8-Pin Grant

Teenagers. If you are 18 or younger, you are eligible. If you are an adult, you are welcome to build along, but we cannot cover your costs.

Any 8-pin microcontroller is allowed. A great place to look would be on DigiKey or Mouser - it's the list for allowed MCU's. Parts from Mouser are typically priced lower than on DigiKey.

You must use KiCad. We love open source tools. Designs in EasyEDA, Eagle, or Altium will not be accepted for this grant.

That's okay! This is the perfect excuse to learn. YouTube is your best friend here. Search for "KiCad 9 tutorial for beginners". It will be frustrating at first, but seeing your own board in real life is worth it.

Yes! You can use LEDs, sensors, resistors, batteries, buttons, etc. The brain must be an 8-pin MCU - no hiding an ESP32 underneath! If you have a question about a specific part, please ask us.

We order the parts for you from DigiKey or Mouser and the PCBs from OSH Park. We don't send cash; but instead hardware! There's a chance you may receive different parts than requested (e.g. for passives) if we find multiple projects using similar parts.

A lot of different methods to program chips exist nowadays. The modern AVR MCU's can be programmed via UPDI, however, you have free rein over what microcontroller you pick. We'll do our best to get you the correct tools for the job. If using a surface mounted chip, make sure to leave space for a SOIC-8/equivalent clip, and if using through hole parts, add headers for programming.

To check the price of your PCBs, you can upload your KiCad PCB file directly to OSH Park. We will order your boards in OSH Park's Prototype or After Dark services. Creating a BOM for DigiKey/Mouser is a bit trickier. In KiCad, set a property on each part with its DigiKey/Mouser part number in a field called Digikey Part or Mouser Part (see below.) This number will not be the manufacturer part number, this is DigiKey/Mouser's internal part number. From there, export the BOM, and upload it to DigiKey. We'll get you up to 3 assemblies worth of parts if it's under the $35 limit.

We aim to review submissions within 3-5 days.

It might take a few weeks + shipping time. OSH Park operates in batches, and while we plan to order all PCBs at the same time, we can't make any promises.

No. Please try to stay under $35. If your project goes over, you will need to pay the remaining balance.

No.

To keep costs low and meet the $35 budget, your design must be a 2-layer PCB. We highly recommend keeping the board size reasonably small, ideally under 4 square inches.

OSH Park pricing is based on area ($5/sq in), so a smaller board will allow you to get more assemblies under budget. OSH Park provides directions on setting design rules here. If you'd like, we can get you your PCB in OSH Park's After Dark service, which is manufactured to have clear solder mask and a black FR4 substrate.

Yes. To get the full $35, you must spend at least 7 hours working on your project. If you need more hours, spend time making your project better! Add art, cool features, or tidy up your layout/routing. Optionally, CAD a case for your PCB!

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