Extra Credit Blogs Are Worth Doing -- Experimenting with Flyback Transformers

Yes, I find new score system interesting, encouraging and competitive. It will help judges while giving scores but blogs relative scoring will be both helpful to them and also this will make sure judges are in full line with a particular participant's blog's entries.

My score is the lowest but it's quite fairly scored when I check the other participant's blog.

With the extra detail people are adding, the blogs have allowed for commenting a bit more in-depth, for people to bounce ideas off each other. Very useful both for people reading the blogs, and the contestants.

Even if people are unsure what to write, perhaps a blog with their current thoughts, what they are thinking of doing with the components, could kick-start a conversation to help move forward.

I've taken part in several design challenges on element14 simply for the joy of continuous learning, free from any pressure regarding the final result. While it may sound cliché, the most valuable aspect of these challenges lies in the journey itself.

Crafting a blog isn't a walk in the park, especially for me. English isn't my native language - I'm Spanish, with French as my second language. My primary gain from these challenges is refine my English skills, and the secondary one is delving deeper into something that has always fascinated me: electronics.

Why commit to regular blog writing during the challenge? Firstly, it unveils the difficulty of creating a coherent blog before showcasing your project. You get accustomed to the text editor, ascertain which file formats are accepted, and, most importantly, master the art of organizing your thoughts.

I'm not adept at blogging; it's an ongoing learning process, and I'm admittedly slow. My routine involves jotting down things I've learned or wish to share in a disorderly manner. Subsequently, I spend days contemplating how to impart coherence and structure to my notes. Eventually, I decide, 'Enough is enough!' - things need to end. I begin rearranging the notes, attempting to establish a logical sequence. Summarizing, creating diagrams, revisiting unclear images, and the most arduous part - deleting content deemed unnecessary or reserved for a subsequent blog.

Once I believe I've completed the process, I let it rest. Miraculously, everything falls into place in my head. I never understand how, but I end up completely restructuring the blog one last time before its ultimate publication.

Choosing a blog topic can be a bit of a challenge. For me, it's straightforward - I write about what I've learned. Every now and then, I might add something I already knew. However, I often prefer design challenges where I'm a total beginner. This approach gives me a sense of security in case things don't go as planned. In these challenges, even a small success feels like a major personal triumph.

Yet another motivation for frequent publishing is the valuable feedback from fellow competitors and readers. They ask questions, offer ideas, boost your confidence, and help address any lingering doubts you might have subtly mentioned in your blog. Plus, you won't feel isolated in the challenge. As a participant, I truly value reading the blogs of others - it's a rich source of learning, fresh insights, and areas to enhance.

This covers a lot. Thanks for writing. As the program manager, I agree with all those things, with one addition:  these incremental extra credit blogs give community members a chance to follow along and learn from the blogger. If you only write the final project blog, we don't know what you have done over the previous 8 weeks. 

Yes. The extra ones, with their more free format, are often the little gems.

the feeling of incompleteness is what's blocking my progress with the extra blogs. I've so far run through the characterization of the transformers and chokes, set up some test circuits and explored a few commercial flyback supplies, but don't know where would be a good place to stop for a first blog, so i've been working mostly toward the final project, but i also know that having absolutely everything i've done in that final blog would make it too crammed!

i'll try to find a good way to split the project then bring it together at the end

This mental block is normal, we all go through it. The advantage is that you have five extra bullets for the competition. If you don't get the first ones right, you can improve your aim. Posting early will help you focus on the challenge, and sharing your fears about the project is a good way to release them.

Anthocyanina  I am not participating in this design challenge so what would you have me know?  What do they do?  Show me how they work.  If I were to do this, where or how do I start?  What crazy aspect of physics makes them work?
I know that these are just restatements of rscasny's list above, but maybe the idea in question form can help you start writing.  To use javagoza's metaphor, to at least load a round in the chamber.

oooh! i like this, thank you!

That's the way I like to create my blogs... by giving community members a chance to follow along, even if it means starting from, or discovering that you've started from, a point of misconception. With the feedback that's given, I find it's a great way to learn, adapt and develop.