Blog

Engineering Notes

Detailed write-ups on the problems we solve for clients. Streaming platform integration, embedded Linux, RF and antenna work, emissions compliance, and the path from a working prototype to a manufacturable product.

Spotify Connect for Audio Manufacturers: What the eSDK Requires and Why librespot Does Not Ship

A technical account of how Spotify Connect works on a device, what the Spotify Embedded SDK partner program publicly requires, and why the open source librespot project is a prototyping tool rather than a shippable component.

Read the post ->

Inside an Embedded Linux Audio Product: USB DSD Quirks, Kernel Builds and Update Strategy

A working account of the kernel, ALSA and image-build decisions behind a Linux-based network audio player, from adding a USB DSD quirk to shipping signed A/B updates.

Read the post ->

Engineering an Apple Find My Accessory: The Program Gate, the Public Privacy Model, and the Power Bill

A technical account of what it takes to put a battery powered product on Apple's Find My network, covering MFi program access, the publicly documented rotating key model, the unwanted tracking requirements that become bill of materials line items, and the standby power arithmetic on an nRF52840 design.

Read the post ->

Inside the Earcup: Electronics Development for ANC and Beamforming Headsets

A working account of the acoustic, electrical, and packaging constraints that govern active noise cancellation and microphone array electronics in a protective headset.

Read the post ->

FCC Pre-Compliance Engineering: Finding Emissions Problems Before the Tooling Is Cut

A practical look at what FCC Part 15 requires, what a bench pre-scan can and cannot predict, and why emissions work belongs in the schematic phase rather than the week before a certification test.

Read the post ->

From Working Prototype to Repeatable Build: Hardware Development Through Manufacturing Release

What separates a board that works on the bench from one a contract manufacturer can build a thousand times, and the documentation, standards, build stages, and test strategy that close the gap.

Read the post ->

Getting 433 MHz Out of a Machined Aluminum Enclosure

What a sealed aluminum case does to a sub-GHz radio link, and how to design, match and measure an antenna that still radiates once the lid goes on.

Read the post ->

What Roon Ready Certification Actually Asks of Your Firmware

A working engineer's account of Roon Ready integration on an embedded Linux streamer, covering the published certification requirements, native DSD versus DoP, and the ALSA arbitration problem that appears the moment a product carries more than one streaming service.

Read the post ->

Have a Product That Needs This Kind of Work?

Tell us what you are building and where you are stuck. We can take it from schematic through production.