CBASS-R

Less Wiring, More Science

CBASS-R is a shield for use with Arduino Mega and clones. It has these goals

1. Reproduce the functionality of previous CBASS-R systems.
2. Require less assembly skill and fewer wires.
3. Be more reliable by keeping making most electrical connections on the PCB.
4. Potentially save costs by using fewer separate "breakouts".
5. Support enhancements such as a better display, Bluetooth connectivity, and control of either 120V or 12V power for different chiller systems.

Building Boards

There are a few ways to get the physical boards.

Build it Yourself

Not recommended. By the time you buy and dispose of the necessary chemicals and other materials to etch a PCB and install parts this will probably cost more and be worse for the environment than the other options.

Use a Fabrication Company

These files work with AutoDesk Eagle 9.6.2 (and probably many other version). The board is just small enough to be handled by the free version of the software. Steps include

1. Decide whether to install surface-mounted components yourself. This requires a higher level of skill and finding the parts. Perfectly viable, but I recommended having the vendor do it if possible.
2. Chose a vendor. Recent versions have all been ordered through jlcpcb.com. They are one of many fabrication assemblies which can handle this sort of project.
3. Export files from Eagle to meet your vendor's requirements. There are standard formats, but details vary.
4. Upload the files to your vendor and see if they have the parts in stock to build the board.
5. If not everything is in stock you can find those parts yourself if you have the tools and skillsto install them. Otherwise you will need to modify the design to use available parts. For example, some chips have different footprints but perform the same function and one may be out of stock while the other is available. After adjusting the design, go back to step 3.

Ask Steve Ryan

So far, demand has been small enough that I have been providing assembled cards free of charge. What are the rules? Lets make some up:

1. If I can find your name or your advisor on a published coral research paper you are probably in.
2. I suggest asking for 1 to try it out, or 3 to build a basic 8-tank system with a backup.
3. If you need a few more, no problem. If you need dozens I may ask you to buy the simple headers and other parts yourself and do the assembly. If you need more than that we should talk about money.
4. This is a starting point. If you aren't working with coral or are not in a university lab, contact me anyway.

Completing the system.

CBASS-R is basically a fancy connector with a clock chip and some even simpler parts. You will still need a compatible display (the most expensive directly-connected part), a box, and many other items.

You will need at least two references. First, there is a manual for CBASS-R itself which will help with assembly. It includes the steps for assembling the board as received for a factory, some of which will typically be done for you. It also describes use with an Android app, which is currently not ready for real use.

The latest manual should always be here.

For a broader view and to make your research results consistent with other published work I suggest reading Standardized short-term acute heat stress assays resolve historical differences in coral thermotolerance across microhabitat reef sites by Christian R. Voolstra, et al.

There is really no substitute for contact with researchers in the area, but here are a few more links.

• CBASS history
• CBASS vs CLASSIC
• There is a methods paper at Limnology and Oceanography Methods.