I’ve been making prototype PCBs since my first technical job in 2004, and have learned a few things the hard way. I wrote this article for Altium to explain a few lessons to those looking to save some time (and heartache).

I’ve been making prototype PCBs since my first technical job in 2004, and have learned a few things the hard way. I wrote this article for Altium to explain a few lessons to those looking to save some time (and heartache).
Supply Frame put on a great conference which I was happy to attend and honored to give a talk. I spoke about different alternative energy options for small scale projects and a few pitfalls to avoid along the way.
Check out this article I wrote about how to select connectors! The best part is this video I reference:
Check out this article I wrote for Altium’s Industry Expert Series about the options designers have for generating parts for their libraries!
My dog Penny is one of the best. She has the two critical commands of ‘come’ and ‘stay’ down pat so well that I can go for a run with her off-leash here in Denver. She’s gentile with our newborn baby, and she doesn’t destroy things. Her only issue is that she goes BONKERS for food. My wife and I have done a great job training it out of her when we’re around so we no longer have to worry about a cheese board sitting on the low coffee table, but I know she gets on the counters any time we are away.
I decided that it might be helpful to have a surrogate to defend the counters when she’s home alone. After the success of the Silent Laser Doorbell <link>, I decided that a Laser Dog Watcher could be similarly effective. Here are the features:
A couple years ago, I showed how to setup an ownCloud server on a Raspberry Pi. The system worked, but there were some performance hiccups. Most importantly was the ability for the system to handle large files and for the Pi v1 to take on the task in a speedy manner. I found myself using Microsoft’s OneDrive more often, electing to use their more proven platform for anything that didn’t require tight privacy controls and a firm handle on my data’s location. Still, it was a small, secure, and low-power cloud storage solution.
With the latest release of the Raspberry Pi 2, I thought this was a perfect time to update both my hardware and software in hopes of seeing performance improvements. The result gave ownCloud a whole new lease on life, at least in my lab.
Last week the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA) held their 2015 expo at the United Club of Mile High Stadium (home of the Denver Broncos). The event, which was free to the public, brought together anyone related to the design, procurement, and manufacture of surface mount boards for technical sessions and sponsor exhibits as well as a stadium tour, lunch and happy hour.
They had some amazing sessions on how to optimize an SMT line including a lot on cleaning and I learned a lot. Populating boards is a nuanced task!
I love designing PCBs. It’s more than just connecting wires in a given area; it’s devising clever ways to make connections while controlling the design for things like EMC, switcher noise, signal integrity, heat dissipation, and many more.
But the actual laying down of traces isn’t the whole challenge. The design needs to be accurately described to the manufacturer to be sure that everything comes out correctly. Generating footprints, managing the BOM, noting the placement of each component and its rotation are all integral, if boring and time consuming steps.
I’ve found many useful ULPs (User Language Programs) in EAGLE, one of my CAD packages. These have saved me time and errors, resulting in better schedules and costs for my clients. I’ve shared a few of them in my latest element14.com article:
Sometimes the notion of the Internet of Things (IoT) strikes me as silly; why would anyone want to connect their dishwasher to the internet? But still, I wanted to develop a hobby project that would explore some of the tech.
I came across Xively, a service that can take data from a Raspberry Pi and publish it to the cloud. What’s really nice is that it takes care of the networking, security, and dataflow management. Compare this to the Dog Kennel Project that I made when I got my Pi, and it is much simpler.
I wrote up the design and released full documentation at element14.com so if you want to build one you can pick up where I left off. But it is pretty great so far!
Most of the designs that I work on require some sort of power supply design. The power supply rails are the foundation of a good design, allowing one to hit not only the desired voltage level, but also low noise, efficiency, and EMI specifications. There are many tests a power supply design goes through before it can be qualified, however there are a few that are almost always used.
I thought I’d use my Tektronix MDO3104 to show some of the tests that are always done on a switch mode power supply design. I’ve created the video below, and written an accompanying article over at Element14.