Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1539283
20 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2025 E L E M E N TA RY, M R . WATS O N If you've ever run a military obstacle course, you know it's less "fun fitness challenge" and more "how can we inflict as much pain in the shortest time possible?" You start fresh—chest out, lungs full of confidence, thinking you might even look good doing this—and 10 seconds later, you're questioning all your life choices. From that first obstacle of a high wall, you hit the dirt for the low crawl under barbed wire and immediately discover two things: gravel and elbows become sworn enemies, and that "low" crawl is an effort to turn a human into a two- dimensional figure. Soon, you're spitting out sand, twigs, and maybe a little of your pride. Running the Signal Gauntlet by J ohn Watson, CID Then comes the rope swing. In theory, it's a graceful arc over a water pit. In reality, it's a comedy reel in which you cling for dear life, miss the perfect release point, and perform a slow- motion belly flop into three feet of cold, muddy water. You now experience the rest of the course in wet socks and boots that feel like they've been filled with lead shot. At the finish line, you're no longer the elite athlete you imag- ined; you're a battle-worn survivor. That's because a military obstacle course isn't a random pile of hazards; it's engineered to test your every capability. It also exposes weaknesses. If you falter in any skill, the course will find it. A PCB functions much the same way for signals, with its own obstacles to overcome. However, most PCB designers don't instinctively think of a PCB as a controlled environment. Rather, they view it as a constructed connection—just make the con- nections from Point A to Point B. The root cause of that prob- lem lies in the CAD tools. On the screen, everything looks flawless: perfect lines and