Homebrew PCBs

I tried them Advanced PCB (www.4pcb.com and www.barebonespcb.com ) years
ago, and got so frustrated I gave up. I talked to some friends in Boulder
about them too, and they did not have nice things to say about customer
service either, but they did say that when you finally get a board, it is
well done.

Back then, they had great deals too, but everytime you needed something in a
hurry, inevitably, your gerber would be corrupted, your email would be lost,
your phone call never got recorded, and on and on. From an outsiders
viewpoint, it almost appeared they managed shop floor loading by delay
tactics. I don't think I ever got a successful board processed from them.
Yet the same gerber files sent to other vendors were just fine.

On a positive note, my sw guy has had good success with advanced pcb a year
ago. He was so excited with the pricing, we tried again. After 3 days of
messing around with down servers, lost emails, and headaches, my pcb
designer gave up, and payed another firm twice as much. Granted, their
barebonespcb website is new, they may have fixed a lot of internal problems.
I sure hope so.... as their prices are great, and the quality is pretty good
per others I've talked too.

Now as far as the outfit in Canada, AP Circuits. One client got boards in 72
hours including passage through customs. From what I've been able to gather,
AP Circuits really has a handle on all phases of the business, but their
prices are a little higher. I guess in this case, one gets what they pay
for. For a home project, Advanced PCB is probably a good choice. For a time
critical development project, DIY, or even AP Circuits seems a better
solution.

Ron