KiCad STM32 + RF + USB Hardware Design - Phil's Lab #5

⏵Hardware and PCB design course: www.phils-lab.net/courses
Overview of STM32, RF, and USB hardware design, schematic creation, and PCB layout and routing in KiCad using a real-world example project. (Timestamps in description)
Various tips on controlled impedance routing, differential pairs, USB, and RF layout.
If you're enjoying my content, please consider becoming a patron: / phils94
Correction in schematic: NRF24 IREF pin needs to be pulled low to GND via a 10k resistor (not to 3V3 as shown in the video!). Fix has been pushed to GitHub.
Design files: github.com/pms67/STRF-Kicad
jlcpcb.com/RHS
TIMESTAMPS
[Introduction]
00:00 - System overview, component selection
03:15 - STM32 pin-out and peripheral selection
[Schematic]
04:10 Schematic sectioning
04:48 Power supply (power via USB, filtering, USB decoupling caps)
06:45 STM32 microcontroller (USB connections and terminations, SPI, LEDs, decoupling)
09:55 SWD (Serial Wire Debug) connector
10:45 USB connector and ESD protection
13:11 NRF24 RF transceiver
14:40 Extern crystal (load capacitor calculation)
15:57 RF antenna matching circuit
17:31 Component selection and sizing
[Layout]
19:24 Rough layout and sectioning (USB, power, microcontroller, and RF)
20:37 Component placement order (most 'critical' components first)
21:30 USB ESD protection placement
21:42 RF layout
22:16 Determining board outline (size and rounded edges)
22:42 Fine-tuning the layout
[Routing]
23:24 Layer stack-up (4 layer board)
24:16 Sectioning (USB, power, microcontroller, and RF), track widths, and clearance
25:17 Power and ground via connections to copper pours
26:00 Ground and power planes
26:43 Power supply routing
27:26 STM32 routing
28:15 Crystal routing
29:40 RF and USB routing (trace impedance, differential routing, ground pours)
36:53 RF guard ring
38:45 Clearance between traces
39:25 Via-in-pad
[Silkscreen]
40:05 Labelling and logo
40:40 Marking 'pin 1' locations
40:53 Marking diode polarity
[Manufacturing]
41:42 Checking your work
42:00 Gerber and drill file export
42:25 Footprint positions file (for assembly)
42:49 Bill of materials (BOM)
43:10 Gerber file check (via GerbView)
ID: QIBvbJtYjWuHiTG0uCoK

[@PhilsLab]

New hardware and PCB design course on mixed-signal embedded systems just released! ⏵Course content: www.phils-lab.net/courses ⏵Course sign-up: phils-lab-shop.fedevel.education

[@benjaminhodzic4840]

You should make a community on some platform, Unexpected Maker does these livestream on which he designs boards and interacts with people directly and you can learn a lot from these interactions. I do pcb design myself and it would be nice if there was a place for us designers where we can hang out and chat about our business. If you want to grow on yt, I think that would be a great opportunity for you.

[@splackism]

You use a lot of keyboard shortcuts to speed up your use of kicad. It would be nice to see what keys you are using. I've been looking for good resources on how to go from idea to board. I found your video very helpful, thanks!

[@lahirupamodya6188]

you should pin this comment on the top

[@PhilsLab]

That sounds like a great idea. Would definitely be good to learn from each other and improve our skills collectively. I'll have a look into some community platforms.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you! I must say I'm not the best or most proficient with KiCad shortcuts but you're right, I'll highlight the ones I do use in future videos!

[@benjaminhodzic4840]

This is gonna be one of the best channels for pcb design on yt

[@PhilsLab]

Haha I can only hope! Thanks :)

[@debajyotimajumder2656]

thanks. will sub now.

[@csobrinho]

Totally agree!

[@LinhHoang-zi9mt]

​@@PhilsLab I hope so too. Please do high speed digital design PCB... Here is a good book: high speed digital design howard johnson

[@wyattr7982]

Checking in two years later: you are correct

[@dehCremus]

This is by far the most useful video on PCB design I've ever watched. Really clear explanation, covering all the topics, nice voice to listen to, just great. Thanks a lot man!

[@PhilsLab]

That's very kind, thank you! Very happy to hear that.

[@ZainAhmed]

Amazing video, this along with your flight computer video have given me more practical knowledge than my university has by a huge margin.

[@PhilsLab]

I'm really glad to hear that - thank you!

[@hardikminocha3149]

I've been learning this stuff for about 2 years now, and I have to say, this is the only video, wherein, I had the patience, and intrigue to sit through the entire thing and understand every bit of it. Just like a one on one session. The fact that you do not conceal the slightest details, which, unfortunately in a competitive environment is hard to come by, is a truly remarkable thing to do. you've got yourself a lifelong and dedicated student now XD. keep doing this and god bless you!

[@JLCPCB]

Absolutely great video Phil, great explanation of each step in the process from schematics to finished PCB design. Thank you for great content, keep it up! 😊👌

[@paulhamacher773]

This is by far better than most(!) of all the lectures I had at a highly respected university in Germany. Amazing, how much value you give us with that! Please keep on going, I want to learn so much more!

[@PhilsLab]

Thanks a lot, Paul - I'm very glad to hear that the videos are helping out! Darf ich fragen an welcher Uni Du warst? :)

[@williamng5031]

As a board designer, I love how detailed you explanations are from the beginning til the end. Some questions for understanding and learning: 1. No ESD protection is seen from SWD connector to STM32 MCU - could it be a potential threat of ESD damage on SWD pins? 2. Guard ring consideration for entire PCB (and eventually connect to USB shield) for EMI protection? Thanks!

[@Zapho300]

Fantastic video - its great to see a complete walkthrough from concept to design and layout. I've been using KiCad for years but I make time every week watching tutorials for new ideas, layout strategies that I can improve on etc. Yours is by far the best I've seen. Your attention to detail is incredible. Most others would have skipped over the USB details and decoupling strategy. I'd be keen to see how you handle a 4 layer board. I'm working on my first and am finding it a challenge.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, Barry. I'm very glad you found it helpful. Is there anything in particular you'd want a video on regarding 4-layer boards?

[@cornevanzyl5880]

44min flew past. So much valuable knowledge you've given here and you've barely scratched the surface of PCB design. I've scoured the internet for books on good design but most fall short on giving the reader a practical example. The knowledge is then never cemented. You simplified something so abstract for me. I would love to watch some PCB design involving digital and analog signals on the same board.

[@PhilsLab]

That's great to hear - thank you very much for your comment. Coincidentally, I have been actually working on a mixed-signal PCB (MCU + analog audio interface) and am now on the N-th PCB iteration haha. Sometime in the (hopefully near) future I'll be sure to make a video about that.

[@disposedtrolley]

How is it that every time I’m looking to start a new project, you manage to make a tutorial just in time to save me hours of work? Thanks again! Another excellent video.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you, I’m very glad it’s been working out that way haha! Good luck with your projects.

[@Bits32]

This is definitely high-quality work. Thank you for taking the time to help us learn more.

[@AppliedMetaphysician]

Thanks for taking the time to put all of this together. I've added it to a playlist because I'll need multiple viewings to absorb and integrate all the knowledge!

[@PhilsLab]

My pleasure, hope this can help with your designs!

[@katjordansoccer]

Wow! This is loaded with very useful information. I learned things I didn't know I needed to learn... Additionally it is clear, concise, doesn't ramble, wander or repeat itself. I learn about many different subjects, not just electronics, from videos and as a frequent consumer of educational videos I have to say I think this is extremely well done. One of the best... ever.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, Katherine! Very glad to hear that - and hopefully more similar videos to come in the future :)

[@dwagner6]

Can’t tell you how much I appreciate your videos. Your way of explaining your thinking is concise but complete, and really easy to follow. And, your OCD inspires me to be tighter with my designs.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, Doug. I'm very glad to hear that!

[@diogoribeiro08]

I don’t usually comment on YT videos but your PCB design videos are sooo good that I feel like i have to do it. Please continue doing such videos, specially the ones that you design everything from scratch and explain your thought process!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, Diogo! Got a video coming up on analogue audio design + PCBs - hope that is of interest!

[@thekaduu]

I've done almost exactly the same board (for the receiver part) for one of my projects (in 2019) besides having LNA. It has been a solid system!

[@fluiditynz]

Great tutorial. After some years away from PCB & Software design I very recently came back to it for some projects and had 3 of my designs come back from JLCPCB at the beginning of the week. All great quality, price and they actually work! I have a radio control transmitter, receiver and a security interface board on the desk in front of me and very pleased with the results, especially that they work!. You take the design to another level from me, I'm impressed and have learned from you.

[@PhilsLab]

Thanks, Graham - glad to hear your project worked out!

[@fgamberini2]

Great Video with loads of useful information. I'm still a rookie with Kicad and since migrating to v5 i've lost most of the 3D models, so the viewer usually shows unpopulated boards... I've never bothered to try to fix it but when I look at what you've done it motivates me to look into it. Thanks.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you! Yeah, for me it helps me see if I've placed connectors a correct distance away from the edges, and things like that. I also really like the 'raytracing' feature in the 3D viewer to get slightly more realistic-looking boards.

[@troycallahan9179]

These are exactly the sort of STM32 & PCB design videos I’ve been wanting to watch! Great work, and I cant wait to see what else you’ll put out!

[@PhilsLab]

Awesome, very glad to hear that! Hope to do a few more electronics/PCB videos in the future. Right now I'm working on a little control theory series!

[@diggleboy]

Absolutely great tutorial on KiCAD for RF and high speed design, Phil. Thanks for sharing this. Very helpful knowledge and information for designing 4 layer boards that function with RF. Although you skipped a few steps, they are shown in detail in your SGM32 Hardware Design video. I'm glad you instead took the majority of the time to focus on the RF design aspects instead. This is one of THE BEST and most comprehensive tutorials with KiCAD for high speed RF circuit designs here on KZbin. Thanks for sharing.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much! I'm really glad you liked it. Yes, I tried to skim over quite a bit of the details that I had mentioned in my previous KiCad video to focus on something a bit different.

[@thoughtfuI]

I never thought I would start making PCBs for myself, your thorough explanation of the design process helped me a lot to dive in. Thank you!

[@PhilsLab]

Awesome, I hope your PCB-design journey goes well! :)

[@imst805]

Great stuff Phil! Thanks for making these videos! Hope we get to see the end product.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you - I’ll try and make another video, once I get these boards manufactured.

[@Aemilindore]

Thank you for being generous! Hope you will have a follow up video for this with more RF fundamentals. Thanks you again, sincerely for making RF a bit easier in KiCad.

[@PhilsLab]

Hi Paul, Thank you for watching! I plan on making another RF video at some point in the future. I just need to think of an interesting project haha :)

[@_a_x_s_]

What a great video. The whole video worths the whole semester of PCB lectures. You are pretty good at designing as well as teaching!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you, really glad to hear that!

[@damny0utoobe]

This tutorial is just what I needed for pcb design. I was trying to all 3 items in your design: USB RF with STM32

[@PhilsLab]

That's great - hope your design goes well!

[@rikerion]

Brilliant and very helpful. Lots of detail and a good pace. As someone else mentioned you have a very easy voice to listen to.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much!

[@wowtah]

This video made me catch a mistake in one of my boards, just before sending it into production. So thanks!

[@PhilsLab]

Good to hear that! I usually spot mistakes as soon as I've clicked the 'send off for manufacturing' button haha..

[@xmaczi123]

I would happily pay for these tutorial videos, they are so good. Please keep up the good work!

[@PhilsLab]

That's very kind of you to say, thank you!

[@jefferyreber1682]

This is a great video! I'm just getting into circuit design for modular synths, so no RF signals, but it's incredibly interesting to see how PCB design gets affected when you're getting into that range.

[@PhilsLab]

Awesome, thank you! I'm much more of an audio guy myself so hope to do some more videos on audio-related circuits.

[@nahashonosinde9163]

I'm at a point where I just like the video before even watching it, coz I know it's gonna be good!

[@PhilsLab]

Haha thanks a lot, hopefully it won't disappoint!

[@jimmymark8232]

Haha me too..design looks cool. Overall cost of components Should be cheap with lots of cool uses. Good work bro..👍

[@PhilsLab]

@@jimmymark8232 Thanks a lot man!

[@dylanzemek7069]

Absolutely best video on pcb design I have ever seen! I’m a junior mechatronics engineer and this video taught me more on the topic than any of my subjects at uni ever did! Thank you and please make more content!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, Dylan! Really glad to hear that regarding the video.

[@konturgestalter]

The board/schematic walk throughs in the long videos are just the best to learn a lot

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you!

[@terrymaker4781]

In one word...fantastic. I left the industry several years ago due to brain damage that affected my communications abilities. Despite this, I had little trouble understanding your monologue. Clear and concise, Thanks for the great video and design, Phil! I just subscribed and wait in anticipation for your next effort which I am sure I will enjoy!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, Terry! I'm sorry to hear about your health but hope you've recovered. Very glad to hear that you found the video interesting, do let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to have a video on!

[@terrymaker4781]

It’s been a while since I have enjoyed learning to use a software package! As I inferred, I am eagerly waiting for your next videos! Thank you!

[@simonlove99]

Really good coverage. Perfect refresher for core points needed for many projects.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you!

[@p1366]

Good Job Phil. you are a natural educator and sharer of knowledge. Clear, Concise, Considered. Very inspiring.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, really appreciate you saying that.

[@bitrot42]

Thanks so much for this clear and detailed look at PCB design! I learned a great deal from it.

[@PhilsLab]

I'm very glad to hear that - thank you!

[@AfricanTimeMeal]

One of the best videos I have ever seen in my life. Thank you

[@PhilsLab]

That's very kind, thank you!

[@dumitruleonis2437]

Literally just sent a board off to production last night, before I found this video. Now I know at least three things I did wrong with my layout. At least I know what to do next time and where to start troubleshooting if it doesn't work! Thanks for the really great content.

[@PhilsLab]

I know the feeling! I'll send a board off sometimes and then realise what I maybe should have done differently. Hope everything still goes well with your boards. Thanks for watching! :)

[@sebastianbabiel6155]

Great Video. Concerning the RF Trace and the calculation, you give a nice and easy way for an implementation, but of course there is much more to it. I'd like to add that the RF trace or transmission line you are designing here is a so called microstrip line. There are more rf transmission lines like this. I have good experiences with the grounded coplanar waveguide. KiCad has an integrated calculator for multiple transmission lines. It is harder to use because you need much more information about the pcb, not just the stackup but the material itself.

[@wthornton7346]

Not surprised by the feedback. You are a naturally talented teacher. Thanks.

[@PhilsLab]

That's very kind, thank you!

[@BenVonHandorf]

This was a great video. This really clarified a few things for me and added some new resources to my list. I think I've got 3 pages of notes from just the second half of the video. Now to go watch the flight computer video in its entirety! Thanks for the effort you put in here!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you, Benjamin. Very glad to hear these videos have clarified a few things. I must admit I'm also relatively newww to this and I'm sure there are a LOT of things I can still learn about PCB design, but just wanted to share what I gathered so far.

[@BenVonHandorf]

@@PhilsLab You've definitely made it deeper into the topic than I have. The dive on USB and the correct impedance in particular was interesting and relevant to some upcoming projects so much appreciated. At least for me most of the work is finding out the stuff you need to learn. This put several new things on my list and is much appreciated. Oh, and you probably told me why the crystal oscillator on one of my boards isn't working (it's over the single ground pour)... that was a puzzler that I wasn't sure how to even start with.

[@PhilsLab]

@@BenVonHandorf Awesome, that's good to hear! Hopefully you can get your crystal oscillator part of the board sorted for the next iteration!

[@hemantbabel4279]

Pure Gem . This kind of information is very rarely available in video format.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you, glad you found it helpful!

[@Ninjamstrboy]

this is awesome and super educational! i'm sure this will be a valuable reference for many future pcb designers.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much! Hopefully it'll help some people out in the future.

[@BM-jy6cb]

Your videos are a goldmine of practical info. Thanks so much for posting!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you!

[@MrEdwardhartmann]

Great video. I have had several boards manufactured by JLCPCB but nothing as challenging as this board - mine go in old pinball machines that run the processor at 1MHZ. You don't have to worry to much about matching at that rate. But you did a wonderful job of explaining what would need to be done if I ever had the need for speed. Thanks for the great content

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you, Edward - I'm very happy to hear that! Good luck with all your designs!

[@zazachin]

Thanks for the video! The audio is much better this time. Looking forward to more informative stuff in the future.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you! Yes, the new mic was a good investment haha.

[@svrestless3425]

most excellent. I must get in the choir and praise this channel. I am very tempted to increase the PCB width by 5.01 mm so i can get 2 assembled.

[@PhilsLab]

That's very kind of you to say, thank you! I actually have made a 'panelised' version of this PCB, which you can find in the Git repo in the description.

[@angelgcu]

Very well done video, no many like this one related to Kicad and the teaching of interesting tips when routing RF traces.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, Luis!

[@TanNguyen-jn1ly]

Amazing video. This is a great material for aspiring hardware designers. Please keep up the good work, your channel will go very far!!! Thank YOU!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, I'm very glad to hear that!

[@kenshin16021610]

Thank you for sharing. Please keeping it up, because I saw some channels just drop after few videos without any response which is so sad :(

[@PhilsLab]

I do hope to keep it up. However, the channel won't be purely PCB design - since I'm primarily a control systems/DSP guy myself, and I've only gotten into PCB design fairly recently. Hope that's still okay :)

[@kenshin16021610]

@@PhilsLab Sure man. It will be even more interesting :)

[@soufiane_krem]

I learned a lot from this video about PCB Design , Thank you for this !

[@HariWiguna]

OMG Phil! Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge. You're a great teacher too! Very organized, clear explanation with just enough info to get going with pointer to where to learn more. Fantastic content! Subscribed and will check your other videos!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much for your comment Hari, really glad to hear that!

[@jamesmorton7881]

Well integrated audio video presentation of technical design details. Saturn calc is another very good free PCB calculator. Suggest 1/2 oz copper all planes, plate top and bottom up to 1 1/2 oz to prevent delamination of pads during soldering. Extra, plane cutouts under any DC blocking caps on diff pairs. Good work.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, James. I'll take a look at the Saturn calculator you mentioned - thanks for the tip!

[@lahirupamodya6188]

Great tutorial on KiCAD. covered very important topics in an awesome manner. keep making more. cheers!

[@PhilsLab]

Thanks a lot! Yes, I plan on making a couple more videos - on a few different topics.

[@jango9973]

STM should sponsor you. If you covered their "development boards" with videos like this every entry level engineer would reference these for learning and use STM in their products.

[@d.buchko4270]

Your videos are great! Full of information to assimilate so I can build my own design. Thank you.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you, Darrell - that's great!

[@noxim_]

Insanely high quality video! I will definitely be coming back to watch this many times when I move my projects from pre-existing MCU boards to custom. Few of my projects are (lipo) battery powered and talk with Bluetooth, so if you are looking for future video ideas I would definitely be interested in something like that :)

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, I'm glad you found the video helpful! I saw that STM makes MCUs with integrated Bluetooth transceivers (www.st.com/en/wireless-transceivers-mcus-and-modules/bluetooth-bluetooth-low-energy.html#products), which definitely could be incorporated into some project in the future. Just need to come up with one now haha!

[@MrPmjg]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge in such a easy way to understand

[@PhilsLab]

My pleasure, thank you for watching :)

[@zeropoint-1041]

this is a great find, thank you .. please never leave us.

[@PhilsLab]

Thanks for watching, Michael!

[@davebenemerito310]

The kind of videos I've been looking. Keep it up!

[@PhilsLab]

Thanks a lot, Dave!

[@Veilands]

Phil, much appreciate your work and effort, very valuable and useful content, thank you very much and have a great day =]

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much, I’m glad you’re finding it helpful!

[@Remulos1]

If you made a video like this building a keyboard using an STM32 MCU you would be hailed as a hero far and wide.

[@marouabellatreche5949]

Thank you for taking the time to make these awesome videos!

[@PhilsLab]

My pleasure, thank you for watching, Maroua!

[@dimgwolukze140]

Very good step-by-step tutorial, really learn a lot, Thanks!

[@PhilsLab]

I'm very glad to hear that - thank you!

[@Kayram1]

Great work, appreciate for the effort. Very informative. Keep posting

[@PhilsLab]

Thanks!

[@konturgestalter]

i learn so much from your videos every single time

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much!

[@hon2468]

This is the greatest RF design tutorial I have seen so far!!!!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much!

[@leo940806]

This is really a good video for the young engineer. It helps so much to start

[@PhilsLab]

I'm very glad to hear that - thank you!

[@vicxaflora2467]

Love this from thailand , It is inspiration for electronic hardware designer , keep going

[@PhilsLab]

Awesome, thank you - greetings from Germany :)

[@jeanpaulberrios5024]

Hi Phil looking forward positive after watching your videos to see soon stm32wl with lora best Regards JP

[@harrypehkonen]

OMFG! Came here for help with ground planes around crystals. Found so much more! Thank you! Subscribed!

[@PhilsLab]

Awesome, thank you, Harry!

[@pkilo2811]

Phil, that's indeed an awesome video. Great work keep it up.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you!

[@ozoz2448]

Very well explained... Thank you

[@darkstar2111]

Wow, great job pal! With i2c, some gpios, and maybe second spi it would be a board I could use for pretty much all my projects

[@PhilsLab]

Awesome, thank you!

[@andymouse]

An excellent tutorial i've subbed ! I look forward to more stuff...cheers!

[@PhilsLab]

Awesome, thank you!

[@KitarpLive]

Really nice informative video, awesome explanation and I would to see the actual board video to and see it working ! Cheers !

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you! Yes, definitely - I'll make sure to post a video again once I have the assembled hardware here.

[@KitarpLive]

@@PhilsLab thanks for sharing information !

[@GuillaumeFouilleul]

Awesome video ! Very helpfull for PCB designer newby.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you - very glad to hear that!

[@andymouse]

I would love a quick explanation and use of 'driven guard rings....cheers.

[@andrelucio8394]

Great video! Congratulations, lots of condesed useful info!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much!

[@khaledtifoura2973]

Hi !, thank you, i learned a lot from your tutorials, great explanation ,you are working so professional. I expect more tutorials like that.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you, Khaled!

[@bukitoo8302]

Hi! Very nicely explained design! Congrats! Just an observation in regard of crystal ground plane. The gnd return connection must be below the crystal source traces un order to minimize ground loops.

[@PhilsLab]

Thanks and thank you for your great comment! Yes, ideally the GND connection should be as close as possible to one of the ICs ground pins (going by page 42 of this application note: www.st.com/resource/en/application_note/cd00221665-oscillator-design-guide-for-stm8afals-stm32-mcus-and-mpus-stmicroelectronics.pdf). In this case it shouldn't be a problem, as the the ground trace I routed and that IC ground pin are very close anyway, but in general yes a thing I should have mentioned is to always try and minimise ground loops. I'll do that in upcoming videos - thanks again!

[@jacoblinder9670]

Great video! Love this channel already. Keep it up!

[@PhilsLab]

Thanks a lot!

[@adaminsanoff]

Another great video from my favorite channel!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you, Adam!

[@shis10]

Excellent. Very helpful video

[@PhilsLab]

Very glad to hear that, thank you!

[@kangjian6164]

excellent design and introduction

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you!

[@LiyangHU]

Great stuff! Recently I'd been getting back into building electronics again, after almost 20 years since I last laid out a PCB when I was a teenager. Finally fixed that last week. Controlled impedance for high-speed/RF layout has always been a bit of a mystery to me-even after having obsessively watched The Signal Path for years. :) You managed to show me otherwise in one short video. Keep them coming! One minor thing though: I kept wondering what these "ground paws" you were referring to were. Took me until near the end to figure that one out; don't think I've ever heard of them being called anything other than "power/ground planes" before. That said I don't work in the industry, so might just be a gap in my experience. :)

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you - very glad to hear that! :) Haha yeah, what I meant to say was 'copper pours', but ended up saying ground pours. I hope that didn't cause too much confusion!

[@supportrapidstencil1998]

Nice design and very helpful comments!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much!

[@movax20h]

Nice. BTW. If one is scared of matching networks, well Nordic provides reference design and layout, so it is easy to replicate. If one wants to have smaller foot print, using a pre-made RF balun, for example Anaren BD2425NnRF , which is 0404 part, together with some 0201 or 0402 extra parts, can provide you working solution quicker, that is smaller too. It is designed for this specific nRF24L01 chip. It is a multi-layer transformer based balun, so you get extra isolation, and don't need output capacitors, as well better ESD protection out of the box. It is a cheap part (0.50$ for small quantity, dropping below 0.30$ for over 100 parts). Unfortunately JLCPCB doesn't have it available for SMT assembly, so in many cases it is no-go.

[@kunalsalvi8382]

Your channel is a blessing, good sir. If possible a project around bga would be nice. Thanks a lot for this.

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you! I'm not sure how much BGA stuff I'll be doing, at it's always a bit of a pain to get boards with BGA chips assembled. But we'll see, maybe some time in the future!

[@voice4voicelessKrzysiek]

@@PhilsLab It's not that bad. I, in my 70s, up until a year ago (now retired), did replace many BGA chips of various sizes, down to the smallest (5 balls) using handheld hot air, liquid flux, microscope, and tweezers. If I could do it by hand, it certainly shouldn't be a problem for PCB Assy houses. Your video is exceptionally helpful for many aspiring electronics enthusiasts, professionals, and tinkerers alike. Thank you very much for your effort to help us become better in this field. Keep up the great work!

[@PhilsLab]

@@voice4voicelessKrzysiek Haha yeah that's true! The assembly house I usually go for unfortunately doesn't support BGA, so I've avoided them. But maybe should I ever need a BGA-package chip I won't stray away from it anymore and look for a new manufacturer haha. Thanks for your comment by the way, really appreciate it!

[@kunalsalvi8382]

@@PhilsLab That's true. I was going for more of a study project that you wouldn't send for fabrication but design it just for a video. I hope I'm not bothering you, Sir.

[@SeyamZakirHasanChoudhury]

Another gem Philip 💓

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you!

Nice explanation! Thank you for the content!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you!

[@emreceylan9979]

Hey Phil thanks for your work, your channel is the best PCB channel on KZbin for shure. I have learned a lot and ordered my first PCB with what i learned from your videos. But i couldnt find any Flex PCB video on your channel and everywhere else(A good one). Maybe you can take a video about it, im shure it would be very interesting and instructive.

[@mychromebook9935]

hardware is "hard." but your videos make it a little easier to getting there.

[@PhilsLab]

Awesome, very glad to hear that :)

[@Kefford666]

I just decided over the weekend to learn more about RF and planned out a BLE + STM32 PCB with USB and RGB LED (all the TLA’s! 😆) so this is perfect! Except I’m planning on taking the easy route and just using a module with a serial API (another TLA!)

[@PhilsLab]

Awesome haha :) Well the easy route might be the better one in the end :D

[@Sorenporksen]

Very solid! Great work

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you!

[@GudinVladimir]

So cool! Thank you, Phil!

[@PhilsLab]

My pleasure, thanks Vladimir!

[@marcoscuriel7741]

thanx for your videos!!! your work is great and helpfull!

[@accessknust]

Wonderful tutorial and I learnt a lot. I just wanted to suggest you take the microcontroller as a full tutorial and teach how it works and how u can use it in full detail. To help those who want to use the microcontroller in other ways. Thanks

[@PhilsLab]

Thanks Edwin! Yes, I plan on making a few more videos that go from initial product idea through to actually making it a reality, including programming, troubleshooting, etc.

[@chengL10]

Stunning Video man, keep it up!

[@PhilsLab]

Thank you very much!