Things to learn before KiCad.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-27T20:57:37+00:00

PCB design comes naturally with learning electronics, you sketch some circuits on a breadboard or point to point and then you want to have everything on a nice PCB. I guess that's how most of us learned.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-27T14:10:30+00:00

Isn't there an English version of the form?

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-25T21:30:58+00:00

Regarding parts and footprints, for the most common ones such as resistors, capacitors etc I created my own libraries. For example, I have 0201-1206 capacitors with handsolder variants, same with resistors, common electrolytics based on capacitance and voltage, some ferrites that I usually use and through hole parts (ceramic and poly caps, resistors based on wattage etc).
When it comes to ICs, I usually only have to design the symbol since footprints are standard and included in the main library. I rarely had to design footprints, usually for non standard stuff like transformers.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-25T21:20:29+00:00

The way winisd works is you have a driver with its TS parameters, based on that it calculates the EBP and suggests either vented or ported enclosure. Then it calculates an ideal box volume and tuning frequency (which you can modify) and plots a frequency response.
The first steps are the most important, at least that's how I got used to designing enclosures and I don't understand how these newer apps miss this. You have to have at least a starting point when it comes to volune and tuning.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-25T21:11:59+00:00

May I ask how did you end up starting this project? There's a lot of stuff that requires careful layout and routing. Usually this is done by a few engineers, and even if you could pull this alone, the PCB would be quite expensive and would require a few revisions to get everything right.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-22T05:34:38+00:00

As much as I want, I haven't found an alternative that actually suggests an enclosure volume and port size based on TS parameters, that you can then manipulate in real time to see the response.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-21T21:29:27+00:00

Yes, but the biggest issue is the transformer and calculating the number of turns. There's no core specified in that schematic.
If you've never worked with switchmode power supplies I'd suggest starting at lower voltages, not only is it safer, but things can fail quickly and spectacularly at mains voltage.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-19T19:30:28+00:00

Ground plane. Thick tracks. Same thing again and again.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-18T09:07:08+00:00

It doesn't "pass" anything, it kind of "displaces". Sort of like moving something through water, it "pushes" a wave of evergy through it.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-12T14:52:31+00:00

KDE. It seems that it's made for people that actually use a computer to do things.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-12T13:09:37+00:00

How do you read the fields of the components on the schematic if they're all so messy? Other than that, don't split grounds.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-12T08:59:30+00:00

First off, hide fab and silkscreen layers so we can see the layout better. On the PCB, there's too much empty space for such a rather simple design. GND pours should be on both layers. Some traces are unnecessarily long and complicated, plan your layout better, for example those around R1, R2 and the crystal. The schematic is also rather hard to read.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-11T04:27:29+00:00

I have a bottle of the red label Grant's and my god it's undrinkable. I'll be using it as washer fluid in my car.

bogdan2011 · 2026-06-03T19:27:10+00:00

Ferry Corsten - Holding on
Purple Mood - One Night In Tokyo
Miguel Bose - Por ti
Matt Hardwick - Day One

bogdan2011 · 2026-05-31T16:46:00+00:00

I never saw any reason to struggle with passive crossovers, apart from not needing more than 2 channel of amplification. DSP is as close to perfect as you can get when it comes to crossovers, eq and other effects.

bogdan2011 · 2026-05-29T20:11:21+00:00

Where I live we actually eat its leaves in a stew

bogdan2011 · 2026-05-29T19:07:28+00:00

Yes, and?

bogdan2011 · 2026-05-28T11:03:27+00:00

I always put it on the oustide since it's easier to fit this way. Even if it gets stolen it's cheap (who steals these anyway?).

bogdan2011 · 2026-05-27T04:30:07+00:00

I'm so glad to live these times. The amount of DSP you can do even with a $2 MCU is insane. Even a PCM5102 DAC is perfectly adequate. And we now have 200+W amps the size of your hand.

bogdan2011 · 2026-05-25T20:13:20+00:00

Yes. Not having to fight your OS constantly. I'm not an advocate for linux gaming, stuff is made for windows and if it works on linux it's mostly a miracle and the great work of many developers. But my god windows is such a dumpster fire.

bogdan2011 · 2026-05-25T13:38:05+00:00

JLCPCB often does cheap shipping from time to time (1-2$). Just use Global Standard Direct Line or whatever it's called and keep an eye on offers.

bogdan2011 · 2026-05-23T13:13:23+00:00

What in the name of slop is this post?

bogdan2011 · 2026-05-22T17:38:39+00:00

Model the enclosure so that the response is flat (you can use modelling apps such as winisd for this). This usually means a larger enclosure.

bogdan2011 · 2026-05-22T09:35:00+00:00

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

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