RF power meter design
Over Christmas, I’ve been thinking about making a more concerted effort for an RF power meter. I made a prototype a few years back, but the issue with this was that the electronics seemed to work, but I never got around to finishing the C++/Arduino code necessary for an intended network functionality. But now is the time, there are plenty of available microcontrollers that can run Python (MicroPython), and there are powerful AI’s to do some of the heavy lifting for the scaffolding.
In a dialogue with Claude Code I have vibe-coded and designed a new version of a power meter. This new version is planned to have two channels, with the possibility of having different sensors to plug in (AD8307 for lower frequencies, maybe later I can add a AD8313 or an ADL5513 for higher frequencies). All these sensors from Analog Devices are take a RF power reading and convert to a DC voltage, and the main controller is basically digital control and an ADC reading from the sensor.
The current design notes are available at github. I must admit that I’m impressed with how Claude Code both imitates a partner one can have discussions with and a junior partner that keeps track of documentation, consistency across files and such. Claude makes mistakes, about software architecture and electronics, but dialogue to correct this is like this junior partner also has an interest in getting the project to work - and it is not so automated that I feel left out of the loop.