Homebrew PCBs

at least the PCB fabrication process.
http://www.xavierkamial.com/images/Demo%20003%20small.JPG

I probably will do the asembly for a while, until I can get enough money to
outsource that as well.

- 25 mil traces, 20 mil spacing.
- 6" x 6" double-sided.
- 132 components on top, only 5 are thru-hole.
- 175 holes.
- 444 solder points.
- blood.
- sweat.
- tears.
- many, many swear words.

I ran it through the autoroute feature of QCAD and it got stuck on 2 pins.
So I started routing this 2 days ago and finished earlier today.  And QCAD
was running 16 mil traces, mine are nearly twice as thick.  Another reason I
like routing manually is 'cause I learn the circuit, making future testing
easier.  My traces are also much more user friendly than QCAD's, I tend to
keep stuff grouped.

Now I'm just sitting here staring at the schematics and all the layouts,
wondering if I'm not over my head.  I know I'll do the prototype
"eventually" using toner transfer, maybe a few demo units at the most.  I've
got everything on hand for the prototype, but I need to order more LCDs if I
want to make more units.  A small CNC drilling station sure would come in
handy about now.

Robert
:)



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