Gems of Wisdom

  • Get a physical platform built as quickly as possible.
  • Once a circuit design is set, solder it, don't wait for all your circuits to be finished. Soldering can be tedious and mind-numbing, and you don't want to have to do it all in one sitting.
  • When an encoder wheel is stopped such that the boundary between blocked/unblocked is in the slot sensor, it may register a lot of quick edges, causing ridiculously high RPM readings.
  • Test the top speed of your encoders before attaching them.
  • When soldering onto a perf board, having the right tools makes you much happier.
  • WATCH OUT FOR COLD SOLDERING! It may cause problems you don't expect.
  • DON'T USE LEADLESS SOLDER! It is awful and causes cold soldering. See gem above.