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JohnTraitor , 02-23-2026, 12:53 PM

Hello FEDEVEL team~

I am a software/embedded engineer who loves to create and learn thing in his free time.
I have watched Phil's lab videos on youtube for a while now. I am currently in the process of making a little robot (micromouse) and would like to design my own PCB.
However in the process i found that i lack some basic knowledge of for example:
- Why i would need this specific decoupling capacitor and why it needs to be close to the IC pin?
- How do I design 2 different power planes when i need to drive motors and have digital signals pins on the same board?
- Etc..

Hence i came to FEDEVEL to learn back from scratch (i have some remaining understanding of elec from uni but not enough) and purchased the static signals course and I am following it now. But I need help for the learning path i would need to follow. I think I will want to take the Mixed signal PCB design course of Phil, however i don't know what i should take before and after in order to reach the point where i can answer my questions about PCB design to be able to finish my robot PCB correctly. I saw you have transient signal course, beginner, maker etc PCB design course... I am not sure of the path could you help me understand the course content and provide some advice regarding the course path to follow? (Note: i would prefer using Kicad as i am an open-source passionate).

Thank you for your help, Respectfully John.T.

Robert Feranec , 03-01-2026, 02:46 PM

we are working on HW assistant that could be exactly what could help you. It is still very experimental feature but within coming weeks we will be looking for people who would help us to test it. If you would be interested, let me know.

Robert Feranec , 03-01-2026, 02:47 PM

btw about decoupling capacitors - I made a nice video with Eric Bogatin on this topic: https://youtu.be/ARwBwHZESOY