About Atomic Frenzy

About

I’m Stuart Rogers — a self-taught hardware and firmware developer with over a decade of experience building embedded systems, custom PCBs, and fully integrated embedded designs.

Early Curiosity, Real-World Growth

My journey started young, experimenting with Linux systems and growing increasingly curious about how computers worked. A high school computer science class sparked my interest in programming, and I dove into Java throughout my teen years. While I eventually moved away from software development, that early foundation shaped how I approach embedded design today: with structure, logic, and a deep respect for the stack.

In 2013, while working retail at Target, I rekindled my passion for electronics. I taught myself to solder, probe circuits with a multimeter, and interpret signals on an oscilloscope. My first builds used an Arduino Uno interfaced with C# desktop apps — a stepping stone that quickly evolved into hand-designed analog and digital circuits. I’ve since worked with STM32, EFM8, ESP32, AVR, and PIC platforms, always pushing for designs that feel polished, robust, and intentional.

Embedded Systems, IT, and Infrastructure

Later that year, a local trade school owner gave me an opportunity to design real hardware. That led to a sponsored role at Mid City College, where I developed an NFC-based access control system — evolving from a basic Arduino sketch into a full embedded platform with networked backend, C# configuration utility, and MySQL database. I also managed the college’s IT infrastructure: pfSense routing, VoIP systems, virtual machines, and direct student tech support. It was a formative experience in systems thinking, bridging embedded, backend, and user-facing interfaces.

In 2016, I briefly joined Occam Vision Group in Boulder, Colorado. There, I assembled high-speed computer vision systems, operated a pick-and-place machine, reflowed boards, calibrated five-camera arrays, and supported prototype EFM8 firmware bring-up — reinforcing my appreciation for disciplined hardware workflows and production constraints.

Atomic Frenzy

After the trade school closed in 2019, I shifted my focus toward self-employment. In 2020, during the early stages of the pandemic, I returned to Vermont and launched a small eBay business selling multimeter OLED displays. These began as refinements of open-source community designs, but quickly evolved into original products—each one a combination of simulation, custom PCB design, and practical engineering.

My products include:

I design schematics in Altium, model enclosures in SolidWorks, and prototype using my own fleet of 3D printers (four FDM and one SLA). I ship tested, working tools that I personally design, build, and support.

Among my most ambitious projects is the XVA_TouchStack — a hardware interface for FPGA-based synthesizers (XVA1 and XFM2). It combines audio out, CV in, MIDI I/O, USB UART, capacitive touch, power sequencing, and FPGA integration. The firmware supports real-time CV modulation, preset recall, and FPGA state reading.

I later developed a Pi 5-based variant running a Windows 7 QEMU VM for FPGA programming, alongside a local LLaMA 1B model. This allowed natural-language synth queries, audio classification, and a full retrieval pipeline from generated sounds. It’s an unusual but powerful integration of embedded control, edge AI, and retrocompatibility — built entirely from scratch.

Life Transitions and Independent Work

In 2020, during the early stages of the pandemic, I returned to Vermont and began shifting my focus toward self-directed technical work. I launched a small eBay business selling multimeter OLED displays—initially based on open-source community designs from the EEVBlog forums. These soon evolved into original products, including a logic probe requiring detailed analog simulation and VNA tuning. Each design reflects my hands-on, iterative workflow: schematic capture in Altium Designer, enclosure modeling in SolidWorks, small-batch production using desktop manufacturing tools, and continuous field testing.

Looking Ahead

I’m continuing to build and document projects under the Atomic Frenzy label while exploring remote opportunities in embedded systems, edge AI, and full-stack hardware development. I’m especially interested in technologies like the ESP32, STM32, and AI-capable platforms such as the NDP101.

Outside of engineering, I’ve developed a growing interest in Chinese language and culture. I’ve considered spending time in Taiwan—either for extended travel or as a remote base of operations. While I’m not looking to change fields, I see language learning and international experience as valuable complements to a flexible, sustainable technical career.

My long-term goal is to continue developing useful tools, collaborating with others in the embedded space, and building a path that combines autonomy, curiosity, and real-world engineering.

You can find my code and designs on GitHub, explore Products I’m currently selling, or reach out if you’d like to collaborate. I’m always building.

Contact: [email protected]