alt Hacker NewsWhy, yes I am.
I know Ben is having some fun, perhaps making a valid point, with the burning component on the breadboard. I think it does underscore a difference between software vibing and hardware vibing—crash vs. fire.
But in fact vibe-breadboarding has drawn me deeper into the electronics hobby. I have learned more about op-amps and analog computing in the past two months in large part thanks to Gemini and ChatGPT pointing the way.
I know now about BAT54S Schottky diodes and how they can protect ADC inputs. I have found better ADC chips than the ones that come pre-soldered on most EDP32 dev boards (and have breadboarded them up with success). These were often problems I didn't know I should solve. (Problems that, for example, YouTube tutorials will disregard because they're demonstrating a constrained environment and are trying to keep it simple for beginners, I suppose.)
To be sure I research what the LLMs propose, but now have the language and a better picture in my mind to know what to search for (how do I protect ADC inputs from over or under voltages?). (Hilariously too, I often end up on the EE Stack Exchange where there is often anything but a concise answer.)
5V USB power, through-hole op-amp chips… I'm not too worried about burning my house down.
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I just wanted to vote with my feet and say that my experience echoes yours closely.
Modern coding agents have a remarkable grasp of circuit design and the net result is that they keep pushing me to learn more, faster.
I do find that I often have to specify that I only want parts that are "active on Digikey" because otherwise it will recommend obsolete parts. However, I consider this just like reviewing code generated by an LLM. You don't get a pass on reading datasheets or verifying statements.
I recently had GPT 5.2 spit out a progression of circuits that can amplify a dynamic mic signal to line level, simple to complex, with the intention of finally learning how good amplifiers work. Adding transformers and gain stages with the different OPA family parts and hearing the hum disappear and noise floor drop is the best kind of education.
A tip: BAT54SW specifically is the best part for protecting your pins.
> I have found better ADC chips than the ones that come pre-soldered on most EDP32 dev boards (and have breadboarded them up with success).
Depending on your setup: beware of your ground and realize that breadboards are an extremely bad fit for this sort of application. It's hard enough to get maximum performance out of a good DAC on a custom designed PCB, on a breadboard it can be a nightmare.
Know the risks, prepare for them, get a little burned now and then, have fun... sounds like a recipe for learning to me.
Just this morning I was vibing with Gemini to make a battery-powered stove monitor to sell that I might call "Yes I turned off the stupid stove" :-)
Gemini was suggesting the circuit design and of course I'd do the final work myself, but I find vibe-circuit-building to be quite valuable.
> vibe-breadboarding has drawn me deeper into the electronics hobby.
Exactly. I'm a life-long software guy, but I've dabbled in electronics at various times. But typically I'd hit walls that I just didn't know how to get past, and it wasn't easy to find solutions. If I'd had an LLM to help, I'm pretty sure I'd have become much more deeply involved in electronics.
Both Gemini and ChatGPT have a pretty comically wrong knowledge of op-amps. They usually recommend outdated chips and are confused about circuit topologies. I was looking at this last week and it hasn't changed. I asked them to suggest and evaluate microphone circuits and they were just bad. I would really, really recommend reading some human-written text if you're learning about that.
I can't think of any reason why you'd want to use Schottky diodes to protect op-amp inputs. They have high leakage currents and poor surge capabilities. Most op-amps have internal protection diodes, and if you need some extra ESD or overvoltage protection, a Schottky diode probably isn't the way.
I'm not taking an anti-LLM view here. I think they are useful in some fields and are getting better. But in this particular instance, there's a breadth of excellent learning resources and the one you've chosen isn't good.