[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

The only thing I would say as a long established Veroboard user is it's very, very difficult to build stuff without making mistakes - crossing tracks with solder, failing to isolate tracks, soldering components to the wrong track, etc etc.

I haven't used it for a few years, but did build several fairly large and complex circuits on it while I was still at school and never had any problems (but I suppose I was young and keen then, and had a lot of time on my hands!). My tips would be:

• Plan things first, on squared paper, with an alphanumeric reference for each hole (e.g. a letter for each track, and a number for each hole along the tracks). Mark the board itself with a dot from a permanent pen at 0,10, 20, 30 etc. so there's less chance of error when you're counting tracks. And have all your intended components to hand while you're doing the design so that you know how far apart the leads have to be. This all takes a lot of time, but it's time well spent.
• Break any tracks with the correct tool, and then inspect each break under good lightling conditions. Sometimes, if the holes are slightly off-centre with respect to the track, the break will be incomplete. If so, refine it with a craft knife.
• After assembly, run a small jewellers screwdriver between every single strip, to rake out any flux or solder splashes.

Nick.