EZ Protoboard Drawings
Copyright © 2001,
Permission granted to use under the terms of the GNU GPL.

The EZ-USB chip comes in an 80 pin PQFP package, a surface mount device, which means you absolutely need a printed circuit board (PCB) to mount the device. Pin spacing is 0.65mm, so you will need a steady hand and a decent soldering iron to assemble this board (preferrably with a sharp tip). And no, those 100mil mesh boards at RadioShack aren't gonna cut it either, you need a real etched PCB (but don't throw them away -- use 'em for your stacked daughter boards).


Top Side


Bottom Side

You need at least EAGLE 4.01 Freeware Edition to use our CAD drawings. Executables are available for both Linux and Windows from CadSoft Online. PDF files can be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader, but aren't really necessary if you have EAGLE and the sch/brd files. If your web browser just displays gibberish when you click the file links, try holding down your SHIFT key when you click the files (this forces download).

[ezproto.sch]   [ezprotosch.pdf]
This is the schematic drawing of the EZ Protoboard.

[ezproto.brd]    [ezprotobrd-bottom.pdf]    [ezprotobrd-bottom-placement.pdf]    [ezprotobrd-top.pdf]    [ezprotobrd-top-placement.pdf]
This is the board layout for producing an EZ Protoboard PCB. There are a few top layer traces that you can manually use airwires for, or your could build this using a two layer PCB. In my opinion, making a two layer PCB is a lot more work than placing seven airwires, but if you are using Olimex to build your PCBs for you maybe it's the other way around.

We recommend the following steps for construction:

  1. Test all traces for possible etch mistakes by using the continuity tester of your meter.
  2. Apply flux to the pads where the EZ USB chip is going to be soldered down.
  3. Place the EZ USB chip carefully so that all legs hit their appropriate pad. Solder down two corners of the chip in perfect position to hold the chip in place, then solder all remaining pins.
  4. Use the continuity tester again to check all pins on the EZ USB for solder bridges or disconnected pins. Fix any problems and test again until everything is perfect.
  5. Do the same for all of the remaining surface mount ICs.
  6. Solder down all remaining surface mount components (capacitors, resistors, etc).
  7. Solder all top layer jumper wires.
  8. Solder all through hole components, starting with items that stick out the least (resistors, diodes, etc) to the tallest items (DC power jack, USB receptacle).
  9. Before powering on, inspect board for mistakes such as solder bridges or disconnects. Use continuity tester where necessary.
  10. Hook up external power to the DC jack first to see if you blow a fuse instead of hooking it right up to your USB port and blowing your USB host's motherboard.