🔧 Tool of the Week
Scrutiny Debugger
A runtime instrumentation debugger you can embed in firmware to inspect variables, stream graphs, and run HIL tests without stopping the target. Great for bare-metal and constrained systems where SWD/JTAG doesn’t give the full picture. 🔗 https://scrutinydebugger.com/
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🛒 Deals & Finds
- JLCPCB — prototype PCBs from $2
– Fast, cheap prototyping (5–10 boards), useful when you want quick turn PCBs and optional SMT assembly. 🔗 https://jlcpcb.com/kr/promotion/1779971001
- DSLogic Plus (16‑ch, 400MHz) logic analyzer
– Sigrok/PulseView-compatible, lots of channels and deep buffers for protocol debugging without paying Saleae prices. Good mid-range analyzer for a small lab. 🔗 https://www.ebay.com/itm/168251217592
- Black Magic Probe (firmware / open project)
– Drop the BMP firmware onto an inexpensive STM32 board to get a USB-native GDB probe with no vendor tools. Useful as a cheap, open hardware debugger for ARM/RISC-V workflows. 🔗 https://github.com/blacksphere/blackmagic
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🧪 Cool Build
ESP32 Bit Pirate
An ESP32‑S3 firmware + web tools project that turns cheap dev boards into a multi‑protocol bench (I2C, SPI, UART, SWD/JTAG, Sub‑GHz, BLE/Wi‑Fi, flash dump, logic capture and a browser-based CLI). Handy when you want a compact, scriptable bus‑pirate-like tool. 🔗 https://geo-tp.github.io/ESP32-Bit-Pirate/
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📚 Worth Reading
- PCB laminate selection: choose the right material for high‑speed – Practical guide on laminate choices and tradeoffs for prototypes and production. Useful if you’re moving beyond simple FR4. 🔗 https://jlcpcb.com/blog/pcb-laminate-selection-guide
- OpenOCD user guide (0.12.0+dev) – The current OpenOCD docs and changes; good refresher if you use on‑chip debugging and GDB servers. 🔗 https://openocd.org/doc/html/index.html
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⚡ Quick Hits
- PulseView (sigrok) installer via winget — quick way to install the open‑source logic‑analyzer GUI on Windows. 🔗 https://www.wingetly.io/apps/sigrok/pulse-view
- Sigrok downloads & hardware compatibility list — check supported analyzers and CLI tools before buying hardware. 🔗 https://www.sigrok.org/wiki/Downloads
- ESP32 Bit Pirate web flasher & browser tools — flash ready binaries and try the Web CLI without a full toolchain. 🔗 https://geo-tp.github.io/ESP32-Bus-Pirate/webflasher/
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📺 Cool Videos
- ESP32 Bit Pirate — Web tools & demo
– Live web CLI, sniffing and bus recipes shown on the project site (embedded demos and web tools; quick way to see it in action). 🔗 https://geo-tp.github.io/ESP32-Bit-Pirate/web-tools/
- Scrutiny Debugger — demo / download page
– Short demos and downloads (see server/client flow and embedded instrumentation examples). 🔗 https://scrutinydebugger.com/download.html
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Notes: links above point to official project pages, vendor promos, or active listings. Pick one item from Deals & Finds and try integrating it with the tool of the week (Scrutiny + a reliable probe, or ESP32 Bit Pirate + PulseView) — that combo will save you a lot of debugging time.