Done making a few reference designs for an I2C and power over RJ45/twisted pair daisy chaining system (similar to the SparkFun QwiicBus but hopefully a little cheaper as I'm building it myself), just need to order the boards and see if it blows up, I've done work adding load switching and TVS diodes (following helpful pointers by @gsuberland ) which I've never worked with before so I'm quite scared I've messed this up a little if anyone can look over and advise

https://github.com/jasonalexander-ja/PicoChain

Als Nachtrag zu meinem #eh22 Talk: wenn euch in #KiCad noch ein Bauteil auffällt dessen Namen nicht gut ist, gebt mir nen ping. Ich möchte möglichst viele male/female Bauteile loswerden bzw. umbennenen.

the world needs more ortho-keyboards.
#keyboards #kicad #cyberpunk

I'm planning another module for my #StackSynth - a #VCF based on the #LM13700 and the Skull & Circuits VCF-3: https://www.skullandcircuits.com/vcf-3/
I already designed the #PCB in #KiCad but wanted to test it on a solderless #breadboard first. It works fine, so I ordered the PCBs.
#diysynth #electronics #synthesizer

I added an easy silkscreen step, and a comparison table of DIY PCB methods to https://www.thouters.be/LaserEngravedAndEtchedDiyCircuitBoards.html #kicad

I wrote a new article on using a laser engraver to make DIY circuit boards much simpler! https://www.thouters.be/LaserEngravedAndEtchedDiyCircuitBoards.html #kicad

Road Show continues today into a full integration test.

Here's Ted, being controlled by the real game in coil test mode.

A curious "feature" was discovered today that I had not observed before; these tiny coils are not driven with constant current, but some kind of a software-controlled attempt at PWM at a very low cycle. I'll have to detect this in software and compensate.

Other than that the prototype PCB will probably go into design with #KiCad as the mechanical side is starting to look good. Final versions of the eyes and eyelids will also go into production and I'll have to get color-matched paints. Curiously, Red and Ted both have different skin tones.

I've finally finished the electronics for my upcoming exhibition "Moans and Groans" at Notam. The circuit is a custom designed to translate audio to vibrator motor signals. It works as an audio file player as well as a class compliant USB audio interface.

On the 23rd of April I will conduct a haptic audio workshop in Oslo at NOTAM where we play with this technology.

#fieldrecording #electronics #kicad #opensource #foss

More information: https://madskjeldgaard.dk/portfolio/haptic-fields

#TIL Someone made the #Atari 260ST/520ST as #KiCad projekt. Amazing!

https://github.com/sporniket/kicad-conversions--atari-260-520-st-motherboard--c070231

Quick etch over lunch. Any guesses what it might be? #kicad #LED #button #ch32v003 #battery draw area

Reverse Engineering the IBM PC110, One PCB at a Time https://hackaday.com/2025/04/06/reverse-engineering-the-ibm-pc110-one-pcb-at-a-time/ #drop-inreplacement #reverseengineering #Retrocomputing #ibmpc110 #KiCAD

Reverse Engineering the IBM PC110, One PCB at a Time - There’s a dedicated group of users out there that aren’t ready to let their belove... - https://hackaday.com/2025/04/06/reverse-engineering-the-ibm-pc110-one-pcb-at-a-time/ #drop-inreplacement #reverseengineering #retrocomputing #ibmpc110 #kicad

Vater hat mir seine alte ALDI Wildkamera gegeben, die ich fit machen sollte. Da waren die Batterien ausgelaufen. Leider ist das Zeug auf die Platine gekommen. SD-Karte wurde immer schreibgeschützt erkannt, weil der Schalter, der das detektiert, korrodiert war. Hab das Ding einfach fest gelötet, sodass alle Karten schreibbar sind.
Nächstes Problem: Die Buttons funktionieren nicht mehr bzw. höchstens mal einer. Problem: Die Leiterbahnen auf der Flex-PCB waren teilweise zerfressen. Ich hatte leider keinen Leitlackstift da, also wollte ich es erst mal mit dem Lötkolb...verdammt, das Trägermaterial hält keine Hitze aus
Also #KiCAD angeworfen und eine eigene Flex-PCB erstellt und bei #jlcpcb (zusammen mit bisschen anderen Kram aus meiner Pipeline) produzieren lassen. Passt und funktioniert wirklich ausgezeichnet

After using daily sway-wm (#Wayland) for years, I went back i3-wm (#xorg) for about a week, and I miss Wayland so much. For example on Firefox the scroll is so rough (even scrolling just the tab bar is awful!), while on sway was silk smooth.

In case you are wondering, I am back to i3-wm because of #KiCAD, that officially does not support Wayland, and I can confirm it has several nasty problems.

New blog post! When you want to play arcade PCBs at home, you use a Supergun – an adapter that lets you play them on your monitor. What if you already made a Supergun, and for reasons that make sense only to yourself, you're unhappy with it? #retrogaming #kicad

https://www.leadedsolder.com/2025/04/01/hd15-supergun-minigun-arcade-pcb-player.html

(This post is certified JOKE FREE. If you find a joke in it, the joke is free.)