Re:Building a software-defined radio from scratch
by laobeylu on Thursday July 28, 2016 @05:04PM
(#12183158)
That's actually sort of what I did. I didn't explain it to someone else, but went through it in my head, talking to myself explaining the design. Explaining it to someone else must be even better!
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Building a software-defined radio from scratch
by noonespecial on Thursday July 28, 2016 @05:10PM
(#12183198)
Or just a rubber duck.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging
Personally I use a cat. Its Steve-Jobs-like attitude seems ideally suited for the task.
Re:Building a software-defined radio from scratch
by dbcurtis on Friday July 29, 2016 @03:04AM
(#12185381)
Yes, great work! I think of PCB design like golf -- low scores are better, but nobody hits a hole-in-one every time they tee up. 3 revs is shooting par for even simple designs, much less a complex RF design like this.
Having someone else look over the design is always useful. A healthy distrust of datasheets is always useful. But at some point, you have to ask yourself you have reduced the risk of errors enough that a couple of rework wires with get you through debug, at which point just go fab it. Blue wires tack-soldered on are a fact of life in prototyping. It is easy to obsess over PCB designs, but "fail fast" applies here, too.