When Hackaday runs a contest, we see all manner of clever projects. But inevitably there are some we don’t see, because their builders didn’t manage to get them finished in time. [Park Frazer]’s phase-locked loop is one of them. The circuit is an all-discrete PLL that derives a 440kHz output from a 1Hz input, and it arrived just too late for our 1Hz contest.

If you aren’t familiar with a phase-locked loop, in this context you can think of them as a programmable frequency multiplier. A voltage-controlled oscillator is locked to an input frequency by comparing the two with a phase detector.

https://porkfreezer.com/posts/2025/08/1hz-to-440hz-transistor-phase-locked-loop/

Splice Wants to Make Cable Harness Design as Easy as Possible
New browser-based tool gives you a graphical way to quickly and neatly connect things to other things.
https://www.hackster.io/news/splice-wants-to-make-cable-harness-design-as-easy-as-possible-19e23d532e06?fbclid=IwY2xjawLkPV1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHvnWSteTadXKJiHZiLJeAL5nni_fs1wKH96Sohba12n-tNsjWwyuJURCMjLD_aem_CqSD3G1EI2wczrrlf-5rGA

Computer-aided design startup Splice has launched a browser-based tool that makes it easier to connect things to other things — by allowing you to design your own cable harnesses, connectors, and even multi-core cables.

“Splice is a web-based harness configurator that enables simple graphical design and documentation of cable assemblies,” the company explains of its eponymous creation. “Design complete cable harnesses with our drag-and-drop interface. Place connectors, route wires and cables, assign signals, and generate documentation. Create a custom connector when a part isn’t in our library. Design the connector outline and add pins to match your part. Leverage our template library to use common outlines and layouts. Define multi-core cables for your harness designs. Specify conductor properties, insulation, and jacket materials.”

As the company says, the tool is split into three core design flows. The first is the “harness builder,” which provides an SVG canvas into which parts from the Splice library can be inserted and then wired together. There’s smart wire routing, the ability to generate a bill of materials (BOM), and export options including diagrams and engineering drawings.

Where a desired connector type isn’t featured in the built-in parts library, the second flow can be used: the “connector creator.”

At the time of writing, the service included predefined parts from JST, Molex, Samtec, Tensility International, and TE Connectivity,

https://splice-cad.com/#/

I built a circuit designed by AI.

Chapters:
00:00 What is this video about
00:39 Building the circuit
03:47 Installing CircuitPython
05:53 Running and fixing the code
08:33 Results

In this conversation, Antonio Becerra Esteban of CELUS discusses the integration of AI in hardware design workflows, focusing on how the CELUS design platform is freeing up hours for design engineers. We talk honestly about the challenges and opportunities AI presents for designers, particularly for component search and schematic design. The CELUS free tool and platform integrates with Altium, Eagle, and KiCAD. It will announce integration with another leading CAD tool soon!

https://www.celus.io/

Draw your own circuits. Turn on voltage and see what happens. Some features of my program include:
https://brandonli.net/semisim/