon — not in firmware. A red indicator (LED1, ≈0.48 mA) shows its state.

Reset

A local reset tact, SW1 (SKRPACE010), with its FC_RST idle fixed by a 10 k / 100 n RC against the mini's internal pull-up.

Status LEDs

LED2 is a WS2812B-2020 addressable RGB used for STATUS; LED3 is a green 5 V-present indicator (≈0.48 mA); LED1 is the red E-stop indicator. LED currents are as annotated on the schematic. Illustrative: the Power toggle in Static mode lights these.

5 V monitor

A 51 k / 51 k divider (+ 100 n) drops the 5 V rail to 2.50 V at 5.00 V in for the mini's ADC2 — no buffer needed, the ADC's effective impedance is over 100 kΩ even at 500 kS/s.

Debug

J1 is a BM03B-SRSS-TB JST connector — the SWD debug landing.

Machine pins

The 32 × 64 mm machine-pin datum locates the carrier and breaks out the cell I/O; the external contacts carry the passives noted on the schematic (pull-ups/downs for the ToF INT/EN, bulk per VBUS out).

Layout

Interactive PCB — click any pad, trace or zone to highlight its whole net; hover for pad and live part data.

Schematic

Interactive schematic — hover a symbol for its KiCad highlight plus live MPN / stock / price / LCSC.

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