PCB Time!

Here's a render of the finished PCB:

First, the components were laid out and then packed into their final positions, and the board was outlined.

I don't really know what to write here, but I just wired everything up and have to admit I didn't really pay attention to anything except the length of the USB data cables and the outputs to the XLR port. I also didn't use ground fill around the antenna, and I've put vias around it to isolate the antenna from the rest of the circuit. I have no idea if that's the right way to do it or if it even makes any difference, but it makes sense to me.

Then ground fill, my logo and version number, and we're done with the PCB.

Schematic Time!

So, I created a KiCad symbol for the AC6955F chip from the datasheet, using the standard SSOP_24 footprint, and named and prepared everything on the chip. To be honest, I have no idea how to program the chip, let alone what to use... but a serial interface is available, and I'll look into the rest once the PCB is fully assembled and I can start programming.

I then added the USB port and a fuse as well as a diode for VBUS to protect the board and connected devices.

Then the Bluetooth antenna, a 24MHz crystal, LEDs, mounting holes, and a pin header for the serial interface. I'm not sure about the footprint for the Bluetooth antenna, chatgpt said it would work and suggested a footprint from a random website, which I downloaded from there. To be honest, I don't know anything about antennas, so hopefully it will work.

Then I did the XLR output and found an XLR connector on LCSC for a cheap 90 cents and downloaded the footprint.

Here is the finished schematic file, organized and labeled:

Idea

I was recently at an event, or rather a Christmas party, and a teacher came up to me and gave me a sheet of paper with songs and phrases that were to be played after each one. Well, that's not a problem, I mean, I can manage somehow, but I thought there had to be a better way.

You can buy something like that, but I thought I could build it myself! After some research, I came across this chip, the AC6955F from Zhuhai Jieli Technology Co., LTD, which is used in many inexpensive Bluetooth audio adapters, either in this version or in a related version. After just a few Google searches, I found a datasheet and got to work in KiCad.

https://www.yunthinker.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/AC6955F-Datasheet-V1.1.pdf