DIY: norns shield

[tehn]

norns shield

UPDATE: norns shield has evolved. see the new thread.

minimal/tiny open-source/DIY shield for Raspberry Pi boards, providing hardware compatibility with the norns ecosystem.

shield support will stay in sync with the primary norns codebase.

you can support continued development by purchasing directly from monome

sources

• schems/boards: github.com/monome/norns-shield
• oshpark order link: norns-shield
• BOM: smd and through hole
• BOM: though hole only

notes

components are SMD— not tiny, but perhaps not beginner (0603 passives).

this shield does not have a headphone driver or a battery charging circuit, however a headphone works fine in the normal output, and you can use any USB battery pack.

disk image

• shield image

this image is for the rpi 3b+

assembly

• see the github repository for a photo guide.

mechanicals

• button cap (included in kit)
• knob cap is from selco, but any D-shaft will fit

(here is the previous announcement thread)

[noiserock]

Well. Now I want a yellow OLED display.

[spacelordmother]

ordered!

Where are people buying their pis? Looks like the 1gb 3B+ is out of stock a lot of places.

[okyeron]

http://pishop.us and https://chicagodist.com are official US pi distributors. I’ve purchased from both.

@noiserock The part number for Yellow is NHD-2.7-12864WDY3

[feathers]

alternatively, i snagged my 3b+ on ebay for about $40 total! they seem to pop up from time to time.

[noiserock]

Thanks, I already knew(almost got one the first time). The consumer in me wants one. But the environmentalist in me says I need a better reason than cosmetics. Might get one if I build another project

[LLK]

This case is wonderful. If I ever get a shield (it’s very possible), I’d want it like that.

[tehn]

added some assembly photos to the github README up top.

will ship out all the shield orders tomorrow!

[infovore]

(joining the club in 20 characters)

[Leverkusen]

I am in the process of putting together a mouser cart and was wondering if there is an alternative option for the switches?

The octopart cart references only Digi-Key, which unfortunately is not an option for me, especially not for only ordering three switches (I have other parts to order from mouser and Digi-Key shipping to germany has been quite a hassle both times I tried it).

[XiXora]

Mouser seems to have some with a slightly differently formatted code for them.

Copy the BOM into your own list and the tool will give you the alternative parts.
I found the pots with RS that’ll come tomorrow. Mouser also has free shipping and customs over a certain amount. So it maybe more economical to buy an extra component or two as spares.

[Oootini]

Also curious about a lower profile switch. As is, it won’t be possible to panel mount pots with the listed switch. The switches are significantly taller that the pot mounting height.

[Leverkusen]

Good idea - exporting the BOM to excel and then uploading to mouser worked. I even found the right caps then. Thanks a lot!

[tehn]

alternative/shorter switches (just affects key height so doesn’t solve the issue)

PVA1 OA H4 1.2N V2

it’s not critical to nut the pots if you’ve got spacers installed to hold the boards together, but you could add a shim under the pots to get a little height if you wanted the but on there.

[carltesta]

I saw some at Target of all places the other day…

[alanholding]

I found the encoders on RS in the UK at https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/mechanical-rotary-encoders/7816824/. This will be my first Raspberry Pi project and very much looking forward to it.

[andrew]

fwiw the encoders as-is feel pretty good to me and pretty close to vanilla norns iirc. I assume panel mounting would be ideal but it’s not a problem for me. if yr designing a case just make sure to get the encoder holes right

oh and if anyone is still wondering - just turn the volume most of the way up & headphones work great

[jamesbretz]

If you have a Microcenter near you, swing by there.