Case label for Pocket Science Lab V5

tl;dr: Here (PDF, 67 kB) is a case label for Pocket Science Lab version 5 that is compatible with the design for a laser-cut case published by FOSSAsia.


In case you haven’t heard about it, Pocket Science Lab [1] is a really nifty board developed by the FOSSAsia community which combines a multichannel, megahertz-range oscilloscope, a multimeter, a logic probe, several voltage sources and a current source, several wave generators, UART and I2C interfaces… and all of this in the form factor of an Arduino Mega, i.e. only somewhat larger than that of a credit card. Hook it up over USB to a PC or an Android device running the official (free and open source, of course) app and you are all set.

Well, not quite set yet. What you get for your 50-ish EUR is just the board itself. You will quite definitely need a set of probe cables (sadly, I have yet to find even an unofficial adaptor allowing one to equip PSLab with standard industry oscilloscope probes using BNC connectors) but if you expect to lug yours around anywhere you go, you will quite definitely want to invest in a case of some sort. While FOSSAsia does not to my knowledge sell PSLab cases, they provide a design for one [2]. It is meant to be laser-cut but I have successfully managed to 3D-print it as well, and for the more patient among us it shouldn’t be too difficult to hand-cut one with a jigsaw either.

Of course in addition to making sure your Pocket Science Lab is protected against accidental damage it would also be nice to have all the connectors clearly labelled. Documentation bundled with PSLab software does show not a few “how to connect instrument X” diagrams but unfortunately said diagrams picture a version 4 of the board and the current major version, V5, features radically different pinout (compare [3] with [4]/[5] and you will see immediately what I mean), not to mention that having to stare at a screen while wiring your circuit isn’t always optimal. Now, all versions of the board feature a complete set of header labels (along with LEDs showing the device is active) on the front side and at least the more recent ones additionally show more detailed descriptions on the back, clearly suggesting the optimal way to go is to make your case our of transparent material. But what if looking at the provided labels directly is not an option, for instance because you have gone eco-friendly and made your case out of wood? Probably stick a label to the front of the case… which brings us back to the problem of the case label from [5] not being compatible with recent versions of the board.

Which brings me to my take on adapting the design from [5] to match the header layout and labels of PSLab V5.1 as well as the laser-cut case design from [2]. It could probably be more accurate but having tried it out, it is close enough. Bluetooth and ICSP-programmer connectors near the centre of the board are not included because the current case design does not provide access to them and indeed, they haven’t even got headers soldered in. Licence and copyright: same as the original.


[1]
https://pslab.io/

[2]
https://github.com/fossasia/pslab-case

[3]
https://github.com/fossasia/pslab-hardware/raw/master/docs/images/PSLab_v5_top.png

[4]
https://github.com/fossasia/pslab-hardware/raw/master/docs/images/pslab_version_previews/PSLab_v4.png

[5]
https://github.com/fossasia/pslab-hardware/raw/master/docs/images/pslabdesign.png