Usually <20% of the design effort in electronics is in the schematic capture and the PCBs … the other 80% is in the SW, and designing a good test program. RF is an exception here, though, since it’s one of the few areas where the actual PCB layout is the most difficult part of the process, and it can take many revisions to get the best results out of the RF front-end.
Unfortunately, there’s also very little good (or at least accessible) information out there on PCB layout for RF. One of the best (rare!) resources, though, is the Microwave Encyclopedia from microwaves101.com. Need some information on microstrips (probably the most common bit of know how you’ll need designing RF PCBs), they’ve got you covered. Trying to figure out how to use a spectrum analyzer to debug RF problems? They’ve literally covered almost everything, well organized in A-Z format. It’s an amazing resource, so if you’re interested in RF, definately have a look!
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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