Gems of Wisdom

Use the MPLAB Simulator to test out your state machines, without having to wait for all your hardware to be built

Wire up the power distribution board as soon as possible. Supplying power to all of your circuits through the power distribution board is the most reliable way to ensure low-noise common grounding (and check that the board still reliably works after B)

Learn what you want, divvy up work based on what skills you want to develop in your last quarter of 218

The logic analyzer gives you more information to debug XBee communication than Tera Term print statements

The controller is like an A project, and the watercraft a B project, so look back at issues you had with those projects

Use plastic bags to safeguard your electronics for water testing while you are still building up your water-proofing methods

If during testing you notice issues with your electronics (ie: bad switch connection), take the opportunity to replace those parts with new ones. Duct tape solutions will catch up to you when it matters most.

Strain relief your wires

Consider which parts of your enclosure you'll need to open and close during testing, for charging batteries, etc. Strive to make these connections as robust and easy as possible.