So I'm starting the board layout for the first beta run of ArdIU. I have a couple questions for those of you who may someday want one of these, or just have a general idea about what the public wants in a DD altimeter...
- SMD parts: ArdIU will be assembled by the user from a kit, Eggtimer style. This of course means that really tiny parts aren't going to be happening, but I'm on the fence between standard through-hole resistors, etc. versus 1206 SMDs (the size in an Eggfinder). The only objection to 1206 I have is that there are quite a few of them- 20 resistors and 4 capacitors by my count. What do people think about soldering that many SMD components?
- Extra pins: ArdIU in its current form has an extra pin along with the SPI bus broken out to a female header. However, ditching that would save a lot of board space. Would anyone be horribly offended by that? If I ditch the header, what should I replace the spare pin with? An indicator LED? I'd add another pyro but I don't have an input left to run continuity checks from.
Thanks all!