Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1436094
20 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2021 have that more easily. It's what you're able to see or visualize, or to be inspired on how to solve a problem. ose same characteristics help with art. Brooks: When I was a kid, my dad was teaching me about printed circuit boards using a 10-watt audio amplifier. e schematic was inside the Texas Instruments data manual. It was one of the example circuits in there. I built it up and made it work, and that was a great experience. It got me started. I think I was about 14 years old. Shaughnessy: What else would you like to share about this topic? Brooks: I have a short story. My dad used to work for Aerospace Incorporated, and when he was down at UCSD working on the Pioneer 10 space program, he made all his own printed circuit boards; like an artist, he wanted to sign them. He would put his initials or his name on the lower part of the board. Dr. Walker Fillius, the PhD running the project, was a little con- cerned because when you're doing aerospace and rockets, every ounce that you send up costs a lot of money. We l l , o n e o f h i s b o a r d s e n d e d u p g e t t i ng o n t h e Pioneer 10. After my dad passed away, his boss, Walker Fillius, told me, "Someday long aer we're all gone, that probe is going to be very close to the eye of the constellation Taurus." I think the name of that star is Antares. Walker continued, "So maybe someday the little green men up there will be puzzling over what those initials were there for." at was a cute story about artists on the art side. I knew a lot of guys who wanted to put their initials on their boards because they were very proud of what they did. Olney: I used to put a little red spider on mine. Brooks: Ha, ha. I love it. Olney: But the CAM guys used to delete it all the time because they thought it was just a piece of something that didn't belong there. Brooks: Yes. Aer I did microwave boards, I realized that that loose copper tacks could also act like a really good antenna and reflect unwanted signals around the board at those higher frequencies. Shaughnessy: Really good, guys. anks for talking about this. Pfeil: ank you. I enjoyed it. Olney: anks, guys. DESIGN007 Charles Pfeil is a retired PCB layout software archi- tect. Bill Brooks is a senior printed designer at Nordson ASYMTEK. Barry Olney is the founder of In-Circuit Design and an I-Connect007 columnist. Painting by Barry Olney.