Week of 12/15 - 12/19

This week, we were finally able to figure out what was wrong with the PCB. Previously, we believed the issue with the PCB was due to the capacitor. But after I tested a few different capacitors and no capacitor, I found that the capacitor did not affect the PCB or how it works. This week, while debugging the PCB, I assembled the breadboard version of the PCB to easily switch out the various components for testing. While testing, Mr. Christy realized the breadboard version had a different resistor than the one on the PCB. We decided to omit the resistor completely because we were using lights that didn't necessarily require a resistor to run them. After taking away the resistor on the breadboard, we found that it turned on the clock perfectly fine. I then shorted the connection on the PCB and found that it ran the code with no issue. That was the issue with the PCB the whole time, we did not need a resistor to run it, and our use of it caused the board to be super finicky.

After shorting the connection for the resistor, the issues with the PCB were pretty much completely resolved. The only thing that remained was that the board would shut off if the PCB moved even a little bit. But this issue is an easy fix because it is mostly due to damage from continuously plugging in and taking out the various components. This is easily resolved by us finalizing our PCB design and getting it manufactured so it's more stable for our final product. In our final design, we removed the resistor and added three more power and ground connections in case we need them in the future to circulate power through the clock more effectively. This way, we have the option to modify the clock easily if we need to. We also kept a space for the capacitor in case we need one in the future.

Since I am finally done debugging the PCB, I decided to make a birthday gift for my little sister, as it is coming up very soon. She's just recently started competing in gymnastics competitions, so I decided to make a board that she could hang her medals on after her meets. So far, I have the sketch of the design for this completed, and I'm working on creating it in CAD so I can cut it out in the laser cutter soon. I should be able to have all the pieces cut out on Friday.