My electronics projects, teardowns, and notes on embedded systems, engineering and history.https://snikolaj.com/https://snikolaj.com/2026/06/07/mcu-fpga-electronic-multitool/https://snikolaj.com/2026/06/07/mcu-fpga-electronic-multitool/Working with development boards and programmers tends to be quite annoying.Sun, 07 Jun 2026 22:05:19 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2026/05/03/geran-2-shahed-136-drone-hardware-analysis/https://snikolaj.com/2026/05/03/geran-2-shahed-136-drone-hardware-analysis/This is an engineering analysis of a publicly documented weapon system based on parts lists released by the Ukrainian government and other open sources.Sun, 03 May 2026 20:30:46 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2025/11/11/building-my-long-desired-lab-bench-power-supply/https://snikolaj.com/2025/11/11/building-my-long-desired-lab-bench-power-supply/Four years ago, as I was starting to learn about electronics, I was a high school student with almost no money of my own in a country where Amazon doesn’t exist and import fees are about 50%.Tue, 11 Nov 2025 13:26:45 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2025/11/02/on-competence-centers-in-the-modern-world/https://snikolaj.com/2025/11/02/on-competence-centers-in-the-modern-world/I’ve built a lot of personal projects. I’ve taken part in a lot of group projects. When one does so many projects, one tends to learn a lot about how projects are done.Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:59:40 GMTGeneralMetahttps://snikolaj.com/2025/08/28/chinese-10x10cm-350w-hotplate-review/https://snikolaj.com/2025/08/28/chinese-10x10cm-350w-hotplate-review/As QFN and BGA packages become more popular with chip manufacturers, being able to solder tiny SMD packages now seems like a non-negotiable ability for hobbyists or startups who want to up their game.Thu, 28 Aug 2025 19:46:58 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2025/07/07/lenovo-tab-m11-review-update-1-5-years-later/https://snikolaj.com/2025/07/07/lenovo-tab-m11-review-update-1-5-years-later/After a year and a half of daily use of my Lenovo Tab M11 as a student, I wanted to write an update to my Lenovo Tab M11 Review: The Best Student Tablet.Mon, 07 Jul 2025 17:07:09 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2025/05/31/how-to-fix-raspberry-pi-4-5-zero-2w-failed-to-add-edge-detection/https://snikolaj.com/2025/05/31/how-to-fix-raspberry-pi-4-5-zero-2w-failed-to-add-edge-detection/I was writing a Python script on my Raspberry Pi Zero 2W to scan a matrix keypad I built for a DIY synthesizer project, and I kept getting the following error: RuntimeError: Failed to add edge detection whenever I used the GPIO.Sat, 31 May 2025 22:26:54 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2025/05/21/chinese-components-in-russian-military-drones/https://snikolaj.com/2025/05/21/chinese-components-in-russian-military-drones/The rate of drone advancement in the Russia-Ukraine war in just the past three years has been indescribable.Wed, 21 May 2025 22:43:41 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2025/04/19/niki-the-robot-online-remake/https://snikolaj.com/2025/04/19/niki-the-robot-online-remake/Link to online version: Niki the RobotNiki the Robot (Niki der Roboter) is an Ancient German (1990s) educational programming language and game.Sat, 19 Apr 2025 01:21:43 GMTSchoolhttps://snikolaj.com/2025/03/09/my-dream-calculator-elektronika-mk59-part-1/https://snikolaj.com/2025/03/09/my-dream-calculator-elektronika-mk59-part-1/I believe that the popularization of personal electronic calculators has been one of the biggest advances in education and technology of the 20th century.Sun, 09 Mar 2025 03:06:48 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2025/02/27/redoing-my-pic-thermometer-project-with-ai/https://snikolaj.com/2025/02/27/redoing-my-pic-thermometer-project-with-ai/With the release of the new Claude 3.7 Sonnet (mostly) coding model, I decided to try it out with an embedded project.Thu, 27 Feb 2025 16:20:53 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2025/02/07/on-economic-planning-and-scarcity/https://snikolaj.com/2025/02/07/on-economic-planning-and-scarcity/In this article, I’ll discuss Marton Konya’s paper “Planned Economy and Economic Planning: What The People’s Republic of Walmart Got Wrong about the Nature of Economic Planning | Mises Institute” in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics.Fri, 07 Feb 2025 04:06:58 GMTThoughtshttps://snikolaj.com/2025/01/29/my-thoughts-on-ai/https://snikolaj.com/2025/01/29/my-thoughts-on-ai/I’ve been interested in AI ever since GPT-2 came out in 2019. My first use for it was to generate Shakespeare fanfiction for a creative writing homework assignment for my English class.Wed, 29 Jan 2025 19:33:57 GMTThoughtshttps://snikolaj.com/2025/01/13/10eur-aldi-auto-ranging-multimeter-review-ans-24-146/https://snikolaj.com/2025/01/13/10eur-aldi-auto-ranging-multimeter-review-ans-24-146/When doing electronics stuff, I often find myself in need of two multimeters. Usually, it’s when I need to measure both the voltage and the current of a circuit or power supply.Mon, 13 Jan 2025 17:20:25 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2024/12/16/guide-to-switching-voltages/https://snikolaj.com/2024/12/16/guide-to-switching-voltages/One of the main things you’ll do in electronics is switch voltages. However, for both beginners and advanced electrical engineers, the task of choosing a method of switching can be quite difficult.Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:57:15 GMTElectronicsWikihttps://snikolaj.com/2024/12/08/standard-interesting-electronic-components/https://snikolaj.com/2024/12/08/standard-interesting-electronic-components/This is a categorized list of standard and interesting electronic components that I've found over the years. It's sorted by component area of use and type.Sun, 08 Dec 2024 01:01:45 GMTElectronicsWikihttps://snikolaj.com/2024/12/01/processors-used-in-military-equipment-2/https://snikolaj.com/2024/12/01/processors-used-in-military-equipment-2/This is a list of microprocessors, microcontrollers, FPGAs and CPLDs used in military equipment. This information is for curiosity purposes only.Sun, 01 Dec 2024 02:35:28 GMTElectronicsWikihttps://snikolaj.com/2024/12/01/processors-used-in-military-equipment/https://snikolaj.com/2024/12/01/processors-used-in-military-equipment/Uses an Intel 4004, which is the first microprocessor to go to space!Sun, 01 Dec 2024 02:34:42 GMTElectronicsWikihttps://snikolaj.com/2024/11/16/743/https://snikolaj.com/2024/11/16/743/When you want to do something approximately, quickly, easily, and very reliably, you can always go with an analog circuit.Sat, 16 Nov 2024 19:10:38 GMTElectronicsWikihttps://snikolaj.com/2024/10/12/all-you-need-to-know-about-studying-in-germany-2/https://snikolaj.com/2024/10/12/all-you-need-to-know-about-studying-in-germany-2/This blog post is the sequel to the enormous previous post on studying in Germany. These are my experiences after having been here for one year.Sat, 12 Oct 2024 21:52:17 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2024/10/10/how-to-fix-mplab-mcc-melody-stuck-at-handshaking-content/https://snikolaj.com/2024/10/10/how-to-fix-mplab-mcc-melody-stuck-at-handshaking-content/I updated my MPLAB from v5.45 to v6.2 recently, but when I tried to use my favorite MCC, it decided to turn into MCC Melody.Thu, 10 Oct 2024 22:45:32 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2024/09/24/lancet-military-drone-analysis/https://snikolaj.com/2024/09/24/lancet-military-drone-analysis/Continuing my exploration of Russian military hardware through the Ukrainian government’s open-sourcing of captured equipment, this time, it’s the turn of the much-feared Lancet drone.Tue, 24 Sep 2024 01:16:26 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2024/09/20/keychron-k3-review-the-best-value-optical-keyboard/https://snikolaj.com/2024/09/20/keychron-k3-review-the-best-value-optical-keyboard/As a kid, I always dreamt of building my PC. That may sound weird, but look at this blog - there are few markers of sanity.Fri, 20 Sep 2024 15:06:41 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2024/09/18/my-political-beliefs/https://snikolaj.com/2024/09/18/my-political-beliefs/I’ve had many people ask me both in real life and online what my actual political beliefs were.Wed, 18 Sep 2024 22:00:15 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2024/09/14/epson-workforce-wf-2935-review-the-best-value-printer/https://snikolaj.com/2024/09/14/epson-workforce-wf-2935-review-the-best-value-printer/As a student in Germany, I often find myself needing to print and scan paper.Sat, 14 Sep 2024 17:17:32 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2024/08/29/706/https://snikolaj.com/2024/08/29/706/This is (hopefully) going to be the start of a new series where I just share obscure songs I like from all around the world (but mainly Eastern Europe and Western Asia) and a brief explanation with them.Thu, 29 Aug 2024 22:40:15 GMTMusichttps://snikolaj.com/2024/07/28/three-column-integral-table/https://snikolaj.com/2024/07/28/three-column-integral-table/For my university math course, I needed to make a cheat sheet with some common integrals and derivatives.Sun, 28 Jul 2024 19:47:40 GMTSchoolhttps://snikolaj.com/2024/07/01/lenovo-tab-m11-review-the-best-student-tablet/https://snikolaj.com/2024/07/01/lenovo-tab-m11-review-the-best-student-tablet/Quick note: I posted an update to this review here detailing my experience of daily use after a year and a half. You should read it after this one.Mon, 01 Jul 2024 21:11:53 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2024/06/26/supercam-s350-military-video-uav-analysis/https://snikolaj.com/2024/06/26/supercam-s350-military-video-uav-analysis/About a month ago, the Ukrainian Ministry of Intelligence released a massive and comprehensive list of foreign electronic components used in Russian military equipment to show everyone just how reliant the Russian military is on Western components.Wed, 26 Jun 2024 16:14:55 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2024/06/13/i-joined-a-rocketry-club/https://snikolaj.com/2024/06/13/i-joined-a-rocketry-club/I have an extreme need to constantly design or build something. In high school, I could never sit down and focus on tasks - I always turned them into personal design challenges.Thu, 13 Jun 2024 15:31:52 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2024/05/08/advanced-electrical-io-protection/https://snikolaj.com/2024/05/08/advanced-electrical-io-protection/This is a series of three posts I wrote for my university's WARR Rocketry club concerning IO protection for the rocket. They are copied verbatim.Wed, 08 May 2024 18:03:39 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2023/12/17/648/https://snikolaj.com/2023/12/17/648/I have a story to tell. In 2017, I wanted a new PC. My parents always wanted me to earn my electronic devices, so I saved up for years to buy a new PC.Sun, 17 Dec 2023 16:55:47 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2023/12/17/how-to-add-a-python-script-to-the-send-to-menu-in-windows/https://snikolaj.com/2023/12/17/how-to-add-a-python-script-to-the-send-to-menu-in-windows/I always like looking for automated solutions to repetitive tasks, even if they take me much more time to make than I save by automating them - something about context switching or whatever that in the end makes me more productive.Sun, 17 Dec 2023 16:25:11 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2023/11/22/the-guide-to-slaying-cas-in-the-ib-program/https://snikolaj.com/2023/11/22/the-guide-to-slaying-cas-in-the-ib-program/CAS can be an annoying subject in your IB experience, but only if you let it. CAS, simply explained, just requires you to do stuff that might even help other people.Wed, 22 Nov 2023 12:03:14 GMTSchoolhttps://snikolaj.com/2023/11/21/the-ultimate-ib-science-ia-guide/https://snikolaj.com/2023/11/21/the-ultimate-ib-science-ia-guide/This enormous text guide will tell you everything that you need to know to do a proper IB Science IA.Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:22:34 GMTSchoolhttps://snikolaj.com/2023/10/11/lenovo-ideapad-3-15ada6-ram-upgrade/https://snikolaj.com/2023/10/11/lenovo-ideapad-3-15ada6-ram-upgrade/As my lovely hand-me-down Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 from 2013 had been falling apart for a few years now and its plastic began to disappear, I decided to go for another hand-me-down Lenovo IdeaPad.Wed, 11 Oct 2023 22:37:08 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2023/10/09/all-you-need-to-know-about-studying-in-germany/https://snikolaj.com/2023/10/09/all-you-need-to-know-about-studying-in-germany/This blog post is aimed at students who want to apply to study in Germany, generally from North Macedonia, but the steps here are applicable to other non-EU European countries.Mon, 09 Oct 2023 17:52:17 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2023/06/26/video-games-challenge-and-me/https://snikolaj.com/2023/06/26/video-games-challenge-and-me/I believe that video games can be an excellent tool for analysing how people think and behave. In this blog post, I’ll discuss how two video games I’ve played have shown me how I look at challenges.Mon, 26 Jun 2023 13:20:00 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2023/03/10/what-are-soldering-fumes-made-of/https://snikolaj.com/2023/03/10/what-are-soldering-fumes-made-of/Unless you can afford SMT assembly for every project, any kind of electronics work will eventually require you to solder something.Fri, 10 Mar 2023 13:22:00 GMTChemistryhttps://snikolaj.com/2023/02/25/vex-robotics-v5-brain-analysis/https://snikolaj.com/2023/02/25/vex-robotics-v5-brain-analysis/This February I participated in this year’s Vex Robotics Challenge (VRC) with a team from my school. We won an award for our design of the robot, and it was truly a good design.Sat, 25 Feb 2023 13:30:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2023/02/09/only-yesterday-lent-et-douloureux/https://snikolaj.com/2023/02/09/only-yesterday-lent-et-douloureux/I’m not a very good writer. I dedicated most of my past years to studying and improving – in terms of media, modernity left me long ago.Thu, 09 Feb 2023 14:04:00 GMTMedia Reviewshttps://snikolaj.com/2023/01/22/project-videosex-intro/https://snikolaj.com/2023/01/22/project-videosex-intro/For those who don’t understand the title – there’s a famous Slovene synthpop group from the 80s called Videosex.Sun, 22 Jan 2023 14:06:00 GMTMusichttps://snikolaj.com/2023/01/14/cells-at-work-code-black-review/https://snikolaj.com/2023/01/14/cells-at-work-code-black-review/This review contains complete spoilers for Cells at Work!Sat, 14 Jan 2023 14:05:00 GMTMedia Reviewshttps://snikolaj.com/2023/01/08/300/https://snikolaj.com/2023/01/08/300/I love music and I love synthesizers. I’ve already written this introduction in a previous blog post.Sun, 08 Jan 2023 13:31:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2023/01/06/greenifying-the-blog/https://snikolaj.com/2023/01/06/greenifying-the-blog/You can call me a hipster, but this blog was meant to be “green” ever since the beginning. By that I mean that it should be minimal, simple and quick to load.Fri, 06 Jan 2023 13:25:00 GMTMetahttps://snikolaj.com/2022/12/03/building-an-8052-basic-computer/https://snikolaj.com/2022/12/03/building-an-8052-basic-computer/I have a friend. Well, I have more than one, but I have a particularly peculiar friend. Now, according to both us and other friends, we’re both quite strange.Sat, 03 Dec 2022 13:33:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2022/11/23/building-a-sustain-pedal-for-my-yamaha-dx7/https://snikolaj.com/2022/11/23/building-a-sustain-pedal-for-my-yamaha-dx7/I am a proud owner of a Yamaha DX7 digital synthesizer from 1984. It’s essential that I mention that.Wed, 23 Nov 2022 13:34:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2022/11/06/a-short-analysis-of-crying-all-the-time/https://snikolaj.com/2022/11/06/a-short-analysis-of-crying-all-the-time/A very dear friend of mine has a really cool playlist from where I found some really cool songs I hadn’t known before. One of the songs, towards the bottom, is Alexandra Savior’s Crying All The Time.Sun, 06 Nov 2022 15:21:06 GMTMusichttps://snikolaj.com/2022/10/24/%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8-%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B8/https://snikolaj.com/2022/10/24/%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8-%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B8/По повод „прва објава на македонски јазик“, на мојот блог би сакал да споделам неколку ретки документи со голема историска важност за луѓе кои истражуваат за македонскиот антифашистички отпор во Втората светска војна.Mon, 24 Oct 2022 13:57:00 GMTМакедонскиhttps://snikolaj.com/2022/10/11/building-a-dual-voltage-usb-uart-converter/https://snikolaj.com/2022/10/11/building-a-dual-voltage-usb-uart-converter/The USB-UART converter is the Swiss army knife of the post-Arduino hobby electronics world.Tue, 11 Oct 2022 13:36:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2022/10/09/309/https://snikolaj.com/2022/10/09/309/I like music and I like electronics, so mixing music with electronics is something I would presumably like more.Sun, 09 Oct 2022 13:36:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2022/08/22/a-collection-of-my-transcribed-songs-in-midi/https://snikolaj.com/2022/08/22/a-collection-of-my-transcribed-songs-in-midi/As a very curious person in general, I often like to look for patterns in things. I also enjoy listening to very diverse genres of music.Mon, 22 Aug 2022 13:55:00 GMTMusichttps://snikolaj.com/2022/08/15/a-log-and-lessons-learned-from-electronics-repair/https://snikolaj.com/2022/08/15/a-log-and-lessons-learned-from-electronics-repair/This article contains a mostly detailed log and process of doing a laptop upgrade, and then generalized lessons from it all the repairs and upgrades I’ve done.Mon, 15 Aug 2022 14:56:33 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2022/08/11/building-a-7-segment-display-driver-with-a-custom-protocol/https://snikolaj.com/2022/08/11/building-a-7-segment-display-driver-with-a-custom-protocol/Sometimes, when on vacation in a Central/Western European country, I visit hobbyist electronics stores. I’m always amazed at how many electronics modules there are for any purpose.Thu, 11 Aug 2022 13:38:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2022/07/19/plc-reusing-and-recycling/https://snikolaj.com/2022/07/19/plc-reusing-and-recycling/A few months ago, while talking with an amazing friend, I mentioned that I have an affinity towards old 8-bit microprocessors.Tue, 19 Jul 2022 13:39:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2022/06/18/americas-artillery-supercomputer/https://snikolaj.com/2022/06/18/americas-artillery-supercomputer/In most modern conflicts, it is artillery that causes most of the casualties.Sat, 18 Jun 2022 13:27:00 GMTGeneralhttps://snikolaj.com/2022/05/01/accurate-analog-measurements/https://snikolaj.com/2022/05/01/accurate-analog-measurements/The 8051 microcontroller, in its stock configuration, does not contain an inbuilt ADC.Sun, 01 May 2022 13:40:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2022/04/23/diy-pic-based-thermometer/https://snikolaj.com/2022/04/23/diy-pic-based-thermometer/This is a blog post detailing my construction of a thermometer, from the planning phase, to parts choice, to construction and to final results.Sat, 23 Apr 2022 13:40:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2022/04/03/building-a-diy-bench-top-power-supply/https://snikolaj.com/2022/04/03/building-a-diy-bench-top-power-supply/As a high school student in a country with extremely limited import capabilities, my choices of equipment for my electronics hobby must be necessarily modest.Sun, 03 Apr 2022 13:55:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2022/04/01/chemistry-balancing-made-easy/https://snikolaj.com/2022/04/01/chemistry-balancing-made-easy/Imagine you’re doing a chemistry exam, and you’re at the last question.Fri, 01 Apr 2022 13:29:00 GMTChemistryhttps://snikolaj.com/2022/03/23/8051-clocking/https://snikolaj.com/2022/03/23/8051-clocking/Most 8051s work with a clock speed from 0-24MHz, though some can go much faster. The 8051 can use a crystal or any external clock output.Wed, 23 Mar 2022 13:29:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2022/03/19/8051-io-ports/https://snikolaj.com/2022/03/19/8051-io-ports/When you set a port as 1, you enable its pull-up resistor. It can’t source much current (“enough for 3 LSTTL loads”).Sat, 19 Mar 2022 13:28:00 GMTElectronicshttps://snikolaj.com/2020/10/19/three-rs-of-recycling-recycle/https://snikolaj.com/2020/10/19/three-rs-of-recycling-recycle/Required materials:Mon, 19 Oct 2020 13:19:00 GMT3R Projecthttps://snikolaj.com/2020/10/19/three-rs-of-recycling-reuse/https://snikolaj.com/2020/10/19/three-rs-of-recycling-reuse/Required materials:Mon, 19 Oct 2020 13:18:00 GMT3R Projecthttps://snikolaj.com/2020/10/19/three-rs-of-recycling-reduce/https://snikolaj.com/2020/10/19/three-rs-of-recycling-reduce/Required materials:Mon, 19 Oct 2020 13:17:00 GMT3R Projecthttps://snikolaj.com/2020/09/27/some-much-needed-advice/https://snikolaj.com/2020/09/27/some-much-needed-advice/Sometimes things just don’t work out as planned. I planned to have this blog post out by Wednesday. I predicted that my “beta testers” would finish by then. They didn’t.Sun, 27 Sep 2020 13:07:00 GMTGNOME CEChttps://snikolaj.com/2020/09/21/its-all-about-the-looks/https://snikolaj.com/2020/09/21/its-all-about-the-looks/For example, these very beautiful covers for books of that time show what I am trying to explain:Mon, 21 Sep 2020 13:10:00 GMTGNOME CEChttps://snikolaj.com/2020/09/15/how-i-made-the-project/https://snikolaj.com/2020/09/15/how-i-made-the-project/For such a simple project, why even use a game engine?Tue, 15 Sep 2020 13:13:00 GMTGNOME CEChttps://snikolaj.com/2020/09/14/the-first-steps/https://snikolaj.com/2020/09/14/the-first-steps/To get ideas for the mockup of my project (link), I revisited the items that gave me the inspiration for the project.Mon, 14 Sep 2020 13:14:00 GMTGNOME CEC