Blog — keiltronic engineering

Circuit board with a mounted radio module on the bench, next to an SMA antenna with pigtail cable, an analyser showing a frequency trace in the background

August 7, 2026

Why we do not design antennas — and still ship radio devices

Bluetooth, BLE, NB-IoT, LTE-M: our devices use radio — but we do not design the antenna ourselves. Why that is a deliberate workshop decision, what a radio module really takes off your hands, and where our work actually lies.

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Field device with antenna on a pole in a mountain landscape; the dashed radio link to the distant mast is interrupted by a red cross

August 7, 2026

When the firmware update breaks off mid-transfer

Over cellular, a connection does not drop occasionally — it drops regularly. Why an update path into the field is designed from the failure case backwards, and the three questions it must answer before the first device uses it.

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Older circuit board under a bench magnifier, next to yellowed schematic printouts, a notepad and probe tips

August 7, 2026

Taking over someone else's firmware without breaking it

A series-production code base written by somebody else — and no engineer left to ask. How we take over a running firmware: understand first, then secure the state, only then change it.

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Dark workbench: small black device without a display, a single green LED lit; a laptop beside it, an oscilloscope in the background

August 7, 2026

Headless: diagnosing a device with no screen and no keyboard once it sits at the customer's site

Many embedded devices have neither display nor keyboard — and when something fails, they are hundreds of kilometres away. Why diagnosability is a design decision, not a retrofit, and which questions a device must be able to answer remotely.

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SMD tape reels and a component tray with one empty pocket on the bench, next to a printed bill of materials with a pen

August 7, 2026

Choosing components for availability: what a discontinuation costs once the device is shipping

A discontinued component can force a proven electronics design into a redesign — circuit, layout, testing. Why we select components not just by datasheet but by remaining lifetime, and what that means in practice during the design phase.

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Production line with rows of identical white antenna devices; in the foreground an opened unit with circuit board and battery on the bench

August 7, 2026

A product lives for ten years: what series support really means

The series release feels like the finish line — in fact it is where the longest chapter in a product's life begins. What these years really bring: discontinuations, firmware states, production questions, updates — and what that means for the development before.

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White base station with antenna and network cable on a concrete pillar in an industrial hall, surrounded by six small radio nodes with indicated link lines

August 7, 2026

A dedicated base station: why some devices should not go online themselves

The reflex says: put a SIM card or Wi-Fi into the device and be done. For wearable and battery-powered devices in fleets, a dedicated base station can be the better path — what it does, what it costs, and when to choose which way.

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Battery-powered radio device with antenna on a workbench, lithium cells on the left, overlay cards reading MQTT, CoAP and HTTP on the right

August 4, 2026

Why the protocol determines the battery life of your device

MQTT, CoAP or HTTP? On mains-powered devices it is a matter of taste. On battery devices, the choice determines whether the device runs for months or for years.

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Black radio device with antenna on technical documents, behind it two binders with EU flags labelled RED and CRA

August 4, 2026

RED and CRA: What is coming for device manufacturers — and when

Two EU regulations demand cybersecurity inside the device. The deadlines are already running. What that means for products in series and in development.

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