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[LIVE] How to Achieve Proper Grounding - Rick Hartley - Expert Live Training (US)

Altium · lecture · Watch on YouTube

Electronics & circuit design

What it is

Rick Hartley gives a roughly two-hour live training on proper grounding in PCB design. He explains how energy actually flows in the space between conductors, and how that governs noise, EMI, return paths and signal reflections.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Hailed as the best video on electrical engineering and an essential, eye-opening watch for anyone designing high-speed boards.

  • 9 people recommended it
  • 10 different months
  • 5 strong recommendations
  • first 2021, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “an inspiring vision of how electrical energy flows not in the wires but through the space between the wires”

    Expert explains how electrical energy flows between wires, demystifying noise and antennas.

    PaulHoule, 2021-02 · Strong recommendation · in “Ask HN: Have You Consulted with Experts?”

  2. “The guy is extremely knowledgeable, yet humble, and presents things like grandpa reciting a war story.”

    Essential grounding talk for beginners in high-speed design.

    fxtentacle, 2021-10 · Strong recommendation · in “Teach Me PCB”

  3. “this Rick Hartley video is the recent gold standard of explaining the issues at play”

    Two-hour definitive explanation of signal reflection and grounding issues.

    brunooo, 2023-11 · Strong recommendation · in “Signal Reflections in Electronic Circuits”

  4. “the best video I've ever seen on electrical engineering”

    Explains preventing electrical emissions at the source.

    genter, 2023-12 · Strong recommendation · in “Unveiling secrets of the ESP32: creating an open-source MAC layer”

  5. “this was an ah-ha moment video for me”

    Eye-opening grounding talk, helpful for board design.

    davidhyde, 2024-11 · Strong recommendation · in “Raspberry Pi CM5 is a faster, drop-in upgrade”

  6. “go watch Rick Hartley.”

    Explains signals on multi-GHz boards via grounding.

    mordae, 2023-05 · Recommendation · in “The Mysterious 50 Ohm Impedance: Where It Came from and Why We Use It”

  7. “I feel like you'd benefit from this talk.”

    Long talk on grounding and PDN design in PCBs.

    dragontamer, 2024-06 · Recommendation · in “I like the RP2040”

  8. “this long presentation by Rick Hartley will help move to the next level.”

    In-depth explanation of fields in the dielectric, traces as waveguide.

    nyrikki, 2025-01 · Recommendation · in “Oliver Heaviside and the theory of transmission lines (2021)”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: grounding, pcb design, emi, signal integrity, return paths, high-speed design

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