West Side Electronics

2021

Design Analysis - Sparkfun's Spectacle Project

A design analysis of Sparkfun's soon-to-be retired Spectacle platform. What went wrong and what lessons can we learn?

Google

Google Cloud PCA

I recently passed my Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect. I have consolidated some of the most useful information I found while studying and provide some analysis for the new case studies.

Python

Modelling audio trilateration

Modelling audio trilateration in Python! Read: if three people hear a sound at different times, can they find the common location?

GCP

My experience taking the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam

How I prepared and passed the Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer exam. What I learned, what tools I used, and some tips when it comes to answering questions

2021

Review: Udacity Data Engineer Nanodegree

Disappointing. The features of Udacity that I care about aren't present here. Don't waste your money or your time.

review

Review: Udacity Robotics Software Engineer Nanodegree

Great for busy professionals, pass otherwise. Low value per dollar, high value overall.

Easy way to remember Formula for Quadratic Roots

Using the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star: > x equals to negative b plus or minus, the square root of B square minus four A C all of which is over two A. Now I know how-to find my roots, next time you can find them too! \[ x = \frac{

BG22

Achieving Ultra Low Power Bluetooth with BG22

How to get the lowest power consumption on the BG22 using project defaults. Or how to get 100,000 hours runtime on a BG22.

opinion

Opinion: Why I don't use Rust for embedded

Unfortunately, Rust for embedded development is still a little too new for me right now. C and C++ still hold the crown for embedded simply because of legacy and future support.

chicago

A pretty Chicago CTA Train Display

Creating a beautiful PCB representation of the CTA line in Chicago. Featuring lots of LEDs and a unique acrylic backing!

soil sensor

Better Soil Sensor

How a capacitive moisture sensor works with a 555 timer, and getting it to work with the BG22 Bluetooth chip from Silicon Labs!

opinion

Opinion: No Cloud Please

Needing a cloud service to operate your Smart Home products is not always the best option, and here in this post I explore why

2020

Fairy Light Teardown

Tearing apart a solar powered fairy light unit to see what makes it blink and shimmer.

BreatheDot

BreatheDot 2

Upgraded BreatheDot with new power saving features and interface options for years of use!

teardown

IKEA SYMFONISK Sound Remote Teardown

Looking inside the Symfonisk remote from IKEA! It is a simple and logical 3D puzzle that fits together securely.

ikea

IKEA TRÅDFRI On/Off Switch Teardown

A look inside IKEA's wireless TRADFRI On/Off Dimmer Switch! This really is a masterclass in designing a wireless button by IKEA.

bus app

Bus App, Redux

What came from the cloud, goes back to the cloud. Migrating the bus app from the server back to the cloud!

BLE

‌Wireless Soil Sensor

Building a wireless soil sensor for plant monitoring! Featuring the BG22 Thunderboard and plenty of Bluetooth shinanigans.

IoT

The most useless IoT table lamp in existence

How I made the most useless IoT table lamp in existence. Now comes with mechanical and electrical design comments!

ESP32

A WiFi Coprocessor for STM32

Adding WiFi to any project using the WiFiNINA library and the ESP32 as a coprocessor. By replacing all the Arduino-specific functions with generic functions that can map to any HAL, now any chip (NXP, Microchip, ST.. etc) can use the ESP32 as a WiFi coprocessor.

Keyboard

A worthy successor to the Apple Keyboard

I wanted to find a replacement for the Apple USB Keyboard that replicated the feel of typing. I found the Logitech MX Keys.

React

Rewriting the Bus App in Vue

A comparison of a VueJS and React implementation of the same web app. Visually similar, fundamentally different? Let's find out.

javascript

Building a better bus arrival app

Bus App V2! In this installment, we are rewriting the app in Node and React.

Python

Building a real-time web app with Google Firebase, Python, & VueJS

Building a real time web app to track the arrival time of buses with Python, Firestore, and VueJS!

Frontend Masters

Review: Frontend Masters

My review of my time learning with Frontend Masters. It is a fantastic paid resource that you should definitely consider using.