PCB design & electronics
A circuit board only becomes useful when it survives contact with the rest of the product.
Electronics as a connected discipline.
My interest in Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and open hardware led into custom circuit boards and firmware integration. For GrowRight, this meant working through both the electrical design and how the resulting boards fit the product.
Design for integration.
Board design means more than tracing connections. It includes connectors, power budgets, layout, component availability, test access, manufacturing constraints, and assembly. The details matter because a board must ultimately work in its enclosure with its intended peripherals.
Build feedback into the process.
CNC approaches and modern PCB fabrication services make short-run experimentation accessible. Pick-and-place assembly can help once designs are stable, but the first goal should be making a board that is clear, testable, and serviceable.