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A design project doesn’t appear out of nowhere. The design process spreads over time, and project documents change. Schematic documents gradually become more complex, new functional blocks appear, and already finished parts can be modified and updated. The need for compare When the project is released and a series of boards is manufactured, adjustments will probably be made and a new release will be performed. It is always useful to be able to...

This article is all about serial peripheral interface (SPI) and its signal integrity challenges, all of which stem from impedance of the interface and the traces carrying digital signals. Before jumping into the primary point of this article, I’ll answer my own question: There is no SPI trace impedance requirement. You can certainly size the traces in the SPI bus such that their impedance is 50 Ohms, but this is not required. When I write...

How to deal with nuances in PCB design and manufacturing? In today’s episode, Dave Young the owner of Young Circuits Design and founder of BlueStamp Engineering, and I will discuss mitigating risk factors early in the stage of electronic design. Dave will also tell a story about his path to entrepreneurship as an engineer and his inspiration behind founding BlueStamp Engineering, a hands-on engineering program for high school students to design...

During this year's AltiumLive CONNECT event, I recall receiving an interesting question about the skin effect and the distribution of current due to the presence of ground in coplanar transmission lines. At the time, I didn't think it was worth writing about, but I recently received the same question again, this time looking at microstrips. Here is the question: If the skin effect focuses the electric field below a trace, then why does surface...

Ergonomics and convenience are important issues when designing a printed circuit board and the device as a whole. A lot of Altium Designer tools are aimed at solving them. These include Countersink and Counterbore holes, which allow the use of various types of screws in the mounting holes of the board. Quick Overview In most cases, printed circuit boards require mounting holes. Holes with countersink and counterbore allow using different types...

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SPICE simulations are an important part of component qualification and system evaluation, but not all components have SPICE models in the same format. To help ensure designers can use any of their SPICE models as they work through system evaluation, Altium Designer supports LTSpice models and PSpice models in the Mixed-Signal Circuit Simulator. To help make your design experience as productive as possible, the documentation below outlines how...

Outdoor embedded devices have become a mainstay in our society. We rely on wireless gate openers, cameras, or other various electronic devices. We don’t always have the luxury to keep them plugged into a wall outlet so we turn to alternative power sources. In this article we will look at various solutions for powering up your devices using the sun ranging from designing a custom product to purchasing something that works right out of the box. We...

From wireless cameras to fountain pumps outdoor electronic devices have become more and more popular as the cost of alternative energy, such as solar panels, have come down. Gone are the days where we have to wire up a whole backyard just to install a series of garden spotlights. We find solar panels embedded in many outdoor electronic devices not only for garden lights but for myriads of different electronic devices as well. In this article we...