Getting Started
Design Guide
So you're ready to start your Decode project? I'm glad to hear that! This guide will help you design your project, whether you're following a project guide or building something custom. We'll help you plan, provide you with useful resources and sites, and offer you a nice little checklist so that you're sure you're ready to apply for funding. Let's get started!
Guidelines
Before you start designing your project, here are some requirements to keep in mind:
Required for ALL Projects
Repository with correctly formatted README
DEVLOG file with time tracking
No AI usage in your project
At least one extra feature beyond the guide
The project is finished (design is fully finished)
The project is not a direct copy of any guide (you need to add extra features)
L1 Guide-Powered Requirements
Has 2 significant new features
The extra changes look good and are useful
Is the first project of that guide you've built (you can only follow each guide once, but feel free to make multiple different projects!)
L2 Custom Requirements
Is unique and looks very polished
Has a very clear BOM with individual costs
Is a original design of yours or (if project from a guide) adds changes that set it apart entirely
Components
Want to find the best (and cheapest :D) components for your project? Here are some resources to help you out:
SBCs, microcrontrollers and specific components
In all honesty, the best place to find these is AliExpress. You can find almost everything there, and it's usually very cheap. Just make sure to check the reviews and ratings of the sellers!
PCBs
For PCBs, we recommend JLCPCB. They have great prices and quality! Just be careful, as costs can go up by a lot with tiny changes in the PCB. I would suggest you always go for the cheapest option (unless your PCB is visible and you want it to look good), and always check the price before ordering.
Software
Here are some useful software tools and resources to help you with your project:
IDEs
As you have to use Hackatime to track your project's time, I heavily suggest using VS Code as your IDE. It has never failed me, and it has the best working Hackatime integration. You can use something else though! Just try to see if Hackatime heartbeats work fine.
CAD, PCB design...
As this program is for 18 year old students and under, I suggest you use Fusion 360 for your CAD design, as Autodesk offers it for free. For PCB design, I recommend KiCad (probably easier for most) or Fusion 360 as well. Take into account that you will need to verify your student status on Autodesk, and it may take a few days for them to approve you.
Submissions
Wanting to submit your project? This might help you out:
README.md
Your README needs to include:
Project name, description, why you made it
Screenshots of PCB, CAD...
Correctly formatted BOM
Hackatime project name
DEVLOG.md
Your DEVLOG needs to include:
Description of the changes done
Images that represent your changes
Total time spent
General Repo Structure
Your repo needs to contain:
README.md file
DEVLOG.md file
bom.xml file
ALL CAD and PCB files needed to build the project
Checklist
Ready to submit? Here's a quick checklist to make sure you have everything ready... It will save in your device across reloads, don't worry!