I'm going to oversimplify this, so my apologies to our colleagues over at Sunstone Circuits, but a PC board basically has four parts: metal, substrate, solder mask and silk screen. I might simplify it even more to say that it... Read more
Ever have one of those: "oh, if I only knew..." moments? I just did. I read one of my predicting-the-future blog posts from December 2018. Let me quote the first paragraph: "It's now the eve of 2019 and about all... Read more
Some Fridays are just more "Fridayish" than others. And by "Fridayish" I mean that it's been a long week and most of the day is spent with an overtone of "5:00 can't get here soon enough." Today isn't one of... Read more
As is tradition, I’ve put together my thoughts on what we have to look forward to in the new year. Uncertainty abounds and I know we all are looking for answers. That’s fine, but when I sat down to write... Read more
I've been largely working from home for the last 20 months. On the one hand, much of my job can be done effectively from anywhere in the world with fast and reliable Internet. The video conferencing systems are quite good... Read more
Ever wonder if the outside world operates like your brain does? Philosophy is the age old branch of study that, in my mind, best attempts to answer this question. Another way to put that is: "Weird things pop into my... Read more
October, 2020 has passed, as has most of November. Just six minutes ago, it was August and we were all trying to remember whether we had had a summer or not. Time and space no longer have meaning. With that... Read more
Until fairly recently the use of flexible PC board material (flex) was considered only for specialized or exotic applications. As tends to happen with advanced technology, the "mainstream" has caught wind of flex. With so many Internet of Things (IoT)... Read more
Before parts are added, a typical printed circuit board (PCB) has four ingredients: substrate, metal, solder mask, and silkscreen. Each of those four ingredients comes in a host of variations, and each has varying degrees of “requiredness.” All four should... Read more
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. That often used (or yelled by my Jr High School football coach) statement has always struck me as being a bit odd. I’m sure my coach intended it to mean that... Read more
