Help Making My Own Circuit Board

[Thoughtless 7]

Could i use copper clad board and some etch to make them, or would getting a Conductive Pen and blank Perf board be easier?

[Paul Marossy]

Perfboard is the easiest way to go.

[cbowen]

One of the wonders of the Internet is online services for things like this. You can get small boards made by companies like www.pad2pad.com. A 3 by 5 inch board would cost only about $40 for two boards (most of the cost is setup) and it will look very professional. It will be more if you want soldermask and skilk screen. They provide the layout software to use as well.

Charles

[lovekraft]

Perfboard is the easiest way to go.

And for those of us less clever and coordinated, there's veroboard (stripboard). And perf doesn't require that conductive pen - just use the component leads and hookup wire. Take a look at some of Paul's perf layouts!

Before we start recommending proto board shops, do you have any experience laying out circuits? Board design isn't exactly trivial, especially for high gain circuits, and there's not much fun in buying some very nicely made boards that don't work (I still have several left from my last "Ooops!!" adventure in board fabrication - useless and expensive, but they sure are pretty!).

[Thoughtless 7]

I have done basic design from when i was at school. Also the book i am doing the projects from also has a scale 1:1 of the boards and how to lay them out, which order, etc. The perf board is pretty cheap, its something like £3/~75c for 5"x6". The pen is about £20/~$15, i have a budget of about £50/~$85 for parts cos i want to try a few projects out.