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647 Articles

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KiCad… In The Browser?

October 22, 2026 by 6 Comments

KiCad is a useful tool for designing printed circuit boards, but it’s of no use to you if you can’t install it on the computer you’re on. To get around that, [Akshay Rukade] has whipped up a browser-based alternative to help keep you working in less permissive environments. It’s called ZiroEDA.

Quite simply, ZiroEDA is a TypeScript port of KiCad 10.0.6’s C++ source code. You get the schematic editor, the PCB editor, the interactive router, and the electrical and design rule checkers all running in a browser. It can open .kicad_pro files as you’d expect, and you can edit and save them as you would if you were working in standard KiCad directly.

[Akshay] reports that KiCad’s own kicad-cli was used for compatibility testing, and that zone fills came out vertex-identical from ZiroEDA versus using KiCad itself. With that said, the project is still a work in progress, and some dialogs from the original software are still missing. Projects are said to be end-to-end encrypted, but you’ll hopefully lose your job quickly if you try and put anything important to national security through a tool like this. You can always try it, just to give your higher-ups a heart attack.

Source is available on GitHub if you want to see how it all ticks. We’ve featured other great KiCad hacks before, too, like this GPU-accelerated autorouter. If you’re working on PCB tools of your own, don’t hesitate to notify the tipsline.

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Pager Converted To Meshtastic Node

October 14, 2026 by 10 Comments

Text messaging has been around on cellular networks en masse for around three decades now. It’s so common that it’s difficult to remember a time without it. Its two-way quick messaging is incredibly useful, but for even simpler communications there’s a one-way system that predates it. Pagers are able to receive simple messages, but outside of hospitals are rarely used nowadays. Eventually some added in two-way communications like this Motorola T900, but they’re still mostly obsolete. That’s why [zindustries87] converted it to operate on the Meshtastic network instead.

To get this pager working, a lot of reverse engineering was needed. There is essentially no documentation on the chips in these devices, so the screen and keyboard both were reverse-engineered to work with other hardware. In this case, [zindustries87] found space for a Heltec V4 with an ESP32-S3, a popular Meshtastic node with a small form factor. Some programming was needed to get everything communicating together, but from the looks of things it seems to have basic functionality.

[zindustries87] points out that this is a prototype, and didn’t know going in if the keyboard and screen could be brought back to life, or if the other hardware would fit in the case. But with it working on this level, they plan to add a number of other features in and possibly build a drop-in PCB replacement for these devices. They were once fairly popular so there are plenty around, and they’re a good form factor for a dedicated Meshtastic device that doesn’t need a smartphone to work. The only other ways of bringing pagers back to life involve bootstrapping an entire pager network, and Meshtastic is a bit more useful than that now.

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Improved Double-Sided Toner Transfer Method

September 29, 2026 by 36 Comments

In the era before PCB shops would make almost any PCB imaginable, as well making many other manufacturing processes for prototypes available to hobbyists, there were several ways of making PCBs at home. Many of which involve harsh chemicals and were easy to mess up. Getting a single-layer PCB using the toner transfer method, for example, took a bit of practice (and a fume hood) to get right. [Bettina Neumryr] is working on a custom two-layer PCB, and has a new trick to get it to come out right despite the added complexity of the second layer.

The method starts out as a standard single-layer board in effect. Toner is ironed onto a copper board, in this case using a laminator, which allows the board to go into an acid bath which washes away all of the un-tonered copper. But with the second layer exposed, this would wash away the other side of the board completely. [Bettina] is using a new method here to protect that layer during the first bath: covering it in ink from a magic marker. With the first board etched, the ink and toner get washed off and the second layer is carefully lined up, put through the laminator, and then the opposite side gets covered in ink for the second acid bath.

After the process is complete and many layers of ink and toner are removed, [Bettina] is left with a PCB that’s ready to receive electronic components, if a little stained from all the ink. As to what this specific board is going to be used for, she’s kept that a bit cryptic as it’s the subject of a future video. Her builds usually revolve around designs from antique elecronics magazines, so it’s almost certainly something of that nature, and that’s also why this specific design couldn’t be just sent off to a board shop.

Continue reading “Improved Double-Sided Toner Transfer Method” →

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Miniaturizing The Atari 2600 Console

August 20, 2026 by 15 Comments

For as popular as Atari was in their heyday, it wasn’t until well after they were on their famous decline that they released their first handheld, the Atari Lynx. In retrospect, competing with the Game Boy was not going to be a recipe for success even without considering their other problems as a company, and as a result was their penultimate console before exiting the market completely. But [Nick]’s most recent project asks what the world would have been like with an Atari handheld from their golden era, and has been working on this miniaturized version of the 2600.

Unlike any modern emulators which can easily handle Atari 2600 games in almost any form factor today, this console is doing it all with as much original hardware as possible. It uses much smaller switches and buttons compared to the original, and omits some other unnecessary hardware for today’s world like the RF modulator. [Nick] has also designed a custom PCB that reduces the overall footprint considerably as well, and has relocated the cartridge port in preparation for its eventual handheld shape. The result is a console using original hardware that’s less than half the footprint of the original.

Although there were around 30 million Atari 2600 consoles sold and the system is unlikely to be a real collector’s item anytime soon, [Nick] makes sure to note that no real 2600 hardware was harmed in this build. And, as far as its handheld nature, this is a stepping stone on the path to that eventual goal. We’ll look forward to an eventual system that integrates a screen and controller as well as a port for the original cartridges. In the meantime, here’s another handheld 2600 that fits completely inside one of those cartridges.

Continue reading “Miniaturizing The Atari 2600 Console” →

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Flexible PCBs: Not Only For The Few

July 27, 2026 by 2 Comments

Flexible printed circuit boards are a fascinating technique for making electronics venture beyond the two-dimensional, but surprisingly they’re not something many of us have worked with. [Jessica Stanley] gave a talk at the recent Electromagnetic Field event in the UK, exploring the different ways to make your electronics bend.

She starts with an overview of flexible electronics, detailing the techniques used with conventional polyimide substrates and etched copper.  We’re particularly enamoured of a stretchable PCB made by coiling a flexible circuit round a piece of elastic. Since she’s looking for techniques accessible to everyone that don’t either cost a fortune or require dangerous chemicals we look at conductive paint and electrolysis, before arriving at using a vinyl cutter to create adhesive traces.

We’ve no doubt all noticed that flexible PCBs can be ordered from the usual fabrication houses at a price, but the value in this talk lies in reminding the viewer that this is not the only path. She demonstrates well that simple flexible PCBs can be within the reach of almost anyone, which is perhaps the encouragement needed for people to try this medium. The full talk is below the break.

Continue reading “Flexible PCBs: Not Only For The Few” →

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Saving Some Coin With 3D Printed Stencils

July 23, 2026 by 20 Comments

One of the extra tools someone might need when working with surface-mount components is a solder paste stencil, which not only simplifies the application of solder paste to a PCB but increases accuracy. These metal stencils can cost an annoying amount of money and take time to get delivered, so this group has developed a method to 3D print them instead.

Starting with a PCB design in one’s tool of choice, the Gerber files can be sent to the online Stenchill tool to generate the stencil. Alternatively, a KiCad plugin exists as well. The tool will output files for a 3D printer from there. An FDM printer is required, with either PLA or PETG filament, and some configuration in the slicer is needed to get the accuracy required for a useful stencil. But once that’s all set up, the printer can output a perfectly usable stencil at a fraction of the cost, and without having to wait days for delivery through the mail.

It’s not all upside, though. Although it might be better than applying solder paste with a syringe on a massive board or doing more than one smaller board by hand, it may not be as good as a metal stencil for extremely small pads. But for those who often find themselves using metal stencils and dealing with the downsides that come with them, this could be a viable alternative, especially when prototyping.

If you have a laser cutter handy, that opens up some additional options for stencil production.

Continue reading “Saving Some Coin With 3D Printed Stencils” →

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PCBs Straight From The Magazine

June 19, 2026 by 32 Comments

It’s never been easier to get a printed circuit board made. In fact, almost every electronics video out on the internet will incessantly remind you of this fact now. But making a custom PCB wasn’t always as straightforward as sending a KiCad file to a board house. Many DIY methods involve harsh chemicals and tedious processes, but did have the potential benefit of taking much less time than waiting on boards to arrive in the mail. [Bettina Neumryr] is demonstrating one of these older methods, called the toner transfer method, using a circuit that was printed directly in an old magazine.

The first part of the toner transfer method is to create an image that can be printed. Since this circuit came from a magazine, it is first scanned in to a computer and imported into GIMP, where it can be scaled to match the size of the components and then sharpened to make a crisp print. With the image ready, it’s time to print the image onto some toner transfer paper, ensuring that the printer in question is a laser printer which actually uses toner. From there, a sheet of blank copper PCB is prepared and then the toner is transferred by heating, in this case using a laminator. After that its etched, removing all of the copper not protected by the toner, and then the toner itself can be removed which leaves behind the copper traces.

For those of you who were around when toner transfer was in vogue, this video might not have much value. But for anyone who can’t use a board manufacturer for whatever reason or is looking for alternatives, a modern video showing the method could be much more useful and have better context for beginners than videos made a decade or more ago now. Some of those older methods include similar processes using inkjet printers instead, but there are more modern DIY methods as well using lasers or CNC machines too.

Continue reading “PCBs Straight From The Magazine” →