Engineering on Friday ‘toon: Start, Error, Throw

How every "getting started" guide should read.

Cabe Atwell

Related To:

Electronic Design

June 26, 2026

2 min read

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*I hand-drew this cartoon - no AI involved.*

Setup Guide:

Step 1: Start.

Step 2: Error.

Step 3: Throw.

Yes, I’m expressing some of my frustration with certain dev boards.

I don’t know how many times I get errors just doing the “getting started" guides. I have one board in particular that led me to draw this 'toon. It had built-in cellular connectivity. It even came with two prepaid SIM cards with X amount of data on them.

I just ran the walkthrough setup for the cellular, and I got all sorts of errors. It never connected to anything. I couldn’t even ping anything. Hours and hours of trying everything I could... and nothing. I got in contact with their tech support, but they couldn’t help. I tried the last resort — forums — for help. Never worked.

So, I tossed it on the pile of other dev boards I don’t want to bother with. Life is short. Way too short to do the heavy field testing for the companies that made the parts. I think that’s why platforms like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and ESP-32 are so popular. All of the troubleshooting has been done in their long histories of existence.

Esoteric, one-of platforms from whomever are often rife with problems, like the one I faced. I will admit, I like what they make, they sometimes look good, too, but functionality – not so good. “I don’t want a project before I start working on my project.” This is in quotes since I say it so much. But, it’s true. I want to get to whatever I intended to make originally; zero time for anything else these days.

Have you all ever encountered this problem? What do you do?

Leave some comments below.

The pens I used. They're like magic, honestly.

Hand-Drawn, Zero Digital

I drew the cartoon by hand on paper. I just scanned it in with no digital cleanup afterward. Looks good.

I went to a sidewalk pen expo in Chicago, and I found these “micro brush” pens. All of the basic colors, including gray, and one black marker. They draw like the digital brushes I use in my drawing applications, but infinitely harder to use, and with no undo. I think it worked out in the end. I couldn’t get the shadow smooth-looking, but I think it kind of adds a little grittiness.

See the rest of my cartoons in the Engineering on Friday comic gallery.

About the Author

Cabe Atwell

Technology Editor, Electronic Design

Cabe is a Technology Editor for Electronic Design.

Engineer, Machinist, Cartoonist, Maker, Writer. A graduate Electrical Engineer actively plying his expertise in the industry and at his company, Gunhead. When not designing/building, he creates a steady torrent of projects and content in the media world. Many of his projects and articles are online at element14 & SolidSmack, industry-focused work at EETimes & EDN, and offbeat articles at Make Magazine. Currently, you can find him hosting webinars and contributing to Electronic Design and Machine Design.

Cabe is an electrical engineer, design consultant and author with 25 years’ experience. His most recent book is “Essential 555 IC: Design, Configure, and Create Clever Circuits”

Cabe writes the Engineering on Friday blog on Electronic Design.

See Cabe's cartoons & comic strips here.