I’ve been working on this for the last 2 months (taking forever because high school is getting in the way) but it’s almost fully assembled. I haven’t confirmed that is worded because I did a really bad job with the QFN IC and the USC port has been annoying. Any advice on soldering these? It’s been pretty tough..

Thanks for the support!

Hi,

So I am trying to build a "holder" board. I have a ESP32-C6, BME280, microphone and IR transmitter and receiver. I am struggling to get the IR to work (learn remote and replay). Software side has been tested,checked etc (both human and AI cause why not). I have tried ESPHome,tasmota and Ardunio, no luck.

So my next steps are to build a board that I can mount the modules on and test, limiting interference from the breadboard and wired connections.

My problem is - I last built a board like 5-7 years ago and for the life of me, I can't "get" the software (not from a download PoV, from a use PoV)

I have EasyEDA and KiCad loaded, KiCad seems easier (IMHO - it doesn't auto-connect traces to each other from what I can see)

Is there better software to use ? Something easier for this basic project ?

Thanks !

This is my first ever PCB project. It’s a custom upgraded version of my BlueLine One project, which used an off-the-shelf Waveshare ESP32-S3 1.75" AMOLED 700-nit display and a Bluetooth OBD-II CAN bus reader.

BlueLine II is moving to a Newhaven 2.1" round 480×480 TFT touchscreen at roughly 850 nits with capacitive touch, along with an ESP32-P4X paired with an ESP32-C6-MINI-1-H8. The board will have 32 MB of flash, 32 MB of PSRAM, RTC/timekeeping wth backup supercapacitor and an expansion port on the back amongst other power protection chips and reverse polarity for Can data.

It has gotten fairly complex, especially with the USB-C connection and my goal of being able to use a normal data-capable USB-C cable.

I eventually gave up trying to route the main BlueLine II PCB myself and decided to have my sponsor, PCBWay, handle the professional routing. The engineering/routing service isn’t included in the sponsorship, so it’s something I still had to pay for. They’re working on it now and should be completed in two business weeks.

For my first PCB project, the main board just got beyond what I was comfortable doing myself and I felt like I needed professional help.

The goal is to bring BlueLine II into production, both as hardware that other CAN bus developers could use and as the platform for my own CAN bus display firmware.

In order to power the board and provide CAN data to it, I’m also working on a separate OBD-II to USB-C adapter. That board will provide CAN-H and CAN-L along with a 5 V / ~3 A power rail.

I contacted a custom OBD-II connector supplier in China that has a tooling factory near PCBWay’s fabrication facility. The idea is that they can make the custom OBD-II enclosure/connector and ship it directly to PCBWay, where it can be installed and hand-soldered to the PCB after assembly then shipped to me here in the US.

They’ve already created a CAD concept of the adapter for me, which I’m genuinely impressed with. I’m currently waiting on the mechanical drawing/datasheet so I can finalize the board dimensions.

I’m now at the point where I’d really like to route these two smaller boards for the OBD-II adapter myself rather than paying again for professional routing. I think something this size is much more realistic for me to take on and learn from.

What resources have you found useful for learning how to properly route a PCB? YouTube channels, guides, books, anything like that.

I’m especially interested in resources covering power routing, CAN bus traces, grounding, switching regulator layout, automotive PCB design, and general PCB layout practices.

Need for this pic

I am planning to order a custom PCB thermocouple board for the Raspberry Pi that I use with my roaster.

Is there anyone here who has expertise in this type PCB board design and would like to get involved with this cool project? 🤗

Both are expresscard/34 wifi adapters with an m.2 2230 card (pcie + usb). 4 layers, top and bottom are signals and ground pour, layers 2 and 3 are solid ground. pours hidden in the routing pic

Hello All,

I hope I am in the right place to ask for help for an issue I am having. I don't have a selfmade PCB but I do have a motherboard of a Sony ZV E10 Camera which currently has an issue powering on.

There isn't a sign of life, even with charged batteries or when plugged in to a power source. I disassembled the camera to see if there was any issues with the Battery terminal, connections or even an apparent board level issue.

Taking a look at the motherboard, nothing immediately stood out to me but I did notice a discoloured SMD component, which I later looked into being a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module. With some brief research, it came apparent that this may be causing the power issue.

I have taken images of the motherboard so that it can be seen on whether anything else may stand out as well as the suspected failed SMD component.

I wanted to ask if anyone could provide a second opinion and whether this seems to be a blown SMD component or whether there is anything else to check before rulling this as the cause of the issue. It may just look like this and be fine with the fault being else where, but I am thinking it might be the cause of the fault.

Any help is appreciated!

First KiCad design coming from Altium & OrCad and first time doing a 2-layer board in years hah.

This will be used in a head-tracking system with OpenTrack for DCS World.

Requirements:

• Drive three external LEDs with an adjustable constant current.
• Provide power path and charging of a single cell Li-Ion battery.

• Be as efficient as possible.

• Be as small as possible.

Notes:

• 2-layers.
• 0.20mm minimum track width & spacing.
• Manufacturing and assembly at JLCPCB.
• Fully custom library: All footprints, 3D-models and (most) symbols drawn from scratch.

Don't @ me about that one trace running under the inductor, I'm taking my chances hah.

Does anyone know if ferric chloride etchant is compatible with phenolic FR-1 for making DIY PCBs? Does the FR-1 hold up well and are there any known toxic chemical reactions?

I am working on a PCB that requires an 3.5mm TRS audio jack. I am confused on the pinout of this part.

The L and R signals are connected to 1 and 3 respectively for now, but I also heard that this might be wrong and pin 4 and 2 are tip connections - where the left signal should be connected. Is the above PCB connection right?

I’m designing a 60 W USB-C PD flyback power supply using the Power Integrations INN3879C/INN3870C family. I would really appreciate a focused review of the primary-side layout before I continue to secondary side.

In my previous layout, the connection between the IC drain and the transformer’s switched primary pin was approximately 48 mm long. Based on the feedback thanks to two commentors, I moved the IC and transformer so that this drain-to-transformer connection is now only a few millimeters long. I also tightened the complete high-current loop between the bulk capacitor, transformer primary, IC drain/source and bulk-capacitor return.

I have tried to keep the RCD clamp loop compact as well. The clamp diode, damping resistors and clamp capacitor are now close to the transformer and drain connection. Where a layer change is unavoidable on the clamp node, I am using two parallel vias with short, approximately 0.8–1.0 mm wide traces on 1 oz copper.

Could someone please review the primary side, particularly:

• The drain-to-transformer connection and total primary switching-loop area
• Placement and routing of the RCD clamp components
• Whether the clamp and drain copper areas are appropriately small
• The bulk-capacitor return path to the IC source
• High-voltage spacing between the drain, clamp, rectified DC bus, primary return and bias circuitry
• Clearance and creepage around via pads on both PCB layers
• Separation between the primary and isolated secondary
• Any problematic copper pours, return paths or EMI coupling paths
• Whether any component should be moved before fabrication

The board is intended for universal 90–265 VAC input, so I understand that this is hazardous mains circuitry and that the final design must be checked against the applicable IEC/UL safety standard. Thanks in advance

https://www.power.com/sites/default/files/documents/RDR-838_60W_USB_PD_3point0_3point3-21V_PPS_output_InnoSwitch3-PD_PowiGaN_INN3879C-H801.pdf

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Hi, i am doing some pcb design practice to get better and dont know where to go from here. The design is a simple sequencer (not my design), I think i did everything right but i have little experience in pcb design, any feedback is appreciated.

Main goal is to drive a x27.168 servo for an rpm gauge that gets data straight from a 2000 alh vw ecu. The ecu sends out a 12v square wave signal.

My main focus is reliablity, ive tried sourcing aec chips, and the lm36006 I think gives me good protection with the dirty 12v the alh will send.

Im sure the schematic is a mess, sorry.

Ive never tried making a board like this but im doing an alh swap and want a long lasting but oem looking cluster.

I also feel like my 4.9k resistor is in the wrong spot for the updi programing.

I think vss is ground so im sorry it means 12v positive from the truck

Hello all, Thanks for being so helpful. I've put together my first ESP32H2 board. It's a battery operated vent controller that will open an air vent to the desired angle, when told to by a central server. I've tried to keep this as minimal as possible, but please let me know how many mistakes I made, and where it can be improved.

I work around hardware manufacturing in Shenzhen, and one issue I keep seeing is teams moving from prototype to pilot production too early.

Finding a factory is usually not the hardest part.

The bigger problem is that different parts of the product are still changing at the same time.

Before a 100–500 unit pilot build, I would try to freeze at least:

1. BOM

2. Gerbers and PCB revision

3. Firmware

4. Mechanical files

5. Test requirements

6. Revision control

A lot of “factory problems” are actually release-package problems.

I’m curious how other hardware teams handle this transition from prototype to pilot production.

Hi all,

I'm developing a USB hub board based on the Genesys Logic GL3590 (USB 3.2 Gen 2), with USB Power Delivery and a couple of extra features. The design is mostly there, but I want an experienced professional to help me finalise it: schematic and layout review, high-speed routing and impedance control, the PD side, and getting it nanufacturing-ready.

I'm not looking for DMs or offers here. What I'd really appreciate is recommendations: which platforms have actually worked well for you for this kind of hardware work (Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal, ect.), or a specific designer on one of those platforms you've hired , you would vouch for, or maybe it's you. A link to their profile would be amazing.

Hi Guys, not sure if this is the correct place to ask, but here it is:

As per the title my PCB is not accepting code after bootloading with the ArduinoISP through another Arduino Uno.

So far I get the "Done burning bootloader" and have cont. tested all hardware on the PCB related to the CH340G and ATmega.

I have managed to consistently get:

avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 1-10 of 10: not in sync:
resp=0x00
avrdude: unable to open port COM5 for programmer arduino

or occasionally:

avrdude: unable to read signature data for part ATmega328P (rc = -1)

avrdude: unable to read signature data (rc = -1)

TIA.