DevBoard
Following along with the devboard tutorial to learn more about PCB design and hardware in general.
Created by
tyler
Tier 4
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0 followers
nimit ⚡🚀
requested changes for DevBoard ago
You still haven't uploaded cart screenshots or made a BOM.csv! Please fix that. Also, are you not getting PCBA? You need to include costs for that too in your requested grant amount
tyler
submitted DevBoard for ship review ago
Iamalive 🚀
requested changes for DevBoard ago
Your demo link takes me to https://blueprint.hackclub.com/admin/design_reviews/Haven't%20built%20it%20yet, which returns a 404 site. Fix this please! Additionally, you should have a cart screenshot of the pcv and request funding!
tyler
submitted DevBoard for ship review ago
nimit ⚡🚀
requested changes for DevBoard ago
Prices and links in the BOM Please! Also, the CSV needs links and prices too!
tyler
submitted DevBoard for ship review ago
nimit ⚡🚀
requested changes for DevBoard ago
Could you add the BOM as a CSV and include the prices, both in the README and the spreadsheet? Also make sure to include links (this is JLC's or LCSC's internal library if you're getting PCBA)
tyler
submitted DevBoard for ship review ago
chengyin.yao 🚀
requested changes for DevBoard ago
Hey! You probably need to order either PCBA or get the components for your PCB from JLCPCB - currently what you are ordering is just a bare PCB without any components. Can you also include a cart pic of the checkout page with the shipping method and add a bom.csv to your repo?
tyler
submitted DevBoard for ship review ago
tyler
added to the journal ago
Finishing Touches
I followed the instructions to clean up my PCB's silkscreens, and I added an expertly drawn silkscreen of kirby.
Here's what the PCB looks like now:
Thank you so much, Kai Pereira!
tyler
added to the journal ago
Created and Routed the PCB
When I started to work on the PCB routing section of the tutorial I realized that I was using the wrong Flash Memory chip(the tutorial switches the chip they were using). The one I had on my board would've worked, but it was a lot larger than the one the tutorial switches to. Instead of switching, I decided to keep going, after all, it can't go THAT badly. It went very badly. I couldn't follow how the writer of the tutorial placed or routed the components, so I decided to just wing it.
How I laid out the components:
This layout is less than ideal for routing, because it was WAY too cramped. Exemplifying this problem was my process to routing the components together: if it looked like it needed to be routed, route it. This quickly exploded into a mountain of spaghetti, so I decided to restart with the correct component. Carefully following along with the tutorial, I was able to create this:
Needless to say, it went a lot better. My first attempt at routing the PCB was useless as a PCB, however it did teach me a few things. First, I do not know better than the tutorial writers. Second, when building a compact PCB it's probably a good idea to use the smaller component. Third, with more complex designs it's best to carefully plan the placement and routing of the components, lest you end up with metal spaghetti. Finally, I probably shouldn't make any big design decisions at 1AM.
tyler
added to the journal ago
Created the Schematic
I followed along with the tutorial to create the schematic for the devboard. I learned a lot about hardware techniques and KiCAD as well. For example, I now know what decoupling capacitors and termination resistors are and do, and how to use global labels in KiCAD to separate a schematic into "modules". However, for decoupling capacitors and similar techniques I need to do some of my own research to truly understand exactly WHY they work, and the rationale behind how you figure out how much resistance a resistor needs and other similar problems.
Final Result:
tyler
started DevBoard ago
12/3/2025 - Created the Schematic
I followed along with the tutorial to create the schematic for the devboard. I learned a lot about hardware techniques and KiCAD as well. For example, I now know what decoupling capacitors and termination resistors are and do, and how to use global labels in KiCAD to separate a schematic into "modules". However, for decoupling capacitors and similar techniques I need to do some of my own research to truly understand exactly WHY they work, and the rationale behind how you figure out how much resistance a resistor needs and other similar problems.
Final Result:
12/4/2025 5 PM - Created and Routed the PCB
When I started to work on the PCB routing section of the tutorial I realized that I was using the wrong Flash Memory chip(the tutorial switches the chip they were using). The one I had on my board would've worked, but it was a lot larger than the one the tutorial switches to. Instead of switching, I decided to keep going, after all, it can't go THAT badly. It went very badly. I couldn't follow how the writer of the tutorial placed or routed the components, so I decided to just wing it.
How I laid out the components:
This layout is less than ideal for routing, because it was WAY too cramped. Exemplifying this problem was my process to routing the components together: if it looked like it needed to be routed, route it. This quickly exploded into a mountain of spaghetti, so I decided to restart with the correct component. Carefully following along with the tutorial, I was able to create this:
Needless to say, it went a lot better. My first attempt at routing the PCB was useless as a PCB, however it did teach me a few things. First, I do not know better than the tutorial writers. Second, when building a compact PCB it's probably a good idea to use the smaller component. Third, with more complex designs it's best to carefully plan the placement and routing of the components, lest you end up with metal spaghetti. Finally, I probably shouldn't make any big design decisions at 1AM.
12/4/2025 7 PM - Finishing Touches
I followed the instructions to clean up my PCB's silkscreens, and I added an expertly drawn silkscreen of kirby.
Here's what the PCB looks like now:
Thank you so much, Kai Pereira!