Very silly PCB related question...

[Cenobite]

Firstly, I'm new, so hello everyone =] I hope this is the right place for this thread to go.

Secondly, I'm currently part way through my first ever DIY project and outside of school my first major electronics project. All I'm doing is re-casing and swapping all the components (speaker terminals etc.) on a sonic impacts t-amp - so certainly nothing to the standard usually seen on here.

Anyway, my query is - will it be OK to mount the PCB upside down?

And secondly, can someone recommend me the best way to attach a PCB to a plastic case?

Please don't have a go at me for being such a newbie,
and thanks in advance for any replies!

[Jonathan Bright]

Greetings from Aust', as long as the mechanical stresses are okay there should be no problem at all having the board inverted. Now as to fixing it to the plastic the obvious way is to use plastic or metal spacers or "stand offs". These come in a variety of lengths (say 5mm, 10mm, 25mm etc) They can be hollow (ie a tube) which will require an appropriate bolt, nut and washers to go thru the PCB spacer and case to clamp the lot or they may be threaded at each end which means you screw them to the casing and PCB respectively with two separate screws. If you use metal spacers don't let them 'short' circuit board traces. Holes need to be drilled of course. The local electronic 'spares' shopa should be able to assist.

Good luck and God bless, BTW no one mocks newbies 'round here as we are a civilised community. "The only silly question is the one you don't ask!"
Jonathan Bright (ex-Somerset 1957!)

[Cenobite]

Hi Jonathan,

Thanks a lot for the reply, I'll go check my local parts dealer for some spacers.

I've obviously stumbled upon the right place then, I was kind of worried I would just get laughed at.

Thanks again,
Joe

[nigelwright7557]

Originally posted by Cenobite
Hi Jonathan,

Thanks a lot for the reply, I'll go check my local parts dealer for some spacers.

I've obviously stumbled upon the right place then, I was kind of worried I would just get laughed at.

Thanks again,
Joe

www.maplin.co.uk or vist one of their shops.
www.farnell.co.uk
www.rswww.com
www.cpc.co.uk

[c2cthomas]

Hello Cenobite - and Welcome to diyAudio!
No need to be shy about asking questions -silly or otherwise! One of the 1st things to learn is - how to recover from the mistakes and accidents that you are bound to make sooner or later. Asking some questions beforehand can help to prevent some of mistakes and missteps - so ask away. Most of us here have learned some of our lessons from asking others for advice or opinions. Many of us have learned from making embarrassing mistakes and occasionally dangerous one's. Take the time to learn the proper and safe way to get things done - and you will find many here that will help you learn that and much more. Some of the best brains in the hobby hang out here - well - and a couple of the not so healthy as well. All in all this is a great place to learn and those of us with experience love passing the hobby on to the next generation coming up the path.

Tip: you can get many tools at garage sales or 2nd hand - and save a lot of money!

Here is a useful site for beginners to check out - http://www.bcae1.com/
And one for soldering - http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/telescope/soldering.htm

[jaycee]

Also www.rapidonline.com - like how Maplin used to be!