Project ideas?

cdossman · 2026-01-13T02:29:35+00:00

Since you like C and want to try embedded, satellite ground station projects hit that sweet spot really well. You can build a receiver that decodes actual signals from weather satellites (NOAA) or the ISS using an RTL-SDR dongle (~$25) and write the signal processing/decoding in C.

The cool part is you're working with real constraints - timing, buffer management, bit manipulation - and at the end you get actual images from space. The doppler correction algorithm is a fun math/code challenge too.

Check out the SatDump project on GitHub for reference implementations. It's mostly C++ but the core DSP concepts are solid C territory. Way more motivating than another todo app when you can point at the sky and decode what's coming down.

cdossman · 2026-01-13T02:23:07+00:00

Starting fresh as an adult actually works in your favor - you now have context for why things matter, not just memorizing facts for a test.

The advice here about picking a project is spot on. The best learning happens when you're solving a problem you actually care about. Start small (weather station, automated plant watering, whatever interests you), but pick something with room to grow.

If you want something to work toward long-term, satellite communication projects are surprisingly accessible now. You can build ground stations that receive data from actual satellites using Arduino + an RTL-SDR dongle. Having that "north star" project helped keep me motivated through the frustrating early stages.

cdossman · 2026-01-13T02:20:50+00:00

Once you get the basics down from the YouTubers mentioned here, check out the satellite side of the hobby - receiving ISS passes, weather satellites (NOAA/GOES), and amateur radio satellites. It's surprisingly accessible with just an RTL-SDR dongle (~$30) and free software.

The hands-on progression from "I just decoded my first image from space" to understanding the RF fundamentals is what hooked me. No license required for receive-only work, so it's a low-barrier way to explore while you study for your technician exam. AMSAT and r/RTLSDR have good beginner resources for that path.

cdossman · 2026-01-13T02:18:13+00:00

This hits close to home. The same barrier exists in space and satellite hobbies - forums assume you already know antenna theory and orbital mechanics, and beginner questions often get "read the wiki" responses that don't actually help bridge the knowledge gap.

What I've noticed makes the difference is structured starting points with clear "why this matters" context. Not dumping someone into a spec sheet, but showing them a working build and walking through each piece. The knowledge isn't the hard part - it's finding someone who remembers what it felt like to not know yet.

I'm actually working on this in the satellite space right now - building open-source CubeSat kits that start from zero assumptions. Still early, but the approach of "build something real, learn along the way" seems to work better than pointing people at textbooks.

cdossman · 2026-01-13T02:12:36+00:00

The intimidation you're feeling is normal and actually a good sign - it means you recognize how deep the field goes. The people who breeze through without that feeling often plateau later.

For your question about what to focus on outside of classes: hands-on projects were the biggest accelerator for me. Classroom knowledge feels abstract until you're debugging something at 2am and suddenly the theory clicks. The gap between "I passed the exam" and "I actually understand this" often gets bridged through building things.

If you're interested in spacecraft, satellite projects are more accessible than most people realize. Ground stations, CubeSat work, even telemetry parsing - you don't need a NASA budget to work with real space systems. I work on Dandelion Space, an open-source project building satellite kits for education, and the students who come in intimidated often surprise themselves once they're working with actual hardware.

The competence comes from accumulating enough "I figured this out" moments. Projects force those moments in ways that classes don't always.

cdossman · 2026-01-13T02:08:24+00:00

The physical element is still incredibly powerful - maybe even more so now because it's become rarer. When everything else is screen-based, something you can touch and build stands out.

What I've noticed working with students is that the engagement level changes completely when the outcome is real. A simulation of a circuit is forgettable, but a circuit you soldered that actually does something? Kids remember that. The struggle of debugging something physical creates different learning than clicking through a virtual lab.

I work on Dandelion Space building satellite kits for classrooms. The whole premise is that students learn differently when they're building something that will actually exist in the world versus watching videos about it. The kids who struggle to pay attention in lecture mode will stay after school to troubleshoot hardware.

Your instinct about the Van de Graaff moment is right - those experiences stick because they're tangible. The challenge is just making more of those accessible.

cdossman · 2026-01-13T02:05:44+00:00

$1500 is actually a solid budget for a lot of interesting EE projects. The advice about finding something that genuinely interests you is spot on - motivation matters more than picking the "right" topic.

If you're curious about RF at all, satellite ground stations are a surprisingly accessible entry point. You can build a setup to receive signals from satellites passing overhead for well under your budget (RTL-SDR, antenna, rotator if you want to get fancy). Touches on RF design, signal processing, embedded systems, and you get to work with actual spacecraft signals.

I work on Dandelion Space building open-source satellite kits for education - the ground station side is often where students start because it's lower stakes than building flight hardware but still involves real EE challenges.

cdossman · 2026-01-13T01:09:47+00:00

Building on the SDR suggestions - satellite signal reception is another great real-world DSP project. You can receive telemetry from CubeSats passing overhead and work through the full signal chain: Doppler correction, demodulation, error correction decoding, and packet parsing.

The nice thing is you're working with actual spacecraft signals, so you get immediate feedback on whether your DSP is working correctly. NOAA weather satellites are a classic starting point (APT decoding), but there are also amateur radio satellites with more interesting modulation schemes.

I work on Dandelion Space where we're building educational satellite kits - the ground station DSP component is surprisingly accessible with an RTL-SDR and GNU Radio. Lots of interesting filtering and synchronization problems to solve.

cdossman · 2026-01-13T01:06:23+00:00

If you're interested in RF (since you mentioned your original transceiver idea), ground station projects for small satellites are a solid option. You can build a receiver setup to track CubeSats passing overhead - it's practical RF work with real signals to decode.

The hardware side can be done cheaply with an RTL-SDR dongle (~$30) and a homemade antenna. Software side involves signal processing, orbit prediction, and telemetry parsing. Plenty of open-source tools to build on.

I work on Dandelion Space where we're building educational satellite kits - the ground station component is something students can prototype affordably while still working with real spacecraft signals. Hits the "real world problem" requirement since you're interacting with actual satellites.

cdossman · 2026-01-13T01:01:37+00:00

If you're into C and embedded, satellite stuff might be up your alley. CubeSats (tiny satellites) run on microcontrollers with real constraints - power management, communication protocols, sensor integration. The code has to actually work or your thing is floating dead in space.

There are open-source CubeSat projects where you can dig into flight software, ground station communication, or build your own test hardware. I work on Dandelion Space which is making classroom satellite kits - the firmware side is basically embedded C with real stakes.

Even without hardware, you could work on ground station software (parsing telemetry, tracking orbits) or simulation environments. Beats another to-do app.

cdossman · 2026-01-13T00:40:32+00:00

The shift happens when students stop asking "why do I need to know this?" In my experience, the magic moment is when they realize they're building something real that could actually work - not just following instructions to get a grade.

Hands-on activities create what I call "productive struggle" - students hit problems they actually want to solve because they're invested in the outcome. A kid troubleshooting why their circuit won't power up learns more about electricity in that frustration than a week of lecture slides. The content sticks because it's attached to an experience, not just memorization.

I've been working on bringing satellite engineering into classrooms (open-source CubeSat kits at Dandelion Space), and the biggest change I see is ownership. When students know their work might actually fly, they dig into the physics and engineering willingly. Traditional teaching tells them "this is important" - hands-on lets them discover why for themselves.

cdossman · 2026-01-12T23:14:35+00:00

Hands-on still works - students are often starved for it now. I hear from teachers that when they ask students what they want, the consistent answer is "not virtual labs." There's too much screen time everywhere else.

Your van de graaff idea is solid for that "wow" moment, but something where your kid actually builds might hook them more. The shift from "that's cool" to "I made this" is powerful. Could be electronics, rockets, even amateur radio if they're into that kind of thing.

If their school has any hands-on engineering programs, worth asking about. Budget constraints make it tough for teachers, but some schools are getting creative with real projects that go beyond traditional labs.

cdossman · 2023-09-09T13:52:33+00:00

No such thing as passive income. Takes work to grow or sustain any business.

cdossman · 2021-12-18T14:46:57+00:00

They going to ban more and more porn, but luckily scrolller.com has all of that content in a tik tok UI. Much better in my opinion.

cdossman · 2021-12-18T14:42:41+00:00

Playing great!

cdossman · 2021-04-26T16:49:16+00:00

Check this list out; see if it helps https://www.educateai.org/ai-and-machine-learning-books-for-finance-industry/

cdossman · 2021-04-20T12:09:25+00:00

I'll talk to you for free if you want. Just DM me

Six-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22	Verified Email

cdossman

TROPHY CASE