Materials Required
PCB Design- Schematic
PCB Design- Mid layer and Top layer
HQ NextPCB Service
HQDFM: Free Online Gerber Viewer and DFM Analysis Tool
PCB Assembly—Bottom Layer
CODE: Arduino as ISP
LAYER Assembly Process
Power Source
Result

Published September 24, 2024 © MIT

Skyrim Quest Marker

Made a Tiny Skyrim Quest Marker using PCBs, Setup is powered by an Attiny13A Microcontroller.

BeginnerFull instructions provided2 hours121

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Microchip attiny13A

Arduino Nano R3

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

Story

Greetings everyone and welcome back. Here's something bright.

The Skyrim Quest Marker made completely from PCBs and is powered by the Attiny13A Microcontroller, which controls two mosfets to drive LEDs.

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an open-world action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios. Set in the province of Skyrim, the game follows the story of the Dragonborn, a prophesied hero with the power to absorb the souls of dragons and use their abilities.

The Skyrim Quest Markers in Skyrim are visual indicators that help players navigate to specific locations or objectives related to their quests.

Here, the entire marker body has been constructed from PCB layers. Three separate PCB layers make up this project: the diffuser layer is on top, the middle layer adds height, and the bottom layer contains the component.

LEDs have been added to the bottom layer, and their glow is visible through the top layer because the solder mask top and bottom of the top layer have been opened from the area directly in front of the LEDs, allowing light to pass through the FR4 material of the PCB.

We are using the reliable Attiny13A 8-bit microcontroller as the brains of this project. It is connected via two Mosfets, each of which has a parallel array of LEDs.

This whole article is about the build process of this project, so let's get started with the build.

Materials Required

These are the components used in this build.

Custom PCBs
Attiny13A SOIC8 Package
BLUE 0603 LEDs
Resistor 20K 0603 Package
Resistor 100K 0603 Package
Resistor 3R3 2512 Package
Mosfet IC 8205S
Attiny Programmer (Arduino as ISP)

PCB Design- Schematic

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The first step in this project is to put together a schematic for the base layer,, which is an Attiny13A connected to two 8205S Mosfet IC Setups via 20K resistors, each of which is connected to the D0 and D1 I/O Pins of the Attiny13A.

Here, the mosfets are configured in "Mosfet as Switch" Setup.

In order to keep the gate pulled down when the MCU is not receiving any signals, we have also put two 100k resistors between the mosfet's gate and GND.

Seven LEDs have been added in parallel to each mosfet IC setup. The anode of each LED is connected to the setup's VCC via a 3R3 load resistor. All LED cathodes are connected to the transistor's drain.

We also added a CON6 terminal, which will be used as an ISP programmer for flashing the ATtiny13A with our previously built Arduino as ISP programmer.

We have added the ATtiny SPI pins, MISO, MOSI, and SCK, to the CON6 terminal along with the reset, VCC, and GND pins.

Once the schematic was finished, we imported a picture of the Skyrim Quest marker into the PCB design and used that to position all of the LEDs in the marker's white region in order to prepare the board design. This white space will be used to allow light to flow through by being opened up in other boards.

The microcontroller, resistors, mosfet, and CON6 Pad are placed in the center of the board, close to the marker's black region. Every component will have a slot created for it on the middle layer.

Two 4mm mounting holes were added in order to connect all the layers together. We can line up all of the layers consistently by stacking them on top of one another and aligning the two holes. Since the interior of these holes, will be plated, we can then use solder wire to join the layers together.

We connected all component tracks together in the right order and finalized the board.

PCB Design- Mid layer and Top layer

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We created the top and mid layers, which are devoid of any components or traces, once the bottom layer was finalized.

Reusing the Skyrim Quest marker image from the bottom layer board, we first prepare the Mid Layer board, which had multiple slots and openings.

The board slot layer was used to completely open the white area in the image, which is where the LEDs will be placed.

A few slots have been added to the middle, where the microcontroller, resistors, and Mosfet IC are located, so that the Mid Layer board can be positioned on top of the bottom layer without coming into contact with the components.

On the top board, we added solder mask openings in both the top and bottom layers, which will allow the light to pass through the FR4 material.

HQ NextPCB Service

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After completing the PCB design, we export the Gerber data and send it to HQ NextPCB for samples.

For the bottom, mid, and top layer boards, three orders were placed. We selected to use a green solder mask with white silkscreen for the bottom layer. We ordered Black Soldermask with White Screen for the Mid and Top Layer Board.

After placing the order, the PCBs were received within a week, and the PCB quality was pretty great.

In addition, I have to bring in HQDFM to you, which helped me a lot through many projects. Huaqiu’s in-house engineers developed the free Design for Manufacturing software, HQDFM, revolutionizing how PCB designers visualize and verify their designs.

HQDFM: Free Online Gerber Viewer and DFM Analysis Tool

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Also, NextPCB has its own Gerber Viewer and DFM analysis software.

Your designs are improved by their HQDFM software (DFM) services. Since I find it annoying to have to wait around for DFM reports from manufacturers, HQDFM is the most efficient method for performing a pre-event self-check.

Here is what online Gerber Viewer shows me. Would not be more clear. However, for full function, like DFM analysis for PCBA, you, need to download the software. The online version only provides a simple PCB DFM report.

With comprehensive Design for Manufacture (DFM) analysis features, HQDFM is a free, sophisticated online PCB Gerber file viewer.

It provides insights into advanced manufacturing by utilizing over 15 years of industry expertise. You guys can check out HQ NextPCB if you want great PCB service at an affordable rate.

PCB Assembly—Bottom Layer

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We started the PCB assembly process by applying solder paste to each component pad using a solder paste dispenser.
Next, we use an ESD Tweezer to pick and position each component one at a time in its proper location.
After that, we set the board on the reflow hotplate, which increases the temperature of the PCB from below to the point at which the solder paste melts. At that point, all of the components are connected to their pads.
We use a multimeter in diode checking mode, to check if the LEDs are connected to their pads correctly. We connect the positive probe to the LED's anode and the negative probe to the LED's cathode. This causes all of the LEDs that are connected in parallel to light up, indicating that the connections are correct.

CODE: Arduino as ISP

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We are utilizing one of our earlier Arduino as ISP programmer to flash the Attiny13A. This programmer uses an Arduino Nano to flash a variety of AVR devices, including Atmega chips and Attiny.

you can checkout More about the Programmer from here:

https://www.hackster.io/Arnov_Sharma_makes/multiple-attiny85-13a-programmer-84adf8

Before flashing the code, we need to download and install the Attiny13 CORE files, which you can checkout from here-

https://github.com/MCUdude/MicroCore

In this case, we correctly connected the CON6 terminals of the ISP programmer and the Skyrim Quest marker.
We then choose attiny13A from the board manager and set the B.O.D to 1.5V along with choosing the Programmer to Arduino as ISP.
we press burn the bootloader button, and this process will take 10-15 seconds, and you will be greeted with "avrdude done" message.
next, we open our sketch we want to upload, then go to sketch menu and selected upload using programmer.
Our Sketch is now uploaded into the Attiny13A Microcontroller.

LAYER Assembly Process

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The layer assembly process now starts, with the bottom layer board being positioned on top of the middle layer board and another middle layer board being positioned on top of the bottom layer board.
Then, using a soldering iron to melt solder wire inside the mounting holes to fuse three layers together, this sandwich layer is put together.
We added another mid layer to the top side of the setup to give it a slight height so that the LEDs would diffuse properly. We then used solder wire to lock it in place on the mounting holes. Our current thick sandwitch PCB setup is made up of three separation layers, which make up the mid layer, and an electrical layer, which is the bottom layer.
The top layer was then added, and it was positioned using the mounting holes. We used a soldering iron and solder wire to attach the top layer to the other layers, securing them in place.

Assembly is now completed.

Power Source

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Following assembly, the board needed to be powered. To do this, we used a USB cable, cutting off the Micro USB end and attaching the positive and negative wires to the VCC and GND terminals on the CON6 terminal.

Our device will be powered on when the USB cable is inserted into any 5V USB socket.

Result

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This straightforward build resulted in a Skyrim Marker that resembles its in-game equivalent perfectly. The most fascinating aspect of this concept was how the entire thing was constructed out of PCBs, including the top layer that diffuses the light from the LEDs, the separating layer that adds height to the structure, and the mainboard that houses all the components.

I wanted to push myself by building something that requires PCBs, but not just for electrical connections. This project could have been easily constructed with a 3D printed body, but it would have been extremely simple. This approach's concept originated with the Geek Club PCB kits.

Overall this project was completed and needed no further revisions.

Special thanks to HQ NextPCB for providing components that I've used in this project, check them out for getting all sorts of PCB or PCBA-related services for less cost.

Thanks for reaching this far, and I will be back with a new project soon.

Code

code

const int blinkLED = 0; // Pin for the blinking LED
const int steadyLED = 1; // Pin for the steady ON LED

void setup() {
  // Initialize the LED pins as outputs
  pinMode(blinkLED, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(steadyLED, OUTPUT);

  // Turn the steady LED ON
  digitalWrite(steadyLED, HIGH);
}

void loop() {
  // Blink the LED
  digitalWrite(blinkLED, HIGH); // Turn the blinking LED ON
  delay(500); // Wait for 500 milliseconds
  digitalWrite(blinkLED, LOW); // Turn the blinking LED OFF
  delay(500); // Wait for 500 milliseconds
}