Atlas Dev Board
building an all-in-one IoT dev board with ESP32-S3 brain, A9G for GSM/GPS, onboard audio (mic + speaker + buzzer), battery support with USB-C charging, and headers for displays/sensors. basically every connectivity option in one board so hackers can prototype anything without hunting for modules.
Created by
TheMudGuy
Tier 3
9 views
0 followers
tty7 ⚡
requested changes for Atlas Dev Board ago
Hey! This looks like a cool project, but you have several issues to fix. First of all, there's no bom.csv file in your repo, and your readme also needs some tweaking - please read the submission guidelines. Your gsm implementation also isn't quite right right now, please follow its reference design (in the user manual). It also looks like you aren't connecting the chip to anything, you won't be able to communicate with it at all right now. For proper rf performance, you'll also want layer 2 to be a completely clean solid ground plane (move your layer 2 stuff to layer 3), and all of your layers should have a solid ground fill unless it's a power plane. I like the project, but you have a few things you need to fix.
TheMudGuy
submitted Atlas Dev Board for ship review ago
TheMudGuy
added to the journal ago
FINALYYYYYYY!!!! MY ROUTING IS DONEE.
so yeah i m late, cuz i was busy in switching from windows to xubuntu(cuz why not), so yhh here are some looks of the layers:
man this took very long than i expected,so yh now i'll make the repo, and submit the design review, btw all DRCs are good to go, i checked em.
BOARD:
TheMudGuy
added to the journal ago
COMPLETED THE SCHEMATICCCCCC!!!!!!!!!!
completed both schematic sheets
what i did
finished drawing the complete schematic for Atlas Dev Board in EasyEDA. split it into two sheets:
Sheet 1 - Power Section:
- USB-C input with proper connections
- TP4056 Li-ion charger circuit
- DW01A + FS8205A battery protection
- main power switch
- MT3608 5V boost regulator
- AMS1117-3.3V LDO
- charge/power status LEDs
Sheet 2 - Main Circuit:
- ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module with all connections
- A9G GSM/GPS module with UART interface
- microSD card slot (SPI)
- RS485 transceiver (MAX3485E)
- microphone circuit
- speaker connector
- proper decoupling caps everywhere
how it went
honestly took longer than expected because i kept switching between datasheets to make sure pin connections were right. the ESP32 has like 40+ pins and i had to carefully plan which GPIO goes where.
the tricky part was making sure:
USB D+/D- goes to correct ESP32 pins (GPIO19/20)
all power rails are properly decoupled
SPI pins are shared between SD card and display header
UART for A9G doesn't conflict with anything else
also had to think about the A9G power requirements - it needs direct battery connection because it pulls crazy current when transmitting GSM signals (like 2A bursts).
what's good
- both sheets are clean and organized
- component values are all there
- proper labeling for all nets
- regulators have correct capacitor values
- GPIO allocation makes sense
i know some connections or smthg would be wrong, which i will fix either this night or the next day
TheMudGuy
added to the journal ago
Placed the MCU
WORKING ON THE MCU
placed the MCU, powered it, connected data lines etc, next i will be doing the A9G module, and add uFX connectors and wire UART between A9G and ESP
TheMudGuy
added to the journal ago
FINALISED THE POWER SHEET
Hii guyss , i completed this power sheet, i have completed the schematic, power flow, regulators, etc
How is it?? :D
will post next journal soon about the MCU, and yhh i know i m late cuz yesterday i was busy doing the school work TT
TheMudGuy
added to the journal ago
Completed the power routing
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hey guysss i m back againn, from the previous 3 hrs, i prepared a rough block diagram of the devboard & was reading datasheets of all the ICs to be used in the power section such as TP4056, DW01A, AMS1117, MT3608 etc, and saw some example schematics & projects using them and drafted this much schematic of the Atlas Dev Board's power system.
and its bedtime now , so i am going to sleep , i will do the MCU part, and polish this power section tommorow after coming from school
GOOD NIGHT and BYE BYE.
TheMudGuy
added to the journal ago
Came up with the idea and researched about it.
hiii! this is my first journal for my project called Atlas Dev Board.
i want to build one single dev board that can handle almost every IoT project so i don’t need to connect like 5 different modules every time.
what i want to build
Atlas Dev Board will be an all-in-one IoT dev board with:
ESP32-S3 as the main brain (for WiFi and Bluetooth)
a GSM + GPS module so it can work even without WiFi
battery support with charging so it can be portable
onboard buzzer, mic, and a mini speaker for sound
headers for TFT displays and sensors
microSD card slot to store data
RS485 for long distance wired sensors such as soil sensors, or communication with other boards with rs485
the main idea is that instead of using separate GPS, GSM, power bank, and audio modules, i want everything on one PCB.
planning & idea
right now i am just planning how everything should connect:
ESP32-S3 will control the whole board
GSM/GPS module will talk to ESP32 using UART
SPI will be used for display headers and SD card
I2C will be kept free for sensors
i have also thought a rough idea about the power system and type c port will be used for power and programming
why i want to make this
i want a board that:
can be used as a GPS tracker
can log data to SD card
can send data using GSM or WiFi
can play sounds or alerts
can be reused for many different projects
can mimic a mobile in some functionalities like attending voice calls, sending sms, etc
basically a “do everything” board for IoT experiments and learning.
next steps
make a block diagram
start drawing the schematic
decide GPIO mapping
think about antenna and connector placement
TL;DR
i want to build an all-in-one IoT dev board called Atlas.
it will have WiFi, GSM, GPS, battery, audio, and display support.
the goal is to avoid using many different modules.
right now i am planning how everything will connect.
next step is starting the schematic.
TheMudGuy
started Atlas Dev Board ago
1/27/2026 6 PM - Came up with the idea and researched about it.
hiii! this is my first journal for my project called Atlas Dev Board.
i want to build one single dev board that can handle almost every IoT project so i don’t need to connect like 5 different modules every time.
what i want to build
Atlas Dev Board will be an all-in-one IoT dev board with:
ESP32-S3 as the main brain (for WiFi and Bluetooth)
a GSM + GPS module so it can work even without WiFi
battery support with charging so it can be portable
onboard buzzer, mic, and a mini speaker for sound
headers for TFT displays and sensors
microSD card slot to store data
RS485 for long distance wired sensors such as soil sensors, or communication with other boards with rs485
the main idea is that instead of using separate GPS, GSM, power bank, and audio modules, i want everything on one PCB.
planning & idea
right now i am just planning how everything should connect:
ESP32-S3 will control the whole board
GSM/GPS module will talk to ESP32 using UART
SPI will be used for display headers and SD card
I2C will be kept free for sensors
i have also thought a rough idea about the power system and type c port will be used for power and programming
why i want to make this
i want a board that:
can be used as a GPS tracker
can log data to SD card
can send data using GSM or WiFi
can play sounds or alerts
can be reused for many different projects
can mimic a mobile in some functionalities like attending voice calls, sending sms, etc
basically a “do everything” board for IoT experiments and learning.
next steps
make a block diagram
start drawing the schematic
decide GPIO mapping
think about antenna and connector placement
TL;DR
i want to build an all-in-one IoT dev board called Atlas.
it will have WiFi, GSM, GPS, battery, audio, and display support.
the goal is to avoid using many different modules.
right now i am planning how everything will connect.
next step is starting the schematic.
1/27/2026 9 PM - Completed the power routing
hey guysss i m back againn, from the previous 3 hrs, i prepared a rough block diagram of the devboard & was reading datasheets of all the ICs to be used in the power section such as TP4056, DW01A, AMS1117, MT3608 etc, and saw some example schematics & projects using them and drafted this much schematic of the Atlas Dev Board's power system.
and its bedtime now , so i am going to sleep , i will do the MCU part, and polish this power section tommorow after coming from school
GOOD NIGHT and BYE BYE.
1/29/2026 3 PM - FINALISED THE POWER SHEET
Hii guyss , i completed this power sheet, i have completed the schematic, power flow, regulators, etc
How is it?? :D
will post next journal soon about the MCU, and yhh i know i m late cuz yesterday i was busy doing the school work TT
1/29/2026 4 PM - Placed the MCU
WORKING ON THE MCU
placed the MCU, powered it, connected data lines etc, next i will be doing the A9G module, and add uFX connectors and wire UART between A9G and ESP
1/29/2026 5 PM - COMPLETED THE SCHEMATICCCCCC!!!!!!!!!!
completed both schematic sheets
what i did
finished drawing the complete schematic for Atlas Dev Board in EasyEDA. split it into two sheets:
Sheet 1 - Power Section:
- USB-C input with proper connections
- TP4056 Li-ion charger circuit
- DW01A + FS8205A battery protection
- main power switch
- MT3608 5V boost regulator
- AMS1117-3.3V LDO
- charge/power status LEDs
Sheet 2 - Main Circuit:
- ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module with all connections
- A9G GSM/GPS module with UART interface
- microSD card slot (SPI)
- RS485 transceiver (MAX3485E)
- microphone circuit
- speaker connector
- proper decoupling caps everywhere
how it went
honestly took longer than expected because i kept switching between datasheets to make sure pin connections were right. the ESP32 has like 40+ pins and i had to carefully plan which GPIO goes where.
the tricky part was making sure:
USB D+/D- goes to correct ESP32 pins (GPIO19/20)
all power rails are properly decoupled
SPI pins are shared between SD card and display header
UART for A9G doesn't conflict with anything else
also had to think about the A9G power requirements - it needs direct battery connection because it pulls crazy current when transmitting GSM signals (like 2A bursts).
what's good
- both sheets are clean and organized
- component values are all there
- proper labeling for all nets
- regulators have correct capacitor values
- GPIO allocation makes sense
i know some connections or smthg would be wrong, which i will fix either this night or the next day
2/6/2026 - FINALYYYYYYY!!!! MY ROUTING IS DONEE.
so yeah i m late, cuz i was busy in switching from windows to xubuntu(cuz why not), so yhh here are some looks of the layers:
man this took very long than i expected,so yh now i'll make the repo, and submit the design review, btw all DRCs are good to go, i checked em.
BOARD: