Modern PCB Design Practices: Part 2 — Tips and Techniques

The first article from audio expert Ethan Winer about Modern PCB Design Practices, gave a general overview of board design using surface-mounted devices (SMDs). The article examines current practices and methods for designing four-layer printed circuit boards using surface mounted components (SMDs), and this second part explains specific strategies and related issues to deal with the design and production of great quality PCBs. This article was originally published in audioXpress, March 2023.

In this two-part series, Ethan Winer examines current practices and methods for designing four-layer printed circuit boards using surface-mounted components (SMDs). A great article for our DIY readers and many developers who often are faced with the need to build and test their projects on a properly designed, prototype printed circuit board. Part 1 presents an overview of the process, while Part 2 he will explain specific strategies. Many related issues will be described along the way.

With many audio manufacturers and consumer electronic companies experimenting development with voice recognition applications, Google naturally wants to make it easy as possible for anyone to get familiarized with the company's Google Assistant SDK, to implement voice interaction. Billy Rutledge, Director of AIY Projects at Google, recently revealed a new voice recognition DIY kit and voice HAT for the Raspberry Pi.