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by marcosdumay 2315 days ago
I have extra parts at home, exactly because of this. But I can not order extra PCBs with my future mistakes corrected. So it's either make them myself or try a single design, spot my failure, correct, order a new one, wait a week or two until I have some more free time to mess with it.

Or avoid PCBs completely, what is clearly the best option whenever possible (what is becoming less and less common).
1 comments
StavrosK 2315 days ago
To be fair, modern EDA software helps a lot with not making mistakes. If your schematic diagram and tolerance settings are correct, it is pretty hard to get the PCB wrong. Every time I had a problem with one, I had made a mistake in the schematic (and once the fab house mistakenly bridged pads because my tolerances were too tight).

I wholeheartedly recommend KiCAD if you aren't already using it.

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HeWhoLurksLate 2314 days ago
Seconding KiCAD. Their software is fairly intuitive- especially if you're used to Linux- and it's super helpful for making sure that your designs are logical and stuff, and you can also use it to figure out how to best breadboard your designs as well.
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StavrosK 2314 days ago
I disagree and think saying it's intuitive is doing people a disservice. It's not intuitive at all, but it's more intuitive than the alternatives and it won't take you very long to learn how to use it.

If you don't get it immediately, don't worry, that's normal. Just watch some tutorials and you'll be good to go in a few hours.

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HeWhoLurksLate 2313 days ago
Okay, you're right. I'd forgotten that I'd A) had a failed start with it and B) only gotten past that once I had to use it for a school project. That being said, once you figure it out, it's really powerful. It just takes a bit to get there, and I'd forgotten the beginning of my learning curve.

Sorry for the confusion, and thank you for reminding me of how hard it was for me personally to start.

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StavrosK 2313 days ago
No problem, and I agree, it's very powerful and it's fun to use. It doesn't take very long to get a feel for what's going on, and it's very rewarding afterwards, as you know.
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