I am extremely impressed with the variety of inexpensive ways to create a circuit board. I struggle with etching a board and it is messy and time consuming and mistake-prone -- at least for me since I am an electronics idiot. I will try several of your techniques. THANKS!! GREAT Video.
@w2aew 1:56 - Saying things like "point to point" and "dress them," unfortunately, will baffle novices. PLEASE: Never, ever use terms of art in introductory videos. Beginners will not understand them, and will not be able to take inference or understand any points building on those terms. Cheers,
I built a small copper clad board when I worked for IBM in the late 80s that used an HP step recovery diode that was used in a TDR in a high end HP oscilloscope (HP54120T) (the diode could only be bought by those who owned the scope and so may have needed it for repair) and the board could generate a 50 ps pulse with an amplitude of 5 volts. Needless to say it needed to have a very strict 50 ohm impedance throughout with minimal impedance discontinuities. It used rigid coax and sma connectors.
Great coverage of commonly-used techniques - showing how practical circuits were built is very educational for new builders. Also, having seen Dave AA7EE's circuits in person, I agree: he is an artist! I hope to someday match his patience and forethought in building.
Wow! Your workbench looks like mine. Full of "stuff" but your array of test equipment is far better than mine. Oscillator is what I'm looking for-- the purpose being testing crystals.
Alan, Your tutorials are awesome and I always learn something! Thank you for providing this great learning opportunity. Happy New Year and all the best in 2014. Vy 73, Mack W4AX
@w2aew. Thank you for sharing. I really like watching your videos. Keeps me motivated and focused in this noisy world we live now. On another note, It would be nice if you could do a video about ground planes and why they are important in high speed circuits.
+Zinahe Asnake I\'m not sure but ,if anyone else wants to uncover introduction to electronics tutorials try Ichordo Electronics Expert Fixer (just google it ) ? Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my partner got amazing results with it.
Thanks! Very nice video. I found that these prototyping methods work fine up to 200MHz with some care. When I wanted to prototype circuit at 900MHz and 2.4GHz I had to try something else - I started with gluing self adhesive copper foil to single sided FR4 or PTFE board substrate like Rogers 3004. It works pretty good and reworking/adjusting microstrip components with foil is easy too. I am nowhere an expert in using this method so I am wondering if anyone else tried it? How do you prototype something at 2GHz+?
Your techniques for UHF and microwave prototyping are good. Especially at 1-2GHz and above, controlled impedance traces, impedance matching, etc. are very important, as well as the use off low loss substrates.
this wonderful. thank you very much for taking the time. I'd think one can get the small diamond holesaw for granite, to cut islands. found at most hardware store, shop local.
Great video as always, thank for showing us that there is many ways to skin a cat. Lol. Great to see how you make things so easy and simple. Merry x mas.
Very cool " just had to sub , because i love this kind of thing even though im a complete Noob, ya gotta start somewhere and i like your style , regards from shores of the south pacific Islands of New Zealand B-b
In a pinch, I have used 1/32" RC airplane plywood as "circuit board" and as "islands" and used combinations of the methods you show. Also, various widths of the adhesive backed copper foil tapes used in stained glass work can be employed in lots of creative ways. Great video!
Your channel is what I ve been searching for. Im glad you are very straight forward with your videos. Alot of people on youtube try to act funny and goofy or put on a show to much and its annoying or just plan sad and the subject matter then suffers
When using the solder pads from QRPME, the glue sometimes breaks down under solder temperatures. Can you recommend a glue and a solder temp for 63/37 Pb/Sn solder.
Thanks. Valuable input 8yrs later. There's also Leo sharing his technique which I found out about a couple of days ago: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vq968AFgPhg.html
hey ,if anyone else is searching for understanding electronics components ebook try Elumpa Circuits Expert Alchemist (just google it ) ? Ive heard some super things about it and my co-worker got amazing results with it.
Thank you for the great video, really enjoyed your coverage off all these methods. Not sure if you would find this derivative of sky soldering method practical, but i used it as a shortcut for some of my arduino projects ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KfQRzSAP7AA.html
I have used almost all of yours methods except for punch tool& drilling islands. But Manhattan style is one of my favorites for RF circuits, I have a MW radio and 91MHz FM transmitter built this way
Hi Alan! After the video I started to use islands on superglue for prototyping. It works best! I like it! Thank you! Your videos have deepest informative level and free of chatter. I like it even more than of Dave Jones. Now you loose him only in quantity :) But we want you to do much more videos! Best regards!
Thanks Alex. The only problem I have is that I have a full time job and I make videos in my limited spare time. Dave's full time job is his blog & channel. About the best I can manage, and still keep the quality up, is about 2-4 videos per month. Thanks for being a loyal viewer, and be sure to let me know what you'd like to see!
***** I only a beginner. I bought first scope one year ago. And each video made me stronger to understand electronics. Your hundred of them made about the same result as Dave's 700. (I like Dave too) I think you are lucky to have a job like hobby and a hobby like a job... Am I right? Projects to look at... Probably something like walkie-talkie to play with children. Have you something from your RF beginning?
Tin snips! That's how. I've been making all sorts of bad edges trying to working with copper clad board. I bought some snips today, and its EASY! Thank you so much.
Hi,I am new to prototyping and wondering how to hold a TP4056 li-ion battery charger module and DC-DC booster alongwith battery together--can these modules be glued/soldered ,how does one put this into a project box? I was thinking of directly attaching modules to project box wall if possible using glue OR can we attach them to veroboard?
If you're using the modules that I'm thinking of (and why don't they ever seem to have any provisions for mounting?) double-faced tape works well for me. I've got a few LED lights I've put together using a module mounted that way, a 10W LED mounted with a couple of small screws, and a DC input connector glued to a scrap of aluminum.
+saturn5tony There are many factors in studying electronics. One resource I found which succeeds in merging these is the Gregs Electro Blog (google it if you're interested) definately the best info that I have ever seen. look at this amazing site.
The pinboard show in 1:05 is quick ,BUT be very careful because connecting a 1% (ONE PERCENT ) 68ohm resistor will OFTEN cause that resistor to appear as 70 , 71 ohm resistor due to interconects of a pin board.
Hi Alan Those strips of sockets that you use in your pcb boards to plug components in. what would they be called.I am placing an order with Digikey and can't seem to find them. Thx
Love the dead-bug construction. I'm pretty new to electronics and have done it with a dremel before, but cutting out those little islands with a hole-saw is a great idea! There's likely to be a very similar and far more affordable diamond impregnated hole-saw in your local hardware or tool store though. They'll be in with the masonry bits, because they're intended for tiles.
I work in a tool shop here in Australia and our supplier makes them as small as 6mm outer diameter. Don't know the exact inner diameter, but the cutting edge is =/< 1mm. They're an Australian manufacturer, but I have no doubts a similar product would be available in most developed countries.
Cutting islands into copper. I've never tried, but you can buy ten different sizes of diamond cutters on Amazon. Sounds way better than grinding a drill bit. And cheaper too probably.
Hi, does wiring them all up direct like that not get extremely finicky? With the proto board with holes in? With wires overlapping each other and so much solder? It looks like hell to be honest! Printing and etching has to be easier? I love the little PCB island bits though.
Each technique has its advantages and disadvantages. There's really nothing finicky about direct wiring. In fact, you can often create higher performance circuits this way by having better control over parasitics. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - to me, these hand-built prototypes are beautiful.
there is also ratsnest construction using 1M resistors or Bypass Caps as standoffs to hold components up off the ground plane.......done that a few times.......and of course routing PCB material with an CNC engraver to make what is similar to etching normal boards etc....
Thank you for this video. Always looking for different ideas. I've been using scrap plexy glass with hobby brass and copper stripping. I hope all is going well 73!
#w2aew do u mind helping me understand bldc esc circuits plz. I am trying to homebuild an rc plane electonic components from the esc to the bec to the receiver.. The servo motor circuit. Would appreciate your reply tyvm.can't buy components and I love electronic and stuff like that so I can build rc cars,planes..etc.
Nice vid! I've been tinkering off and on with electronics since the 70s (the 60s if you count taking stuff apart without it ever working again!) and I just learned about Manhattan style circuit construction yesterday! It blew my mind! Of course I'd done point to point, and I'd seen the Dead Bug trick without knowing there was a name for it, but I had never seen the island style. Whether it be the raised islands of separate board layers or the mechanically traced circles, the whole thing is a revelation to me. Thanks for contributing to my passion of catching up on all the cool vids I'd missed out on! Cheers from Canada! (--> No tariffs on good ideas! lol)
Could you slide a copper ground plane under the proto type breadboard? That was a thought I just had was possibly sliding a copper board under the breadboard and using it as a ground plane.
You can. It will help a little to lower the ground impedance. This will also increase the capacitance of every node to ground (which usually is a bad thing, but can be advantageous in some circuits). Of course, this won't help reduce the inductance if the interconnects.
Hey why u never covered the isolated islands made with a hook knife used in scoring fibresheet also called acrilic sheet cutter hook knife. By far I am successful in creating isolated islands in a clad board.
Thank you W2aew, you are a master at this. For those of us who have a drill press, time and interest, as you pointed out, we can make any number of circle cutting bits that cut to any depth, from scoring on to complete perforation, by serration of the end of various diameter steel tubes as Davies by the Sea points out, I think he used a tubular bearing out of an old video cassette. A diamond cutting tool is far superior in this application, of course, because the fiberglass in pcb dulls any plain steel tubular bit very quickly. Still, in a pinch one will improvise with whatever one has at hand.
Do you have any links to info on things like wrapping wire around those ferrite cores, for the purpose of making chokes and maybe even a few little audio isolation transformers? I’m sure a quick search would yield some online tables for sources of this sort of math. Perhaps in your previous endeavors you have encountered some free software, or an online applet which are of particular interest to you? Edit: I can see that you yourself have a great wealth of very helpful videos, +1 subscriber. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR STYLE!! You have a very interesting aesthetic, and I’m glad I didn’t just cut off your video because you really have a lot of great work for me to even brag to other people about!! THANKS FOR SHARING!
I have a video that shows how to wind a toroid: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sDIWNHOoNh8.html There are online calculators for determining the number of turns, etc. One easy one is Toroids.info I've also used this mini-ring toroid calculator: mini-ring-core-calculator.software.informer.com/
Thanks Alan. For a future video, could you discuss considerations when-to-use and when-not-to-use sockets for components? I sometimes worry about directly soldering component leads due to heating, but of course the socket introduces problems like parasitics and intermittent connections, etc. Some IC's are so cheap it doesn't matter, but I don't want to ruin, say, an AD8307 or other fairly expensive IC while soldering it. Also sockets help if you want to exchange different types of components later.
You really covered most of it in your comment! If you have a good soldering iron, and are proficient (meaning that you don't have to apply the iron for an excessive period of time), it is unlikely that you'll damage a part. If you think that there might be a reason to re-work, modify, change the design, then a socket is a good idea so that the part isn't exposed to a lot of re-heating. Of course, if is a part you want to re-use, or maybe change to a different part as an experiment, then a socket is a good idea. If you need the highest speed, fastest risetime, etc., then avoid the socket if you can.
To make these Islands, i like this style construction. A 1/8 to 1/4 stainless steel tubing with some Micro Teeth filed onto the end will work just fine in a drill press. I enjoy watching this video.
If you glue isolated island on a plane of copper (which is ground) isn't that creating some sort of capacitance? Is that something you should consider during prototyping?
It's a great question. These little islands will typically be a few pF of capacitance to ground. You should think about that for any circuit nodes where that would be an issue. For these nodes, simply wire them in "air".
I've employed some of these techniques for my "Kerbal Space Program" controller build. These are Character Diode ROMs for the units displays of my DSKY inspired digital readout. i.imgur.com/K71PiAI.jpg and i.imgur.com/uSEaGS9.jpg Spot the early attempt! Video too. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LwXZKIfvEkI.html I find that I just can't be bothered designing on a computer and ordering out for boards, when I can just make it, here and now.
Thank you! I've already tried a couple of audio amps with point to point wiring: facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=281874242204104&id=100011445901156&pnref=story facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011445901156&sk=photos&collection_token=100011445901156%3A2305272732%3A69&set=a.218324278559101.1073741880.100011445901156&type=3&pnref=story but would like to do it with the Manhattan technique. I'm not sure if the big ground plane will affect sound quality because of capacitance. Done a small Joule Thief some time ago to try the method and tools. It's not a problematic circuit and not that difficult to do the islands. facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011445901156&sk=photos&collection_token=100011445901156%3A2305272732%3A69&set=a.182294255495437.1073741865.100011445901156&type=3 With your professional opinion I'll give it a go with audio amp, Thank you very much!
