Thinking of moving from 'slap a '#RaspberryPi Pico onto a PCB' to 'design a custom 2040 board with a chip on it'.
I spotted this book - Design an RP2040 Board with KiCad by @concretedog. Has anyone got it? Opinions?
Context: Last time I did a PCB, I used Fritzing. I don't think that that was such a good idea, but it worked.
@recantha using KiCad is an art. It's relatively easy to learn, and getting your first PCB from #oshpark is not too hard (and rewarding). Designing for low-cost prototype services is more difficult. Using the correct design rules, using supplier component databases, balance default components with special components (if available), label them correctly, double- and triple-check orientation of, e.g., diodes...
Having an up-to-date guide certainly saves time (or money).
@concretedog
@recantha yes. definitively!
I started from scratch, and made a few tiny PCBs first - with oshpark that's cheap and easy. Below are two examples (one is a bit of a stunt).
Larger PCBs, e.g. 100x100mm² for through-hole assembly at home is easy and cheap, e.g., using Chinese prototype services.
@recantha
Recipe for a low-stress KiCad experience:
* start with a simple circuit on a reasonably large 2-layer PBC (e.g., 100x100mm²)
* follow a basic walk-through tutorial
* use through-hole components where possible (maybe with few simple 1.27mm pitch SOIC)
* don't allow feature creep
* use the default settings of a PCB prototype
* use budget shipping, be patient
Michael Horne
Shephallmassive
Thomas
Jonathan ‘theJPster’ Pallant