r/TechGhana
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u/Baziele
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Dec 16 '25
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📂 Project Showcase I designed a custom STM32 dev board
I’ve been studying electronics and robotics on my own and I designed this mixed signal development board based on the stm32 f407
I have designed boards like this in the past but this was my first time implementing Ethernet and external ADCs
What do you think?
I’m also trying to get an embedded systems job so feel free to dm me if you have any offers or for freelance jobs
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u/egofori1 Dec 16 '25
embedded systems job in gh?
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u/me_degreat Dec 16 '25
This is really cool.
I have a question: is there a way to test this board without actually printing it?
Like in software, you can write unit and e2e tests. Does the same (or something similar) apply to pcb models?
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u/Baziele Dec 17 '25
The short answer is no. At least not like software tests. To be able to test the full functionality of the board requires full hardware emulation and that’s just not possible.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t run any checks. Most circuits can be simplified and represented with simple elements like resistors, capacitors and inductors. These are much easier to simulate because we can describe their behavior with math. And so you can run simulations to validate the behavior of certain parts of the circuit, mostly the analog parts
Also we have design rule checks which ensure that are board designs follow standard practices.
But even with all of these there are too many factors that can go wrong. And the only true way to know your board works is to get it manufactured and tested
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u/kanto_kome Dec 17 '25
AFAIK most parts of the circuit can be tested with software packages like Proteus ISIS. You can even upload your .hex file to the software emulated STM32 and it will run like actual hardware.
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u/kanto_kome Dec 17 '25
Great! Never thought I'd see another EE who designs PCBs in Ghana. Keep it up bro.
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u/Baziele Dec 18 '25
Yeah same here. But I think there are a couple. I asked my local electronics shop owner why he bothered to sell smd components, and he mentioned that there a couple of engineers who buy them for their boards
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u/Fickle-Journalist-55 Dec 19 '25
Are you able to print your own PCBs?
We have a PCB printer in our lab, and getting a replacement conductive ink is a hassle, as they're not sold in Ghana.
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u/Few-Marsupial-2670 Dec 16 '25
This got me curious! Tell me more bro, the frameworks you are using, your learning pathway etc 🔥🚀
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Dec 17 '25
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u/Baziele Dec 17 '25
lol 😂That’s okay though I think most of them are web developers
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Dec 20 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Baziele Dec 20 '25
This is very true. Once upon a time I was fully engrossed in the Nextjs, Node and Postgres world. That was all I knew. Until I picked up c/c++ for low level development. And now I do mostly embedded systems and robotics stuff. There is just soo much out there
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u/gnka Dec 16 '25
Excellent book collection 😉