This is an old project of mine with limited documentation or images.
Background and Design
After making V3.5 of my APRS Tracker I really liked how powerful and easy to use the Teensy microcontrollers were, so I decided to make a new APRS tracker based around the Teensy LC. It was once again designed using JLCPCB’s EasyEDA. Once again I must point out how poorly laid-out the schematic is. This was early in my PCB design journey and I was still learning a lot!
Results
I was very surprised to find after assembling this PCB that the main microcontroller seemed to be functioning right away. I had to harvest the MCU and flash chip from a Teensy LC I had bought, and it was by far the most difficult soldering and assembly I had done to that point. The MCU could be programmed over the onboard USB port as well making debugging and programming much easier. I think this is where I learned to not use SMD pads when you are going to be connecting/disconnecting them a lot as they started to peel up.
From what I remember, I did have issues with getting the transmitter module to work properly. The DRA818V was located directly on the back of the PCB and the RF would cause the MCU to glitch and PTT lines to be held high. I’m pretty sure I was able to get it mostly working in the end, and used it to track some of my dad’s flights.