Spin FV-1 SMD PCB (JLC PCB Assembled)

[Tomsouthtrader]

Hello!

Could one of you knowledgeable people look over my PCB design before I send it off for manufacture please..

I have made it on Easy EDA so anyone can view..
https://oshwlab.com/tomsouthtrader/fv-1-module


Notes:
-I have deliberately placed the FV-1 on the underside to make is easy to hand solder.
-I am aware the way the boards will split apart needs addressing..

I have followed the instructions on the data sheet regarding components that need to be placed near the chip as far as I can tell..

My Questions are..
Am I going very wrong by having the ground plane on both side of the PCB?
Are the 1uf tantalums I am using appropriate? (I have seen people saying never use them for audio, however my DEV board uses them)
If I decide to use external feedback. Should I be keeping the output filtering circuit (As I have placed extra) or the input filtering circuit?

Thank you in advance for your help!!

[vigilante397]

Welcome to the forum

There are plenty of people that will tell you that you need a solid unbroken ground plane, but FV-1 isn't really that sensitive to layout (within reason) and I have multiple FV-1 designs that use ground planes on top and bottom to fill the unused space, zero problems.

I also use tantalums in audio path all the time, though admittedly I use exclusively MLCC on my FV-1 designs. I have no reason to expect any issues.

I don't have any advice one way or the other on the external feedback, but whatever you decide you can keep the design as-is and swap series components for 0ohm jumpers if you decide to remove filtering. Perhaps someone with more external feedback experience can weigh in there.

It's a good looking design, nicely done

[Tomsouthtrader]

Awesome. Thank you very much for your input!

Great point about just removing components that are not needed for each individual build! I am just worried about trying to hand solder in the input filtering circuitry as I have notoriously shaky hands. (Though can just about manage am SOIC if I take my time)

And when it comes to caps, I had spent so much time looking through data sheets (though that seems to be a given with any new design). And I had been some what limited by what JLC stock for assembly (their tants seems alot better value than any decent C0G or similarly rated caps)

Also wondering if anyone on the forum has had any experience with JCL's SMT assembly service??

Thanks again!
Tom.

[vigilante397]

I know some people have, trying to remember who I saw mention it a bit ago, seems like they do a good job. I haven't personally tried them yet, but I'm thinking about it.

[mark2]

This is super in-the-weeds, but I'm curious if you have a reason to choose the 1N5817WS over the SS14.
I substituted the latter recently in a similar situation to save the "extended parts" fee.

Was that a bad idea on my part, or had you simply not considered a basics parts substitute?
Thanks!

[Tomsouthtrader]

To be honest I had never considered swapping looking for a substitute for the diodes!
I guess as I knew I was going to have extended parts with the tantalums I just went all in 

That is an excellent suggestion though and I will most probably use the on my next design!

Have you been using the SMD assembly service with consistent results?

Tom.

[mark2]

I've done about one hundred assembled PCBs in a handful of batches with mostly good results. Had one bad board that worked when I reflowed it.