6
votes
9answers
287 views
Safety of making PCBs
I've been making a few hobbyist PCBs at home and note that the photoresist developer and ferric chloride etch solutions are both pretty nasty chemicals that come with all kinds of …
5
votes
2answers
131 views
What is this squiggly trace for?
It's on pin 14, which is the master clock input (MCLK) of a WM8761: Low cost stereo DAC. I'm guessing it's meant to act as a small inductor? But why would you want that on a cl …
6
votes
7answers
322 views
How can I successfully make a PCB at home?
I have tried several times, unsuccessfully, to manufacture a PCB at home. A lot of the other questions are about improving PCB performance and such, but I can rarely, if ever, even …
0
votes
4answers
96 views
Low Profile Power Dissipation
I have a project where my power supplies are giving me a bit of a headache. I have three voltage regulators that I am trying to run from a single bench power supply. There are two …
5
votes
4answers
343 views
Is there a common netlist format?
Is there a common netlist format that is portable between different schematic/pcb/EDA/CAD tools, and if so where is the format or reference so I can implement it?
If not, does eac …
2
votes
9answers
289 views
moderately priced 6-layer PCB fab?
I have a board I'm working on with a coworker; we are debating whether to go 4-layer or 6-layer board, and would like to use 6-layer but haven't found a reasonably priced fab house …
1
vote
3answers
98 views
Copying evaluation board PCB layouts
On the one hand, PCB layouts are considered copyrighted information, and copying them verbatim is a bad idea for legal reasons.
On the other hand, the PCB layout of an evaluation …
8
votes
6answers
305 views
Best methods to fix broken tracks
I've made a couple of PCBs which need the odd few 10 mil tracks, but are mostly 20/30 mil. Unfortunately the etching process isn't fantastic and there are numerous breaks in the tr …
4
votes
7answers
179 views
Do you layout in mil or mm?
I have been using 10 mil trace with 10 mil spacing. The PCB vendors quote that they like traces down to 7 mil. But then I ran across a PDF showing how to fan out a QFP to get all …
3
votes
0answers
49 views
PCB-mount connectors for thermocouples
Has anyone had good/bad experiences with particular PCB-mount thermocouples?
I need to design a circuit board with a connector I can plug a standard thermocouple connector into.
…
5
votes
3answers
138 views
Communication between microcontroller and separately powered PCB
On one board I have a microcontroller with one power supply and on another I have a Flip Flop with a separate power supply. I want to connect a pin of the microcontroller to the re …
16
votes
7answers
650 views
What’s the simplest Linux capable board I could make at home?
I'd like to make a single board computer capable of booting Linux, with my low-tech garage tools (2 sided PCBs, reflow skillet, no plating through holes).
What's the simplest hard …
7
votes
8answers
639 views
Cheap PCB manufacture
I've been milling over the different options for sourcing professionally manufactured PCBs. I've just started a business and I'm looking to make a few electronic kits, for now were …
7
votes
6answers
258 views
Pre-programming surface mount ICs
Hi all,
I'm trying to set up a PCB with an atmega168 and no programming header. I intend to use a serial bootloader (there is a ft232 on the board) to reprogram but I am wondering …
6
votes
5answers
380 views
How much does it cost to etch your own PCBs?
Hi all,
I am at the point that my projects are becoming limited by the space on my breadboard. Rather than buying more, I have decided to look into PCB fabrication. My question is …
