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MDD400 Overview

Hardware version

MDD400 v3.0 — ESP32-P4 / MIPI-DSI / LVGL platform re-base. This board is at schematic-capture stage; no V3.0 hardware exists yet.

Other versions: v2.9 — fabricated prototype (current)

Under construction — V3.0 capture in progress

MDD400 V3.0 is a platform re-base of the flagship marine display node. The host moves from an ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module driving a DWIN parallel-RGB display (V2.9) to a chip-down ESP32-P4 SoC plus an ESP32-C6-MINI-1 companion radio, driving a MIPI-DSI display over two FFC cables, with LVGL firmware. The NMEA 2000 / CAN front end, the I²C sensors, the legacy SeaTalk interface, the buzzer, and the bus-power protection largely carry over from V2.9.

This documentation set is being built as the V3.0 schematic is captured. Pages are populated per sheet:

  • Reworked (being redrawn): ESP32-P4 module, display interface, power supplies, and all Quick Reference pages.
  • New: the ESP32-C6 Wi-Fi / BLE radio.
  • Carried over (pin re-pointing pending): CAN bus power, CAN transceiver, the I²C sensors, legacy serial, the LED indicator, and PCB markings — these retain their V2.9 content until re-pointed to the P4.

See the Tasks page for capture status.

Schematic capture status

As of 14 July 2026. Counts are taken from the KiCad netlist, not from a checklist.

SheetComponentsState
3.3 V DC-DC converter20Drawn and verified against its design brief
CAN bus power and protection20Drawn
CAN transceiver and NMEA 2000 interface15Drawn
Legacy serial (SeaTalk) transmit34Drawn
Legacy serial (SeaTalk) receive20Drawn
I²C sensors11Drawn, pending the current-monitor change
1.2 V DC-DC converter9Drawn
ESP-PROG programming socket9Drawn
Bypass and bias7Drawn
Status LED5Drawn
Display interface2In progress
Buzzer driver1In progress
ESP32-P4 host0Not started
1.8 V LDO0Not started
Backlight driver0Not started
MIPI interface0Not started
Touch interface0Not started
System clock0Not started
Non-volatile storage0Not started

159 components placed across 13 sheets.

The 3.3 V rail

The 3.3 V converter is the first sheet to complete the full design cycle: a written design brief, a part-by-part bill of materials with substitution criteria, and a capture verified back against that brief. It is the rail every other supply on the board derives from, so it carries the whole load, owns the brown-out behaviour, and has to keep regulating through a bus surge.

Its design is documented in Circuit Design.

What gates the rest

The host sheet is the substantial remaining work. Every part on a SCADYS board must clear a footprint audit against its manufacturer's land pattern before the board is released to fabrication, and that audit is a hard gate rather than a checklist item. See Part selection and design for reliability and the Engineering Notes.