Logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and at least one good "Man, that
firmware problem took me all weekend to debug, but I got it" story.

Engineers that can't find mistakes quickly will rapidly whittle away
whatever speed their other skills give them, especially here, where
all the world's analog weirdness and digital timing issues collide
with all the fun and excitement (cough) of software debugging.

Build some neat circuits, then deliberately break them by making the
same typical mistakes in them you know they're likely to walk into.
Teach them how to spot the problems quickly and hunt down the causes
without going nuts.

Teach them how to estimate job time-- not just the time it takes to
design and build a circuit, but how to have a rough estimate of how
long it will take to debug or repair a glitchy prototype.  Not any
easy skill to get, but oh, so valuable if you can manage it.

Cheers,
   Matt Heck
   Crystal Engineering Corporation

PS:
Being primarily a software guy myself, I'm still working on that last
bit.  My latest theory is to just leave off the units of time:
"...and exactly how long will this take, Mr. Heck?"
"Five, sir.  Possibly six."
"Five or six what?  Days?"
"That's the part I'm not sure of, sir.  But it's definitely five or
six."

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Wouter van Ooijen [mailto:wouter@VOTI.NL]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 1:04 PM
> To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject: Re: [EE]:Equipment suggestions for a student electronics lab
>=20
>=20
> > So, aside from the standard issue type stuff (scopes, function
> > generators, meters, parts assortments, etc.), is there=20
> anything anyone
> > can suggest that we should be looking at? Anything that anyone would
> > like to see fresh B. Eng's having experience in?
>=20
> This must be a joke, you forgot the microcontrollers! So: some flash
> PICs, a programmer, a PC with MPLAB and some compilers.
>=20
> And don't forget documentation: magazines, datasheets, 'the art of
> electronics', and of course a fast internet connection...
>=20
> And what about making PCBs?
>=20
> Wouter van Ooijen
>=20
> -- -------------------------------------------
> Van Ooijen Technische Informatica: www.voti.nl
> consultancy, development, PICmicro products
>=20
> --
> http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList
> mailto:piclist-unsubscribe-request@mitvma.mit.edu
>=20
>=20
>=20

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