[sdiy] breadboard

[TooManySynths]

This is good discussion.  Having recently started
doing this stuff again, I have to laugh at the first
stuff I threw together.  It's really been years since
I have done any serious "hobby" electronics and I'd
almost forgotten some basics.  Back then it was
ham-radio, I just love tiny battery powered hf gear. 
Anyway, I like this approach, and I'll probably give
it a try. One thing that is really important to me is
to not have gear break down just because I have to
move it around a bit, and I do plan to use much of my
homebuilt stuff live.  

Now, if you saw the first VCO I built, you'd laugh,
it's ugly!!  But I soon re-discovered the method of
using perfboard with copper clad as a single sided
pc-board of sorts.  There are some pictures on the net
of the technique.  My current stuff has almost no
crossing or loose wires running about as I prefer to
use jumpers accross the top like you would on a single
sided pc board.  The new stuff you can bounce against
a wall, it seems quite solid.  

But the point I want to make is that I completely
agree about laying stuff out. In fact, I find even a
small amount of planning during that phase makes a
HUGE difference on the number of jumpers I have to
use.

I suspect the bottom of your boards looks much like
mine, only you have less solder :)

Just my .02
Daryl


--- harry <harrybissell at prodigy.net> wrote:
> Hooboy that would be a long one...
> 
> The board is available from Mouser and other
> sources.   The large sizes
> are made of  CEM-1 Epoxy Glass Composite... you get
> more sq. inches
> but the board is easier to break (and cut....) The
> FR-4 material is the same
> stuff normal etched PC boards are made from.
> 
> You can cut to size (hopefully before you start...
> its easier) by scoring along
> the predrilled holes with a knife and breaking it
> over the edge of a table or
> so (like you would cut glass)
> 
> The pins (see a catalog picture) are pushed into the
> holes in the board with
> a tool (about $10 or so... but you can make your own
> pretty easy). The
> pin has a slot in the top that accepts a resistor
> lead, etc. The part that sticks
> out the bottom has a tiny hole that you can stick a
> wire through... or just
> wrap around the pin and solder.
> 
> You use one pin per component lead (best) so any
> component can be removed.
> you CAN fit more than one lead in... if you need to
> tack in a cap across a
> resistor (for instance) that is easy to do as an
> afterthought.
> 
> I use some 22ga wire... and strip the insulation and
> use individual strands
> (thats 28ga each). these fit through the holes
> easily. I use teflon insulation
> as insulation (like 24ga tubing to fit over the 28ga
> wire...). Solder one end
> of a wire...and leave long. Cut the insulation to
> length, slip over the wire...
> solder. If you are daisy-chaining several
> connections... then keep running
> the same wire... adding insulation as you go. The
> teflon is expensive... but a roll
> will last for years of use. AND teflon will NOT MELT
> at soldering temperature...
> so there is no chance of getting shorts that way !!!
> 
> If you plan ahead (on paper) you can make most of
> the connections with no
> insulation at all. I just use it if the wire will
> cross another.
> 
> The technique of "how to" lay out the components is
> something that you need
> to learn. I learned as a child when my father set me
> up with some parts to
> solder (so I would shut the fvck up and leave him
> alone....) I said "Hey Dad
> how does this look ???" He said "That looks like
> shit... kid..... If your gonna do
> this
> then learn to do it right.  See this transistor...
> it has three connections... one
> resistor
> up... one down... one to the input.  So lay the
> parts side by side... like logs...
> so you can use ONE WIRE to make all the connections
> at once...."  The idea is this
> keeps
> the connections short... and this is really the
> basis for printed circuit layout as
> well.
> That lesson probably will be worth at least a
> half-million dollars over a career...
> so
> the criticism was WELL worth it !!!
> 
> P.S.   Use IC sockets.
> 
> H^) harry
> 
> alex dickey wrote:
> 
> > > I use unclad perf board (vector board) with T-42
> push in terminals... and
> > > when I'm done (unless it gets too big...) it can
> go right from the development
> > > bench into a box to be used on the road for the
> next twenty years... which
> > > the solderless breadboard cannot do.
> > >
> > > OTOH those terminals cost $.04 each... in
> thousands. But they allow as much
> > > re-soldering as you can stand... perfect for
> trying out new values.
> > > If you leave the leads a little long you can
> reuse components just as easily.
> > >
> >
> > can you say more about this?  not sure i
> understand the concept.  links?
> >
> > alex
> > --
> > http://www.geocities.com/aurelialuz
> 


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