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Making an Appimage
Monday, May 26, 2025 in Blog
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When I updated to Ubuntu 24.04 I had an upsetting number of packages break. One of these was AppCSXCAD. It reads OpenEMS XML geometry files and shows them in a GUI. Nothing exciting until you need it. My first move was making sure I could use the …
Ordering From Macrofab with KiCad
Saturday, May 24, 2025 in Blog
TLDR There’s an example project manufacturing package of the Scopefun V2 up here. Checkout kicad-xyrs and kicad-make for ordering KiCad projects with Macrofab. Introduction I recently toured MacroFab’s Houston facility and came away impressed. …
OpenEMS Optimizing Simulator
Saturday, May 17, 2025 in Blog
Introduction Over at EOI we’ve been working on a time domain reflectometer (TDR) for precision agriculture for the past few months. The waveguide assembly has several competing design constraints. The following is an overview of a a …
Managing Openscad Projects
Friday, May 16, 2025 in Blog
Why Structure Your OpenSCAD Projects? OpenSCAD is powerful, but as projects grow, managing complexity becomes critical. Plus you’re already ditching the GUI for a descriptive language, are you going to be chained to the GUI for exporting files? …
Tariff Math for Two-Layer Prototype PCBs: OshPark vs Imported Fabs
Thursday, May 15, 2025 in Blog
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Introduction If you’re a US-based hobbyist, consultant, or small-batch hardware developer, PCB manufacturing has just changed a bit. Back in 2018 when the first batch of Chinese tariffs were introduced we got hit with a surprise bill and an …
FreeCAD Make
Sunday, April 13, 2025 in Blog
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Github Repo Background If you’re new to FreeCAD scripting, start with this guide on setting up FreeCAD on Linux. Introduction I’ve recently been working on a waveguide assembly for a time-domain reflectometer (TDR), designed in OpenSCAD …
Product Announcement: QL03 Photoreceiver
Sunday, March 16, 2025 in Blog
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We’ve just launched a new photoreceiver over at our sister site, Hobbs ElectroOptics: the QL03 Photoreceiver. It’s designed for low-light applications that demand high sensitivity and low noise. Highlights 150 mm² photodiode with immersion lens for …
Installing OpenEMS on Linux
Sunday, November 17, 2024 in Blog
(Updated: )Docker Source Files are available here. OpenEMS is an open-source Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulator that has seen some significant adoption. As I go through the setup for the second time, I’m noting down all the steps, common pitfalls, …
System Diagrams / Schematics
Sunday, September 01, 2024 in Blog
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Most engineering projects begin as rough sketches on napkins, whiteboards, or air diagrams furiously traced with a finger. But as complexity grows, especially when multiple components or teams are involved, a structured system diagram becomes …