Designing a Modular Capacitive Button Controller Challenge

Join the community at https://hub.fernekes.com — help us build the perfect solution! We're designing a universal module that makes controlling capacitive touch buttons on appliances incredibly simple—no disassembly, no hand soldering required. In this deep dive, we engineer the circuit from first principles, explain why switching diodes beat reed relays, and solve the mechanical challenges to keep everything under $3. We're building this together with community feedback, so head over to https://hub.fernekes.com to share your design ideas, catch issues, and help us hit the mark.