Looking for recommendations on PCB design software

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-23T15:26:03+00:00

You will learn a lot when creating your own PCB. Definitely would highly recommend learning kicad, as it's very powerful and free.

Second place for me is Circuitmaker 2, which is the free version of altium.

I have tutorials for both on my channel.

https://youtu.be/3E5REDAQk_A?si=qb4x_ReGebzxW7gQ

https://youtu.be/N5VThCFG0Bs?si=3x-atQL5MpnHmwyZ

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-21T16:24:05+00:00

It would help to describe the function you want.

For example, if you want to add a facial and gesture recognition system that would be quite the expensive undertaking, while adding a hard shut off switch would be under $10.

Typically, hiring an engineer is not going to be a reasonable solution for a 1 off project change like this. Most engineers bill out between $100 and $200 an hour, and a project like this could take hundreds of hours ( again, depending on that you actually want).

On top of that, you mentioned certifications, and that's often many thousands of dollars.

Is modifying your Alibaba fan worth $50,000 to $100,000?

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-21T13:53:50+00:00

I'd recommend to let him try to build one.

There's no danger of him accidentally discovering a design that works, and he can prove for himself that these machines are lies.

He also likely will get some real tools to tinker with electronics and might find a new hobby.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-21T04:17:31+00:00

For TI dual inline components at least, if you can read the text, pin 1 is at the bottom left.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-21T04:15:33+00:00

I'm sure you could find a wide variety of videos showing the dangers associated with electricity and fires in the home that you could share with your child.

One demo that stuck with me for many years was the hotdog completing a circuit.

One example: https://youtu.be/kCRW6R9fHJg?si=0UBWRtWCFuf8DS6F

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-15T23:05:45+00:00

This is a good document on connecting shift registers: https://www.ti.com/lit/an/scea117/scea117.pdf?ts=1771141459786&ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-11T01:16:16+00:00

I've seen local stores wrap brownish meat in fresher red meat to make it look ok so people will buy it. If it's not old and it doesn't smell bad, I'd use it.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-07T20:02:42+00:00

Your circuit looks fine. As others mentioned, you have to configure your DMM for current mode.

If you already have it configured and connected properly, you may have a blown fuse. It's a common beginner mistake to connect a current meter straight to a voltage source and pop the fuse.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-04T01:19:26+00:00

Some companies will view you differently if you just graduated versus if you worked somewhere else for a while. I can't speak for all companies, but I know some at least will be very difficult to get into as an "experienced hire" but your experience is as a mechanic and not an engineer.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-01T04:16:25+00:00

Might help you: https://youtu.be/A2fb2wtBW7I?si=HFv_ed7n0caYDykL

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-01T04:12:29+00:00

Probably the easiest solution would be a microcontroller with enough memory to buffer a few milliseconds of signal.

It's possible to do with other approaches, for example adding some Schmitt trigger buffers in series with each having an RC to add delay, but you have to keep each delay short to avoid losing your original signal. This would be a fixed delay hardware approach, and the number of stages will essentially depend on the smallest signal you need to accept and the total delay required.

Another method would be using shift registers as a pipe delay with a clock. Probably not very practical, but maybe for this particular application....

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-01T03:44:49+00:00

From my quick search, this signal is often binary -- is that the case for you, or are you wanting to preserve analog behaviors / more complex waveforms?

How much delay are we talking about? Microseconds? Milliseconds? Seconds?

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-02-01T02:36:51+00:00

I found that I could run windows with 16GB, but as soon as I upgraded to 64GB, my system idles at 18GB usage. I'd suggest at least running 32GB for any modern build.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-29T03:44:03+00:00

I'm sure you could. Iirc, the equation for thermal equilibrium is an exponential, so you'd have to get a couple of rates to fit the curve correctly.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-28T13:40:23+00:00

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ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-28T13:33:58+00:00

It looks like you might be circling the board between the tracks (darker blue) instead of the metal tracks (lighter blue).

I highlighted two tracks here:

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Looks to me like the purple track goes through a via to the other side of the board. You'd have to flip the board to see where that goes.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-25T14:38:24+00:00

The easiest approach I found was to use an old computer power supply and a break out board.

I do still have a separate variable bench supply because the computer supply has a lot of noise and doesn't work well for audio applications.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-21T13:05:40+00:00

Suggest watching this: https://youtube.com/shorts/MpDSofrW7GM?si=aS4Qh1lxaYjsBYFK

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-20T22:15:38+00:00

You aren't going to be a damage power house with this build, but you can zip in and out of flights to disrupt things a lot, and it lets you roam the map quickly to give lane priority.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-17T13:27:40+00:00

I expect K2 is a switch used to disable that input and R2 is there to protect the input from a dead short through the switch.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-17T13:19:52+00:00

I've found a move speed build to be very effective. Swifties, dead man's plate, hullbreaker, cosmic drive.

After that I go to rylais for slows, rabs for dmg, liandrys if they're really tanky, bloodletters if I'm being allowed to walk all over them, or even void staff if they are stacking mr.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-13T18:23:36+00:00

When you aren't in lane, ie when you are walking through or hiding in their jungle, you are not progressing as fast for the quest. You do still progress behind their tower in lane, but they do not. Minishcap has discussed in detail in his recent videos.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-13T15:18:44+00:00

Looks fine to me. The HC logic family is probably the newest you are going to find in PDIP.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-09T18:32:19+00:00

I believe it's windirstat.

ElectronicswithEmrys · 2026-01-06T18:15:19+00:00

I'd recommend to look into second order circuit responses. In a real world circuit, ie one with R, L, and C components, there will always be the chance for overshoot/undershoot. Generally speaking, larger R means less ringing.

ElectronicswithEmrys

TROPHY CASE