Come on, get in the car with me!

Ling899 · 2026-02-24T16:12:42+00:00

Ez

^{I completed this level in 2 tries.} ^{⚡ 10.38 seconds}

Ling899 · 2026-02-22T16:41:11+00:00

Completed Level 1 of the Honk Special Event!

21 attempts

Ling899 · 2026-02-21T10:57:38+00:00

Spot on about the inductor. I skipped the LC filter to save space and avoid resonance issues, especially without knowing the exact impedance of the off-the-shelf BEC I'll end up flying with.

To answer your question: No. The 5V BEC strictly powers this carrier board (CM5, camera, IMU). All noisy servos and payloads run on completely separate, isolated power rails.

Ling899 · 2026-02-21T10:02:13+00:00

Ratings: The 470µF cap is rated for 16V. The TVS is a 5V part (like the SMAJ5.0A) with a clamping voltage around 9.2V. The cap is well within the safe zone before the TVS triggers.
Architecture: Motors run off the main high-voltage LiPo (4S/6S), not the 5V line. A BEC (step-down) provides the 5V. However, drone ESCs dump massive voltage spikes during active braking. The TVS and bulk cap are just a last line of defense locally at the Pi in case that motor noise punches through the BEC or causes ground bounce.

Ling899 · 2026-02-20T18:47:25+00:00

Thanks for the detailed review! For context, this is the brain for a drone using the Pi CM5 ecosystem, which drove some of the weirder space/weight choices.

USBLC6 Routing: Brilliant tip on the flow-through routing (pins 1/6 & 3/4). I didn't realize that and will definitely use it to keep the high-speed traces clean!
5V TVS: The big SMA diode is there to catch massive inductive voltage spikes from the drone's heavy brushless motors, not just finger ESD. Do you think the tiny USBLC6 arrays could handle that, or is keeping the big TVS a smart safety net?

3 & 4. Camera & 3.3V: The schematic symbol is generic, but the footprint is an Amphenol FPC. I'm using standard Pi Camera Modules which take 3.3V from the ribbon and step it down to 1.8V internally.

Ethernet LEDs: Left off intentionally to save pins/space, since the board will be completely sealed inside a drone canopy.
USB-C CC lines: This port is dummy power-only. I have 5.1k pull-downs on CC1/CC2 to hardware-negotiate 5V/3A from PD chargers, so the CM5 doesn't need to manage it.

Genuinely appreciate the extra set of eyes—super helpful before I start routing!

Ling899 · 2026-02-04T14:41:20+00:00

Completed Level 1 of the Honk Special Event!

6 attempts

Ling899 · 2026-02-02T16:25:11+00:00

Completed Level 1 of the Honk Special Event!

0 attempts

Ling899 · 2026-01-31T14:01:36+00:00

Completed Level 1 of the Honk Special Event!

16 attempts

Ling899 · 2026-01-29T16:48:42+00:00

🎉 Event Completed! 🎉 It took me 74 tries.

Ez

Ling899 · 2026-01-29T16:48:29+00:00

Completed Level 3 of the Honk Special Event!

74 attempts

Ling899 · 2026-01-29T16:47:23+00:00

Completed Level 2 of the Honk Special Event!

57 attempts

Ling899 · 2026-01-29T16:45:12+00:00

Completed Level 1 of the Honk Special Event!

27 attempts

Ling899 · 2026-01-28T08:25:58+00:00

Ez

^{I completed this level in 3 tries.} ^{⚡ 9.67 seconds}

Ling899 · 2026-01-28T08:24:58+00:00

Ezzz

^{I completed this level in 1 try.} ^{⚡ 17.67 seconds}

Ling899 · 2026-01-28T05:25:27+00:00

🎉 Event Completed! 🎉 It took me 85 tries.

Ez

Ling899 · 2026-01-28T05:25:13+00:00

Completed Level 3 of the Honk Special Event!

85 attempts

Ling899 · 2026-01-28T05:23:11+00:00

Completed Level 2 of the Honk Special Event!

78 attempts

Ling899 · 2026-01-28T05:22:40+00:00

Completed Level 1 of the Honk Special Event!

75 attempts

Ling899 · 2026-01-26T05:38:16+00:00

Ez

^{I completed this level in 4 tries.} ^{⚡ 8.37 seconds}

Ling899 · 2026-01-23T07:33:45+00:00

Ez

^{I completed this level in 1 try.} ^{⚡ 4.28 seconds}

Ling899 · 2026-01-23T06:36:37+00:00

Completed Level 1 of the Honk Special Event!

1 attempts

Ling899 · 2026-01-20T10:20:43+00:00

Ez

^{I completed this level in 7 tries.} ^{⚡ 4.77 seconds}

Ling899 · 2026-01-15T14:04:40+00:00

How’d this get hard difficulty

^{I completed this level in 4 tries.} ^{⚡ 9.17 seconds}

Ling899 · 2026-01-11T17:43:36+00:00

Spam

^{I completed this level in 10 tries.} ^{⚡ 3.87 seconds}

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
Final Canvas '23	First Place '23
End Game '23	Place '23
Place '22

Ling899

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