Choosing the right notecarrier - AL? AF?

Hardware
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Hi, we are planning to offer a cellular connected sensor and we want to do something “quick and easy” which is why we are planning on using Blues.

Our device is going to be battery powered, we are hoping for at least 2years of operation. Updates every 1-2 hours. We can include a large battery so I don’t see this being a problem.

The current plan is to use a small custom board to connect our sensor to i2c on the note carrier.

Originally we were planning on using the Notecarrier AF as it included everything we needed, we already use ESP32 on our other devices, so it looked like a good fit. My question is, can you purchase the AF by itself? With a Notecard? Or only in the starter kit?

I also saw the AL which also looks like a great fit as it’s smaller. In the datasheet it clearly shows a “Grove” connector soldered to the i2c location, but on the store the image shows there is no connector. Can this be confirmed? We would like to avoid soldering as we don’t have the in house ability to do it well, so if it’s not on the board we would probably go with the AF.

If there are any other thoughts on this please let me know! Basically I’m just looking for confirmation that I’m not going in the complete wrong direction!

Thanks.

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Hi @dksmc,

Currently the Notecarrier-AF is only available part of our starter kits. However, we will be offering a new Feather-compatible Notecarrier in standalone form this summer. Stay tuned!

And thanks for pointing out the magically appearing and disappearing grove port! To be clear: the latest rev of the Notecarrier-AL does NOT include a grove port. We will get those images updated ASAP too.

Thanks,
Rob

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Thanks @RobLauer for the quick answer! I guess we will go with our initial plan and use the AF for now. Not a problem!

Do you know if the new Feather compatible Notecarrier for the summer will include an i2c connector?

Thanks!

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Yes! It will have 2x Qwiic I2C connectors as well as I2C being available on the header rail (no grove port though).

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It sounds like it will be a great fit for us. I look forward to trying it when it’s ready!

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Summer is getting closer, haha. Curious about this new feather compatible notecarrier.

1 Like
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Hey @dksmc, stay tuned. We should have this new Notecarrier available within the next 4-6 weeks. :smiley:

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Sounds good! Looking forward to taking a look at it.

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Just a quick question as we wait for the new AF, do you know if it will be the same size? Or smaller? Any dimensions you can pass on? Thanks!

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Hi @dksmc,

We should have a lot more information about this new Notecarrier for you next week. Stay tuned!

Rob

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Hey, sorry to be a bother! Just wondering about the new AF. The reason is we are trying to decide on the best way to connect our sensor and just want to see if there is something new that will make things easier. Thanks!

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Hi @dksmc,

You’re not being a bother at all. We are incredibly excited about the new Notecarrier-F, and we can’t wait to offer them to our customers! Unfortunately, we spotted a few minor issues during our final inspection and had to send the boards in for rework; we are so close.

We still intend to have them available by the end of the month, and we will keep you posted as soon as they are available!

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Thanks for the update! Not a problem. I just have one or two questions, so I’m going to PM you and perhaps you can answer them so we can still plan before the release? Thanks in advance.

1 Like