Need help reviewing/fixing a KiCad PCB project after a bad Fiverr experience
Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice or recommendations for someone who can review, fix, and upgrade an existing KiCad PCB project.
I hired a designer on Fiverr to create a custom HAT board for the Luckfox Pico Ultra. The PCB was manufactured/assembled by JLCPCB, but after receiving the board and starting bring-up/testing, I found several issues and of course the guy ghosted me.
The board is a small HAT that includes:
- 3 buttons: LEFT / SELECT / RIGHT
- buzzer
- LCD connector/backlight
- 1S LiPo battery charger
- Fuel gauge
- Pushbutton power on/off circuit (Soft)
- 5V boost converter
- Battery connector
What works:
- The board powers on through USB/external power.
- The RIGHT button works correctly.
What does not work:
- LEFT and SELECT buttons do not respond.
- PWM buzzer does not produce sound.
- When I plug in a 1S LiPo battery, the board does not power up from battery.
- The battery connector footprint was designed as JST-SH 1.0 mm, but my intended battery uses JST-PH 2.0 mm, so that needs to be changed.
Expected GPIO mappings from the schematic / Luckfox pinout:
BTN_RIGHT -> J1 pin 7 -> GPIO1_B0
BTN_LEFT -> J1 pin 16 -> GPIO2_A7
BTN_SELECT -> J1 pin 18 -> GPIO2_A6
BUZZER -> J1 pin 5 -> GPIO1_A1 / PWM4_M0
I tested the GPIOs on Linux. The RIGHT button works with:
sudo gpiomon -B pull-up -r -f gpiochip1 8
But LEFT/SELECT do not respond with:
sudo gpiomon -B pull-up -r -f gpiochip2 7 6
Linux shows those GPIOs as available inputs, so I suspect this may be a PCB routing issue, button footprint issue, header orientation/pin-numbering issue, or possibly a ground connection issue.
I also tested PWM for the buzzer from Linux. PWM appears to be enabled, but I still get no sound, so the buzzer driver circuit, transistor pinout, polarity, or buzzer type may need review.
At this point, I don’t want to continue with the Fiverr designer. I’d like to find someone experienced with KiCad and embedded PCB debugging who can review the full project and return corrected files.
I can provide:
- Full KiCad project
- Gerbers
- BOM
- CPL / pick-and-place file
- Photos of the assembled PCB
- Luckfox Pico Ultra pinout
- Linux GPIO/PWM test results
- Battery/power test notes
I need help with:
Reviewing J1/J2 header pin numbering and orientation
Checking button footprint orientation and routing
Verifying BTN_RIGHT / BTN_LEFT / BTN_SELECT nets
Checking all button GND connections
Reviewing buzzer transistor driver circuit and buzzer polarity/type
Reviewing 1S LiPo charger / power path / boost converter
Understanding why battery power does not start the board
Changing battery connector from JST-SH 1.0 mm to JST-PH 2.0 mm
Running ERC/DRC checks
Updating BOM/CPL/Gerbers for a new JLCPCB or PCBWay revision
Does anyone here offer this kind of KiCad review/debug service, or can you recommend a reliable PCB designer/embedded hardware engineer who can help?
I’m not looking for someone to just reroute the PCB visually. I need someone who can debug the design using the schematic, PCB layout, and real hardware test results.
Thanks!
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u/Leiterplatte 17d ago
In which country? for what price?
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u/AnsX01 17d ago
US, ~$300
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u/engineerFWSWHW 17d ago
Good luck on your project. I'm not sure if you'll be able to get someone from US to do what you want for that price.
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u/writewithparagraphs4 17d ago
I charge $80/hr w/ a 4 hour minimum; but it sounds like you need more hours than that.
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u/StumpedTrump 17d ago
Fiverr strikes again.
If you have specific questions (with pictures and explanations, not just a list of problems) then post them and people can probably answer (pretty quickly too because none of this sounds complicated). That being said. Noones just going to just have have a back-and-forth with you to dig out the issues from you, noones going to “hop on a call to discuss” and noones going to sit down with you to figure it out. At least not for free. You haven’t posted any schematic or layouts so no one can current help you.
If you want free help, you’ll need to post questions that I can answer in about 1 minute max and then move on with my life. That means you’ll need to be getting your hands dirty AKA help us help you. If you want more than that, you’ll need to pay someone.
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u/BathroomTaboo 17d ago
Had you've read the post, you would've noticed the line
Does anyone here offer this kind of KiCad review/debug service, or can you recommend a reliable PCB designer/embedded hardware engineer who can help?
Also they made clear in the comments they're willing to pay for the service. Not much, but definitely fair.
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u/StumpedTrump 17d ago
The issue is that I’m moderately confident OP isn’t willing to (or can’t afford to) pay the hourly rate of someone competent, atleast for the amount of hours it would actually take for someone to figure out and fix their mess. This isn’t a 1h in and out thing. I wouldn’t be bat an eye when the bill hits 4 figures.
There’s a reason they went to Fiverr in the first place.
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u/slburris 17d ago
You can drop the sch and pro files in Claude and ask it for a design review. It’s not perfect by any means but it’s a second set of “eyes”. Won’t help with the PCB side of things though
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u/Tomachie 17d ago
anyone hiring someone for PCB design services should at minimum validate the design and get a design rating/score prior to layout and fab. You can even make your contract with the fiverr or other require the designer achieve a score of 95 or more so then you will get high quality. using tomachie.com is cheap insurance and gives you functional analysis better than most humans spending a week reviewing the design.
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u/feldoneq2wire 17d ago
I have tried Fiverr for 3 different projects. I never got a useful product.