The A to Z of designing printed circuit boards
Etching a Sketch
© Lead Image © Viktoriya Sukhanova, 123RF.com
Take your electronic projects to the next level with your own PCB designs.
Many makers start in electronics by using pre-built modules: typically a module with a microcontroller (e.g., Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32, or STM32 variant) and another board with some type of I/O (e.g., an accelerometer, camera, temperature sensor, or relay). They join these boards together with wire links, often without the need for soldering, to make a functional prototype. So far so good. The advantages of this approach are flexibility, speed, and low cost: They can keep making changes until they have the required functionality.
However, projects like this can be difficult to package in a compact manner and inevitably contain unneeded circuitry, and the wire links might not be durable over time. It can also be an expensive solution if more than one prototype is required. If you want your project to use a component not available on a module, run from batteries, have custom displays, or any variety of requirements, the need for a more flexible solution becomes yet more apparent.
You might move on to other prototyping systems, like soldering components onto a stripboard and wiring them up with soldered wire links. This approach worked well when I started out in the business 40 years ago, but today, many interesting components are just not available in through-hole form on the 2.5mm/0.1-inch pitch that was the standard back then.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
-
Happy Birthday, Linux
On August 25, Linux officially turns 34.
-
VirtualBox 7.2 Has Arrived
With early support for Linux kernel 6.17 and other new additions, VirtualBox 7.2 is a must-update for users.
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.
-
Debian 13.0 Officially Released
After two years of development, the latest iteration of Debian is now available with plenty of under-the-hood improvements.
-
Upcoming Changes for MXLinux
MXLinux 25 has plenty in store to please all types of users.
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.