Quote:
Originally Posted by 1100 man
Hi David,
Once again, I'm in awe of the lengths you will go to to finish off a project! I don't realistically expect I shall ever get round to putting mine in any form of case, let alone a handmade comb jointed box complete with printed front panel!
I don't suppose you would consider making a small batch of bare PCB's for Forum members? It would certainly make construction easier!
Nick
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Thanks for the compliment Nick, which is appreciated, but as I've said before, I make the boxes with a router jig that I made and a cheap DIY store router I was given, so there's no great skill involved, but clearly, they're time-consuming. I like the 'retro' look, evocative of the crystal set era when everything seem to be in a comb-jointed box! Despite the time taken, if we enjoy doing what we do, (and I do) it isn't a chore. The front panel was just knocked up in MS 'Paint' and printed onto a waterslide transfer ('decal') paper. Again, it's no big deal. There's room for us all in the hobby whatever our approach. Some have very limited workshop space and equipment and lots of demands on their time. Some like to quickly tack things together and put them into any old box they have to hand, 'to see if it works' which is fine, but that's never been my way.
As to 'making a small batch of Mini-Mod PCBs', it does pose a problem (for me or anyone else), in that it's time-consuming and not economically viable, but if there are still forum members who would like to build the Mini-Mod, (which has now been around for four years), to try to help them along the way, I could probably manage to make half a dozen boards for say £6.75 each inc post (to UK only), to cover my costs for the FR4 glass fibre laminate and consumables. (Micro-porous film for the UV mask, UV photo-resist dry film, sodium carbonate for the developer, sodium persulphate for the etchant [not messy ferric chloride], acetone to strip the resist from the PCB after etching, HSS dill bits to drill the board).
Some will say "it makes no sense to make your own boards - you'd get them cheaper than that from China just by sending them a Gerber file".
I'm sure that they're right - professionally made screen-printed PCBs with plated-through-holes are a delight to behold, but ordinarily, I only make individual boards for my own homebrew projects, and I don't do it to save money - perverse as it may seem to some - I do it because I enjoy it. I don't know what a 'Gerber file' is and I dislike with a passion the free software that PCB houses supply as they're not intended for homebrew, but for commercial production techniques. That's a topic for another time.
For anyone who might wish to make their own PCB, the artwork for the UV mask is below.
The first pic shows the track side as it will look when etched, then positive mask in reverse, which is how it should be printed so that in use, the ink side will be next to the laminate when being exposed to UV, and likewise, the negative mask in reverse as is needed for the UV dry-film technique. The reversed positive artwork can also be used for the iron-on laser print technique, of which I've no personal experience, but which some claim to have success with. If it is ironed on in reverse, ('mirrored') the design will be the correct way round.
The second pic is the component layout and an 'X-Ray' of the PCB.
I added R9 to the original design - a limiting resistor for an LED, but if an LED isn't needed, that can be left off.
When I've made half a dozen Mini-Mod PCBs, hopefully over the next few days, I'll put them in the appropriate section - 'items for sale'.
Hope that's of help and interest.
'The woods would be very silent if the only birds that sang were those that sang the best'.