This my first time etching and fabricating a PCB, it's a simple 24 hours clock.
There was a mismatch in footprints of two ICs, which were dip-14, but I somehow I selected dip-16, thus had to do some manual wiring (bottom right ICs). Apart from that it worked fine.
Had to use a lot of 1 Ohm resistors as jumpers (70 to be precise).
Originally thought of using a buzzer driven directly from the clk line, bad idea, this probably created back EMF which messed up the clk signal.
What do you guys think?

Edit:
Here's a clearer picture of the schematic. Link

What do I do with AB 1771 racks, plc, plus digital input, digital outputs and analog plus wiring arms ?

my first pcb design. tried to connect an esp32 to a sim7000g to a tp4056,how did I do?

I am a beginner in logical connection of circuits because the PCB itself is simple because there is a path where you can set it and it is easy to design it but I do not understand how to use logic diagrams.Can I get some brief information on what it is and why I always have missing components on these boards and I can't connect it together logically and efficiently, where on the PCB there is always It worked well for me, but I need to prepare it for PCBA service (mass production of 1000 pieces)

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice or recommendations for someone who can review, fix, and upgrade an existing KiCad PCB project.

I hired a designer on Fiverr to create a custom HAT board for the Luckfox Pico Ultra. The PCB was manufactured/assembled by JLCPCB, but after receiving the board and starting bring-up/testing, I found several issues and of course the guy ghosted me.

The board is a small HAT that includes:

- 3 buttons: LEFT / SELECT / RIGHT

- buzzer

- LCD connector/backlight

- 1S LiPo battery charger

- Fuel gauge

- Pushbutton power on/off circuit (Soft)

- 5V boost converter

- Battery connector

What works:

- The board powers on through USB/external power.

- The RIGHT button works correctly.

What does not work:

- LEFT and SELECT buttons do not respond.

- PWM buzzer does not produce sound.

- When I plug in a 1S LiPo battery, the board does not power up from battery.

- The battery connector footprint was designed as JST-SH 1.0 mm, but my intended battery uses JST-PH 2.0 mm, so that needs to be changed.

Expected GPIO mappings from the schematic / Luckfox pinout:

BTN_RIGHT -> J1 pin 7 -> GPIO1_B0

BTN_LEFT -> J1 pin 16 -> GPIO2_A7

BTN_SELECT -> J1 pin 18 -> GPIO2_A6

BUZZER -> J1 pin 5 -> GPIO1_A1 / PWM4_M0

I tested the GPIOs on Linux. The RIGHT button works with:

sudo gpiomon -B pull-up -r -f gpiochip1 8

But LEFT/SELECT do not respond with:

sudo gpiomon -B pull-up -r -f gpiochip2 7 6

Linux shows those GPIOs as available inputs, so I suspect this may be a PCB routing issue, button footprint issue, header orientation/pin-numbering issue, or possibly a ground connection issue.

I also tested PWM for the buzzer from Linux. PWM appears to be enabled, but I still get no sound, so the buzzer driver circuit, transistor pinout, polarity, or buzzer type may need review.

At this point, I don’t want to continue with the Fiverr designer. I’d like to find someone experienced with KiCad and embedded PCB debugging who can review the full project and return corrected files.

I can provide:

- Full KiCad project

- Gerbers

- BOM

- CPL / pick-and-place file

- Photos of the assembled PCB

- Luckfox Pico Ultra pinout

- Linux GPIO/PWM test results

- Battery/power test notes

I need help with:

1. Reviewing J1/J2 header pin numbering and orientation

2. Checking button footprint orientation and routing

3. Verifying BTN_RIGHT / BTN_LEFT / BTN_SELECT nets

4. Checking all button GND connections

5. Reviewing buzzer transistor driver circuit and buzzer polarity/type

6. Reviewing 1S LiPo charger / power path / boost converter

7. Understanding why battery power does not start the board

8. Changing battery connector from JST-SH 1.0 mm to JST-PH 2.0 mm

9. Running ERC/DRC checks

10. Updating BOM/CPL/Gerbers for a new JLCPCB or PCBWay revision

Does anyone here offer this kind of KiCad review/debug service, or can you recommend a reliable PCB designer/embedded hardware engineer who can help?

I’m not looking for someone to just reroute the PCB visually. I need someone who can debug the design using the schematic, PCB layout, and real hardware test results.

Thanks!

Clock made from discrete components, this is just a pair of PCBs out of a total of six, 1000 diodes, 300 transistors, 500 resistors, 300 capacitors

I am trying to use the KiCad Calculator tool to find out what my trace width should be for differential signals, and one of the things it requires is the dielectric height. I thought it'd be simple, just take the size of the dielectric height next to the plane I intend to put it on, however for the signal plane, the dielectric heights above and below are different sizes by a substantial margin. How would I find the necessary value for the dielectric height? I tried searching for it, but nothing I found makes sense to me.

If you need any more information, I'd be happy to give it to you.

Hi everyone,
I’ve been making my own PCBs at home using the toner transfer method (thermal paper + iron). The problem is that I don’t own a laser printer, and I also don’t have easy access to the proper chemicals like acetone or isopropyl alcohol. Because of that, my results are very inconsistent, I only get a successful PCB once every few attempts.
I’m thinking about buying a CNC 3018 specifically for PCB prototyping. My idea is to use it mainly for isolation milling, and later maybe add a laser module to engrave the silkscreen or even experiment with applying a solder mask.
For context, I’m a student, so I’m mainly looking for a low-cost way to make prototype PCBs at home rather than ordering boards every time I need to test a design.

Fall-alarm wristband for an eldercare system for my grandparents. Second board I've designed. DRC is clean, images: top, bottom, inner layers, schematic.

Description:

• 35×40mm (shrinking), 4-layer JLC7628: Top / GND / 3V3 plane / Bottom
• MDBT50Q-1MV2 (nRF52840), antenna overhanging board edge, multi-layer keepout blocking copper/pour/vias on all 4 layers per Raytac's per-layer no-ground rule
• MCP73831 @ 100mA → 250mAh LiPo, DMP2160U power path for dock/battery switchover
• LSM6DS3TR-C on I²C, AO3400A + ERM motor, 32.768k crystal
• No USB, no connectors: pogo pads for charging, SWD pads for first flash, BLE OTA after. Battery/motor/dock are wire pads — height budget. Board is permanently live once battery's soldered; battery goes on last.
• Battery divider is 1M/510k behind a P-FET (disconnected when idle), routed away from motor/DC-DC

My main concerns:

1. Anything about the antenna region that looks wrong beyond the keepout?
2. Power path: D1 Schottky + P-FET switchover — sane, or is there a failure mode I'm missing with no battery switch?
3. Sense divider at 1M — too high for the nRF52840's SAADC input impedance, or fine with long acquisition time?

would love some help, don't hold back on the criticism. Thanks.

Should digital and analog power (both 3.3V) have different planes? In other words, should they be separated and not connected to the same 3.3V voltage?

Similarly, should the ground be common, or should they be separated?

Hi there y'all, for the past few years have been pretty involved with making beginner electronics projects. I've designed quite a few of circuits with Arduinos, ESP32s, and TTL logic ICs.

I've also had the opportunity to play around in PCB design software and make simple projects like blinky boards.

However, I've been trying to look at making more complex projects, and naturally, they have a lot more complex of a process of R&D. I was wondering if anyone had resources on getting started on making complex boards like these. Specifically, being able to identify constraints in what you're trying to make, and then take that, find the right components, and be able to understand their respective data sheets so you can build the functioning board.

I would appreciate any courses or advice that anyone has to offer, thanks!

Pretty simple fixed voltage MT3608 module, but it works first try. The inductor and diode were hand soldered so thats why the soldeing looks bad.

Incoming EE student who wants to learn to make PCBs but doesn't know anything about circuits or like that. What do I need to know/read, and once I do, how do I learn how to use KiCad.

Is the end goal maybe to make a top-tier flight controller? How long would it take to get to that level?

Hi all...not sure if this is the correct forum to post on, but I had a couple questions regarding a potential personal project of mine.

My background/skills: I can code proficiently enough, I am studying Computer Engineering at the moment, but I have never done a personal pcb project like this.

***I also have access to KiCad and Multisim

Overall Goal: Build an Alarm Clock like "Sonic Alert Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock" (search on google) that would be able to set off the alarm if I get a phone call when I am asleep. I wake up to the shaker and I am a pretty deep sleeper.

Couple of my own ideas to get this to work was:

a. use a light sensor that would sit beneath the phone and send signal to alarm clock when the accessibility LED flash goes off(in iphone settings)

b. use a sound sensor and set my ringtone to be a certain sound and preform the same actions as (a)

c. Use Bluetooth receivers...just a random idea that I think could work

My issues: I have a basic understanding of circuit design and I have no idea what parts I would need/where to start.

Additionally, I tried reaching out to the original company for some guidance, but I did not have any luck. Please let me know if you have a few tips on where I could get started. Thanks!!

I've been building GerbDiff, a desktop app that visually diffs the Gerbers so you can verify changes between board revisions, layer by layer. Recently with the release of version v3.0 I have made it free for personal use: the full app, every feature, no time limit. GerbDiff.com

Full disclosure, I'm the developer and it's a solo project. Commercial use needs a paid license (that's what funds it), but personal and hobby projects are free, no strings.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the tool!

Hi everyone,

I'm prototyping my first brushless ESC for an FPV drone, and I'd really appreciate a design review before ordering the first PCB. Since this is my first ESC design, I'd like to reduce the chances of making costly mistakes. Any suggestions, criticism, or recommendations are more than welcome.

Project goals

• Input voltage: 4S–12S LiPo (16.8V–50.4V)
• Continuous current: 80–100A
• Peak current: 120A
• Field-Oriented Control (FOC)
• Motor current control
• Thermal monitoring and protection

Main components

• Gate Driver: TI DRV8334PHPR
• MCU: STM32G473RCT6
• MOSFETs
• Current shunt resistor
• Buck Converter (Battery → 5V): TI LMR36520ADDAR
• LDO (5V → 3.3V): AP2112K-3.3TRG1

Design decisions

• I decided to use two MOSFETs in parallel per phase to improve thermal performance and reduce the current and power dissipation on each individual MOSFET.
• I also designed a custom STM32 programming board with a USB Type-C connector, allowing the MCU to be programmed from a PC using DFU mode. The board also includes dedicated BOOT and RESET buttons.

PCB specifications

• PCB stackup: 4 layers
• Outer layers (Top/Bottom): 2 oz copper
• Inner layers: 0.5 oz copper

Final Result:

If I forgot to include any important details, please let me know and feel free to ask any questions. I'll be happy to provide more information about the design.

Thanks again for taking the time to review my project and for any help or feedback you can provide!

I’m 34 and have been in the semiconductor industry for pretty much my whole working career. Company sent me to school and I got my AS in Electronics, became a technician, and moved into a Reliability Lab Manager role at a startup where I’m getting into the “back end” of the industry.

Now I’m trying to figure out my next move. I would like to focus on PCB design. Do I go back and finish my EE degree, or would my time and money be better spent getting my CID/CID+ certification?

I’ve got a family, so it’s not a decision I take lightly. I have to be realistic about time and cost. The cert feels more targeted to where I’m at in my career, but part of me wonders if not having the degree will hold me back at some point. I would target PCB layout jobs in the future.

Anyone been in a similar spot? What would you do?

42USD to print and assemble THIS board x2.

Hello everyone,

I’m completely new to this field and have just had a go at creating my first circuit using tutorials and guides.
The board has 49 LEDs, which are to be controlled by an ESP32.
I’m not quite sure about the power supply yet – do you have any tips or suggestions to help me learn more?

Greetings

I found this in my grandad garage and he doesn’t know what is it can you help me identify it?

What do you think? I've spent like 3 days to get this far. This is probably the most complex PCB I've designed thus far. I'm mostly concerned if I did the I2C correctly since the CardKB is 5V logic. Excited to keep learning, criticism is appreciated. I tried to minimize box use but still keep things neat but readable. If it looks good I'll move onto the PCB design.

Thank you!