Devlog #3: Pivot, Wiring Struggles, and Learning the Hard Way
– From Aug 13th to Aug 18th 2026 –

Alr, a lot has happened since Devlog 2!

First off, I traveled back to Egypt on August 13th, and the internet here is honestly making video editing a whole mission. I was originally using Google Vids and its AI auto-trimmer to cut out silences from my documentary footage, but uploading massive video files to Drive here completely destroys the internet plan and takes forever. I tried switching over to Premiere Pro (which my laptop usually handles pretty well), but it started lagging badly and making my laptop run super hot. After wasting about 3 hours trying to get it to run smoothly with zero luck, I decided to completely pivot: I’m setting aside the documentary video for now and focusing on keeping a detailed journal.md directly in the GitHub repo instead, uploading as many progress time-lapses there as I can.

On the hardware side, I started modeling the electronics in Fritzing. Even though it’s only my second time using it, the connections are insanely annoying to trace out. I’m pretty sure some of the schematic lines look wrong on paper, but I have the whole circuit clear in my mind, so I just modeled it anyway to visualize the layout. I’ll make sure everything is hooked up correctly when I actually assemble the physical board.

I also finalized the Bill of Materials (BOM) and did some price comparisons across different stores. To keep things safe, I added a few crucial safety measures like an inline fuse and a rocker switch so nothing accidentally shorts out or catches fire.

Speaking of not blowing things up, I reached out to a fellow engineer, Mustafa Qasid (a mechatronics engineer and currently a B1 aircraft maintenance engineer at EgyptAir), to get his feedback on my circuit setup. Huge shout out to him! He was super supportive, though he made it clear he won’t give me direct shortcuts on the electronics. He wants me to learn through trial and error, but he promised he’d step in and tell me if anything I wired is genuinely dangerous or going to go kaboom. If it’s safe, he’s letting me figure out the best way on my own, which I really respect.

Next up, finishing the parts procurement and actually getting hands-on with the physical build. Thx for reading!