Troubles and Troubleshooting
Our trials and tribulations, summarized in list form:
- A machine made in the likeness of a human mind (read: automated design tools) is an abomination.
- The schematic software created 3 seperate 5v power traces.
- The schematic software crashed repeatedly.
- The schematic software assigned incorrect and absurd net membership to nodes on the schematic.
- The board layout software is unintelligible.
- The board layout software crashed repeatedly.
- The autorouter is incompetent.
- The board layout software makes combining manual and automated layout difficult.
- Plugging a black wire into the +12v rail of the breadboard does not make it ground.
- Magic smoke, once let out, cannot be put back in.
- Just because the silkscreen says one end is positive doesn't mean it's correct.
- PLCC sockets one finds in a random pile of junk probably belong there.
- Parts will arrive quickly, unless you need or are ready to use them.
- Just because soldering iron wounds cauterize instantly doesn't mean they aren't painful.
- Automated design tools are not to be trusted.
- Just because a transistor "switches" doesn't mean it's in the correct orientation.
- Break statements are (usually) necessary in switch statements.
- Everything can be done with a state machine.
- Orientation of parts is very important in board layout.
- Automated design tools hunger for human souls.
- A good soldermask is priceless.
- Don't fear the surface mount.
< Software | What We Learned >
Alexandr Pshenichkin and Cortland Setlow
Swarthmore College