Hardware Design & Bill of Materials

Hardware Architecture Overview

Snake-V1 is designed as a versatile, handheld multi-tool for interacting with various wireless and physical protocols. The hardware is centered around a high-performance, dual-core microcontroller that manages both the system logic and high-speed wireless stacks simultaneously. The modular design incorporates dedicated components for Sub-GHz, Infrared, and external storage to ensure reliability across all testing scenarios.

Core Logic: STM32WB35 Microcontroller

The heart of the Snake-V1 is the STM32WB35CEU6A. This MCU is specifically chosen for its dual-core architecture, which separates the application logic from the radio-frequency (RF) stack:

Arm® Cortex®-M4: Handles the main application, peripheral management (GPIO, IR, microSD), and user interface logic.
Arm® Cortex®-M0+: A dedicated processor that manages the 2.4 GHz radio stack, ensuring precise timing for BLE and other wireless protocols without interrupting the main application.
Integrated Radio: Built-in support for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.0, Zigbee, and Thread.

Power Delivery & Connectivity

Snake-V1 utilizes a modern power and data interface designed for durability and ease of use:

USB-C Interface: Uses the GCT USB4135-GF-A connector for both firmware flashing and system power. This connector is mid-mount and high-durability, suitable for frequent use in the field.
Power Regulation: The board includes on-board LDO (Low-Dropout) regulators to step down the 5V USB input to the stable 3.3V required by the STM32 and peripheral sensors.

Radio & Infrared Modules

To support its wide array of "messing around" capabilities, the hardware includes specialized RF and optical components:

Sub-GHz (Texas Instruments CC1101): A low-power industrial transceiver designed for very low-power wireless applications. It enables the Snake-V1 to transmit and receive signals in the sub-1GHz spectrum, commonly used in garage door openers, IoT sensors, and alarm systems. It is paired with a Tapered Helical Antenna for optimized range and signal clarity.
Infrared (IR) Suite:
- Transmitter (Vishay TSAL6400): A high-power infrared emitting diode (940 nm) for controlling TVs, air conditioners, and other IR-remote-controlled devices.
- Receiver (Vishay TSOP38238): A miniaturized IR receiver for learning and decoding signals from existing remote controls.

Bill of Materials (BOM)

The following table outlines the critical components required for the Snake-V1 assembly.

Usage & Expansion

The hardware is designed to be extensible via the exposed GPIO pins. Users can interface with the system using the following primary methods:

Direct Interaction: Using the on-board IR and Sub-GHz modules for signal sniffing and replay.
External Peripherals: Connecting NFC modules, Wi-Fi adapters, or additional GPIO sensors to the expansion headers.
Data Logging: Utilizing the microSD slot (via the Molex connector) to save captured signals, logs, or configuration files for later analysis.