USB HUB + WiFi Teardown

One day I come across an interesting product from Adafruit that I couldn't resist getting. It will make a nice addition to the Raspberry Pi Zero. It's a 3 port USB hub with inbuilt WiFi which takes the fourth port. Inspired by insideGadgets, here are some photos and part numbers.

USB WiFi Hub

Wish it was a bit more compact. I have a USB to OTG adapter in the USB plug.

USB WiFi Hub Inside

USB WiFi Hub PCB Top

Main Components

• USB HUB - Terminus FE 1.1s
• 3.3V Regulator - AMS1117
• WiFi - Realtek RTL8188ETV

USB Wifi Hub IC

USB Wifi Hub WiFI

USB WiFi Hub PCB Bottom

Interesting thing to note is the fourth USB port footprint, this PCB can support the WiFi module or fourth USB port. Overall it is a simple design that would be easy to embed in another project without the housing.

Teardown: ZIF Socket

I recently designed a ZIF programmer for an ATmega328p. This will mainly be used for programming the TinyISP-Tuner and preloaded ICs for the FriedCircuits shop. One problem I ran into was the footprint for the ATmega328p has smaller drills than your standard 0.1in headers, which the ZIF socket would fit in. In trying to make it, fit I messed up the metal clips inside the ZIF which made them closed all the time. So here is a teardown of the ZIF socket as I took it apart to fix it by bending the metal clips back into shape. These are from Adafruit . Sparkfun sells them as well.

ZIF socket all parts