Ace Your SKEF1223 Report: UTM Thesis Template & TOC Blueprint Explained

As per update on 3 June 2026. Welcome back to another crucial update for SKEF1223 (Digital System), 2025/2026 Semester 2.

As we wrap up our latest class sessions and projects, it is time to shift our focus to the final deliverable: the formal report. To ensure everyone is on the same page and to keep our grading standardized, we are strictly adhering to official university guidelines this semester.

Here is everything you need to know to get your formatting right on the first try.

1. The Golden Rule: Use the Official UTM Thesis Template

Please do not create your document formatting from scratch! For this report, you are required to use the official UTM Thesis Template.

Using this template ensures your margins, line spacing, font types, and citation styles perfectly align with faculty standards. You can easily download the latest verified version directly from the UTM School of Graduate Studies (SPS) website. Make sure you grab the correct version (Word or LaTeX, depending on your preference) before you start typing.

2. Structure Your Report Using Our Table of Contents (TOC)

To help you organize your data, findings, and digital logic designs logically, we have provided a specific Table of Contents (TOC) blueprint below.

Think of this TOC as your roadmap. Use it as a strict guide to structure your headings, subheadings, and experimental analysis. Keeping your report aligned with this structure makes it significantly easier for the teaching team to review your hard work and award you those well-deserved marks!

🛠️ Step-by-Step Action Items:

1. Head over to the UTM SPS website and download the official thesis template.
2. Copy the structural layout from the provided TOC.
3. Plug your SKEF1223 project data into the template sections.

Reminder why important to check D flip-flop polarity before you solder!

This is an important reminder as per today, 22 December 2025. Please double-check the polarity of the D flip-flop before soldering it onto the board.

Why it matters: Soldering it with the wrong polarity can damage other parts of the board. It could burn out the voltage regulator, cause the electrolytic capacitors to fail, or worst of all, end up fry the main Black Pill microcontroller.

Where to look: The correct placement is shown on Page 51 of the guide. Based on the position marking on the PCB, the chip should be placed at the bottom of its footprint.

Common mistake: Do not place the position marking up near the 1 kΩ SMD resistor. That is the wrong spot and polarity.

Final reference: Always compare your work with the picture of the fully assembled board on Page 5 to make sure everything is in the right place.

Taking one minute to check this now can save hours of troubleshooting and repairing damage later.

At the end of the day, there’s no point in blaming components or the PCB. Sometimes the culprit has been holding the soldering iron all along.

Better safe than sorry is the best practice here.

🔌 Testing a 100W USB-C Cable for Phone & Laptop Charging

Taken on the afternoon of 17 June 2025, I finally got to deliver the 3-meter 100W USB-C cable to my customer for a live test. We wanted to confirm if it could handle both super-fast phone charging and laptop power delivery. And it didn’t disappoint!

The results were impressive:

✅ When connected to a 65W fast charger, it successfully delivered super-fast charging to his phone.

💻 It also able to charged his Lenovo ThinkBook laptop without any hiccups.

The customer was clearly happy. Not just with the cable's performance but with the convenience of getting the right cable delivered and tested on the spot.

If you're in the market for a reliable long cable that handles both your phone and laptop, a certified 100W USB-C cable is definitely worth it.

Until next time, have fun choosing the right tech accessories that keep your devices powered up! ⚡✨

A Facilitator's Diary: Navigating the SMD Soldering Marathon with 10 Groups

Friday, 5 December 2025, was a marathon. A long, technically demanding, and ultimately rewarding day spent monitoring the SMD soldering work for 10 out of 11 groups in my Microprocessor class. This hands-on assignment is done in PCB lab where theory meets the delicate tip of a soldering iron, and today, our journey began with Component Group 1: the formidable Black Pill board. Started from 8 am to 1 pm. Continued 3 pm to 5 pm.

The Plan: Solder, Check, Blink

The objective was clear, a sequence I meticulously outlined for every group:

1. Solder the Black Pill onto its carrier board.

2. Check every connection under the magnifier for bridges or cold joints.

3. Program it to complete the rite of passage: making the onboard LED blink.

🧩 Keil µVision Installation Problem: Missing Compiler 5

It all started after I shared the Keil µVision installation manual with the students on 9 October 2025. Everything seemed fine at first, until our class session on 15 October 2025. When several students reported encountering the “missing compiler 5” error during program build.

At that time, I reviewed their installation steps one by one, but the issue persisted. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the error came from a missing ARM toolchain component, a corrupted setup, or path configuration in Keil µVision.

By 29 October 2025, after our follow-up class, I noticed the problem still hadn’t been fully resolved. Between teaching, project supervision, and updating other course materials, I decided to dedicate some time to recheck the installation sequence myself in the morning 30 October 2025.

After about 40 minutes of testing, troubleshooting, and re-verifying the installation paths, I finally found the root cause; and the correct fix for the missing compiler 5 error. During that time, I also updated the installation manual with the corrected steps.

However, I haven’t shared the updated manual in the class Telegram group yet. Only a partial explanation and end result. were posted there. To help students who needed a quick reference what they should achieve in the end while I continue refining the full document for clarity and completeness.

Until then, have fun in trouble shooting error in Keil µVision.

📚 When Templates Are Ignored, Horror Happens

On the morning of 25 September 2025, I spent 1 hour and 55 minutes reading through an undergraduate student’s work report. And let me tell you, it was pure horror.

The student had been instructed to use the UTM thesis template, which already comes with all the correct formatting built in. The beauty of the template is that it does the heavy lifting: margins, fonts, heading styles, and even the table of contents update automatically. All the student needed to do was use it.

But no. The prepared formatting was deleted, and everything was done manually instead. The result? A report where even the table of contents has to be updated line by line, page by page. Something that could have taken seconds now takes hours.

This is what happens when people don’t understand, or don’t want to understand of the tools given to them. Despite clear instructions already included in the template, they decided to go their own way. The reader, of course, ends up tired and annoyed. And yes, this kind of attitude can directly affect marks.

By this stage, students are already adults. They need to be responsible for their own work, their grades, and ultimately, their future. Unfortunately, many only realize the value of discipline and precision after entering the workplace. where sometimes too late.

From my own experience, good documentation habits made a huge difference when I was involved in bid management. Once a project was secured and handed over to the project team, no one came back to ask me questions. Because everything they needed was in the handover documents. That’s something I take pride in.

Not everyone may feel the same way about documentation, but here’s my final advice: follow the instructions given. Use the tools provided. They’re there to help, not to make life harder.

Logic probe to check short circuit

The following took place on 22 January 2025 at noon, when I finally had the opportunity to use the logic probe, which was borrowed from the Digital Lab with the assistance of one student. After being suggested by the lecturer as troubleshooting tool. I successfully demonstrated its use to a student experiencing an unstable display on their SDK V4 board, identifying the short-circuited area that required soldering to achieve a more stable connection.

The student who borrowed the logic probe was unfamiliar with its operation. This highlights the importance of understanding how to use advanced tools—having the right equipment is ineffective without the knowledge to operate it properly.

The soldering on the IC socket leads in the circular area appears insufficient.

Following the demonstration, the rest of the students became motivated to repair the connections on their own SDK V4 boards.

I encourage them to continue learning and experimenting with the logic probe to enhance their skills.

Packing components for 9 set of SDK V4 board

On the afternoon of February 20, 2025, I received assistance from a lab mate in packing components for nine sets of SD V4 boards. The sorting process took him five hours, after which I spent an additional 30 minutes organizing the sorted components into individual packages.

My lab mate was surprised by my structured sorting method, as he preferred to simply place all components into the package without pre-sorting, believing that students should take the initiative to sort the components themselves as part of their learning process. However, based on my experience with the current generation of students, I developed this sorting sequence to minimize repeated questions and confusion, ensuring a smoother experience.

Despite these efforts, I was reprimanded by a lecturer for still following the initial component grouping, even though I had updated the manual soldering guide based on students' feedback after assembly. Due to work overload, I had been unable to fully reorganize the components without additional support for documentation. However, with my lab mate's assistance, I was able to update the component inventory, identifying shortages such as the need for five additional IC sockets. This enables the lecturer to place an order for the remaining components, which are expected to arrive by early March 2025.

Until then, happy sorting components for your kit!

Helping out to test keypad function on SDK V4 board

This is taken on the evening of 21 February 2025. Where I stay back to assist for checking marks for students and those who wanted to test program keypad and DIP switch function on their SDK V4 board.

After Maghrib prayer time.

The look of my asam boi drink by 10 pm.

Near 10 pm.

After 10 pm.

The happy look after successfully program interrupt on the keypad to SDK V4 board. And present the functional keypad to the lecturer.

Worth the time spend for these students. Since they successfully program interrupt for keypad on their SDK V4 board.

It is my own initiative to stay back and monitor. Since the students have put on effort. So, I am willing to spare my time yo help out. As I also once student like them too.

Until then, have fun in program interrupt on keypad to SDK V4 board. 

Gifted lunch food by students of Microprocessor class

On the afternoon of 14 February 2025, Group 14 from the Microprocessor class generously gifted lunch to their lecturer, another student from my lab, and me as a token of appreciation for the time and effort we dedicated to helping them with their class assignment.

Before the lecturer and the male student left for Friday prayers, we took a photography session to commemorate the moment.

The look of the gifted food package. 

6 pieces of fried chicken. 

The portion taken by the male student of my lab.

The portion taken by the lecturer. For his tea break. It does helps a lot as after that he stay back to finished up his marking works.

My portion from the gifted food.

Receiving such appreciation from students was truly heartwarming. Despite offering my help as a voluntary effort, seeing their gratitude made it even more rewarding. They showed a greater willingness to learn and take initiative compared to the rest of their classmates.

Although I was not paid to assist them, this gesture made me feel appreciated for my time and dedication. Both their lecturer and I often remind students to show gratitude to those who help them. This principle is something we try to instill in them.

Beyond this meal, I also received a pack of chips from another group of students as a small thank-you for assisting with their classwork.

It’s always a joy to witness students practicing gratitude. Remember to appreciate those who help you. Whether through a meal, a simple thank you, or another thoughtful gesture.

Until next time, let’s continue spreading kindness and appreciation! 

Harvesting rambutan using long pole trimmer

This photo was taken on the evening of 24 January 2025, after I helped harvest ripe red rambutan fruits. My colleague had been talking about it for the past two weeks, and it was a rewarding experience after completing all the tasks below. The sweetness of the fruits made it worth enduring the bites from the angry weaver ants (kerengga) that swarmed me.

The students in the PCB Lab are seen here wrapping up their SDK V4 boards for the Microprocessor class assignment, right after the Jumaat prayer.

Later, students came to the Vecad Lab to show their progress on the SDK V4 boards and to collect extra components to replace those damaged by incorrect soldering techniques. They also picked up their marked Test 2 papers for the Microprocessor subject, after 5.20 pm.

A quick photography session was held to document that all students had taken their Test 2 papers and completed their soldered SDK V4 boards.

Until next time, enjoy the work and the full day's schedule!

The look of fully assembled SDK V4 board

This document details the SDK (System Development Kit) V4 board for the Microprocessor class, finalized and fully assembled as of noon on 20 January 2025. Below are the features and development process for the board:

Overview of the SDK V4 Board

Front View: The board features key interfaces for microprocessor learning.

Back View: Shows the compact and well-designed component layout.

Components:

• IC socket configured for the Black Pill STM32 microcontroller.
• LEDs, 7-segment displays, keypads, and DIP switches are provided on the SDK V4 board for students to program and observe output functionality.

Development and Contributions

The SDK V4 board was designed and developed by the UTM Johor Bahru team, led by:

1. Dr. Zulfakar Aspar, FKE, UTM : Primary contributor for concept and design.
2. Ryan, 3rd year, Electronic Undergraduate : Responsible for hardware design and PCB assembly.
3. Me : Focused on software testing, documentation, and manual creation.

The collaboration among team members was crucial for the successful development of this board.

Assembly Challenges

• Component Type: The SDK V4 uses SMD (Surface-Mount Device) components, which are small, fragile, and densely packed. This increases the complexity of soldering and assembly.
• Best Practices: Assembling components incrementally and testing each stage is essential. For example, Group 10 successfully tested and assembled one 7-segment display at a time before completing all four units, ensuring proper connections and functionality [1].

Programming Support

The SDK V4 board is compatible with the following development environments:

1. STM32CubeIDE
2. Keil uVision
3. Arduino IDE

For the Microprocessor class final exam, Keil uVision is the primary platform for questions involving assembly language programming. However, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with STM32CubeIDE for broader programming capabilities.

Conclusion

The SDK V4 board offers a practical learning platform for programming STM32 microcontrollers. It equips students with hands-on experience in both hardware and software development. 

Enjoy exploring the capabilities of the SDK V4 board and mastering the STM32 microcontroller!

Reference:

[1] Assembly Tip: Incrementally assemble and test components, such as connecting and testing individual 7-segment units, before proceeding to full assembly. This ensures connection accuracy and simplifies troubleshooting. Example done by Group 10, SKEE 3223: Microprocessors (Section 9 & 10), Semester 1-2024/2025.

https://youtube.com/shorts/FCHz6SIEJvg?si=8EWaoYNWsFDQHyCz

The look of quiet Microprocessor class

This photo was taken at noon on 8 January 2025, during the Microprocessor class. The students were unusually quiet, as they typically only exhibit this level of silence during test sessions.

That day, I was giving a briefing on the SDK V4 board, which was the first design using the STM32 microprocessor. The lecturer had asked me to brief the students before distributing the SDK V4 PCB boards and components. However, I requested to hand out the hardware first, and this sequence worked well. One group even noticed that I had forgotten to include a voltage regulator in their set, indicating they were paying close attention to the briefing and thoroughly inspecting their hardware.

I had divided the components into nine sets, and on that day, I only distributed three of them.

Overall, it was a productive class, and I hope the students enjoyed learning about PCB assembly.

Reference:

[1] Sorting components for SDK V4 board with ARM  Microprocessor https://serinurulbeauty.blogspot.com/2025/01/sorting-components-for-sdk-v4-pcb-board.html

Sorting components for SDK V4 PCB board

This was taken at noon on 7 January 2025, when I received help from a group of students from the Microprocessor class to sort the components for the SDK V4 PCB board. The task took 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete due to my detailed and meticulous sorting method. I prefer organizing the components thoroughly to ensure students don’t need to ask me which parts are for specific soldering tasks. For example, I have grouped the needed components for power supply part on the SDK V4 PCB board. Which I have also make the presentation slide on its assembly. 

I had to adopt this approach as I am currently tied up with finalizing my thesis corrections and managing other work and tasks. I am truly grateful for the assistance from these three students—it made a significant difference.

Close up on the components arranged by group. This is for Group 2 (power supply). For Group 1 is the Black Pill STM32F411 board set.

Until then, have fun in sorting components for your PCB board assembly.

Compiling errors and solutions from Module 8 and 9 of Microprocessor class

This was taken at noon on 19 December 2024 while I was compiling the errors and solutions from the assembly code that students encountered during the Microprocessor class the day before.

This serves as a diagnostic report after allowing the students to use their own laptops to compile the assembly code from Modules 8 and 9. I had provided the necessary steps to the students in class and encouraged them to work on it within their respective groups. Initially, I was instructed to demonstrate the process in class, but I felt it would be more beneficial for the students to try it themselves—and this decision proved to be correct.

From the diagnostic report, it became clear that 98% of the students made the same basic mistake: failing to save the project file in a newly created folder. Despite this, 9 groups were able to successfully resolve their errors, 1 group is still struggling, and another 6 groups have yet to provide any updates on their progress. Failure to submit updates will, unfortunately, result in no marks for the class exercise.

Preparing this kind of report is tedious and time-consuming. However, if it’s not done promptly after the class, it’s easy to forget the details by the following week. That said, documenting these errors and solutions is a great practice for self-improvement and professional development. Of course, this approach may not work for everyone, as individuals have their own methods of handling such tasks.

Until next time, have fun creating diagnostic reports after each session!

Reference:

[1] Tested assembly code from slides Module 8 of Microprocessor class https://serinurulbeauty.blogspot.com/2024/12/tested-assembly-code-from-slides-in.html

Tested assembly code from slides in Module 8 of Microprocessor class

This was taken at noon on 18 December 2024, while I was testing assembly code from the slides in Module 8 of the Microprocessor class.

Despite having taught the class last 13 November 2024 before their Test 1, I still encountered students last 9 December 2024 asking why their code wouldn't compile in the Keil uVision software. This demonstrates that many of them haven't even attempted to compile the assembly codes from the earlier notes after being taught.

I was asked to compile the assembly codes because the lecturer wanted me to demonstrate to the students how the code is compiled. You can see that I test the assembly code page by page. This approach saves time and avoids creating multiple project files. I can also comment on the code line by line as needed to show examples incrementally. Alternatively, one could create separate projects for each page—this is entirely up to the individual testing the code.

This is essentially part of my consultation work, which happens behind the scenes. Often, people perceive that I do "nothing" because I’m not working on the front-end tasks. Many assume this work is simple and easy for others to do, especially with daily practice. However, I recall when someone took over my role in 2015 and complained about the amount of work and hassle involved—even though they were confident initially. It’s worth noting that even this person, a male, found the workload challenging. It seems my tasks only look easy to others.

Until then, enjoy testing assembly codes in Keil uVision software!