The first PCB for our satellite is ready.
This is for our primary module, which is equipped with a microprocessor from STM.
In the case of wiring, we paid particular attention to work carefully by planning enough space for the individual components and clearly structuring the individual layers. Furthermore, we have tried to keep digital interference away from the components by means of capacitors.
To be on the safe side, in the event of a power failure, we installed a super capacitor so that our RTC (Real Time Clock) continues to run and we can thus see when the satellite had a failure and we can better structure and evaluate the data packets. Another advantage is that the backup register could be maintained for several hours.
Furthermore, we have rethought our antenna concept. Now we will use the board itself as the opposite pole. To do this, we place the radials in a circle on the board. One advantage of this is that our antipole does not have to be glued to the board again with hot glue, which gives us a clean appearance of the board and saves space.