DIY home etched boards, old style, simple, fast and SMD style

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To assemble solid state devices..home made board..simple one...fast and easy.

I know that very few friends appreciate that kind of boards, they are not pretty, not professional, not awsome and not standard...but i am proud that i was one of the first to build in the Surface Mount Device (SMD) style down the sixties (1960).

I have always perceived, understood and felt boards, the way they where done where not good.... the inverted lines... transistors in one side where pretty but lines where below the board, hard to see, hard to inspect, hard to fix, and hard to be made...needed to open holes with driller...well.... a kind of complication i hate since i was 9 years old.

Also i do perceive as ridiculous to have a list having R1, R2, Q1, C4, L6 and them values...so..you need a sheet of paper, a copy having these indicators and the connected values when we can have values printed directly over the board..or inside the silk screen indications where to put parts...in the place of R1, we can have R1 value, alike 100 ohms for instance, as an example...why to put R1?... i see.... to refer to that number to explain how circuit works and for debugging.... well... in this moment (only in this moment) the R1 chart should be used in my point of view..but board should come with values...and not Q1.... better to be MJE340... this way.

Method is ridiculously simple and easy, developed by a children (me down the sixties)...i do think it is ugly, but also i do think it is great and used 20 years latter as the most modern idea...the SMD...uncle charlie was one of the first ones to use it..now a days in your home computer boards.

These four videos explains how to make them, please watch these videos as they will give you an idea and will explain the method and the chemical (cheap) used to etch your boards...if just one decide to use..them i will happy to share these things.

If we are DIY, or amateur, or non professional, this is one of the methods to produce boards that matches our reality:

YouTube - Dx Blame, LED meter test and adjustment - 1

YouTube - Dx Blame, LED meter test and adjustment - 2

YouTube - Dx Blame, LED meter test and adjustment - 3

YouTube - Dx Blame, LED meter test and adjustment - 4

There's no more time limit to upload videos to Youtube.... i have to split my videos in 5 minutes parts because my harddrive is almost full.... i have 12 Gigabytes free..and each 5 minutes of decompressed AVI goes to more than 7.5 gigabytes...so, to edit them i need room on my HD..not having, i do in parts...these videos, total time is 19 minutes...i have splitted in four parts..subject is LED power meter gadget to indicate power to the Supercharged..the most simple circuit i could imagine to do that job..but inside explains how to transform schematic in copper lines..and without a software to do that.

In the reality, software complicates what is very simple...i can make boards in 5 minutes..form the schematic to the board ready to solder.... no one can do that using software and ordering boards to factories or etching them at home...so...my dirty method is faster..... very good to DIY folks.

regards,

Carlos
 

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I do that too. I use draftsmans tape from a local art supply and etchant from Radio Shack. (They now once again carry the ferric chloride etchant!)
By doing boards surface mount style you can glue them in your enclosure with silicone rubber and have more room inside.
 
Yes LAJ, this the the good thing

We can glue them without worries with spacers, bolts, nuts and all that annoying stuff... we can see the circuit when building, so, it is easy to check, easy to solder and dessoder.... well, i love the stuff, sadly it is not that pretty alike the professional old style traditional way to produce pcboards.

Post pictures if you have from your work my dear friend...share with us these things..show the material you use...this gonna be good..there are hidden guys that does not know how to do this way ... some of them will be following our conversations and having fun..some will watch this thread in dead silence.

hehehehehe.

regards,

Carlos
 
I have been wondering...

In the past I used similar method, and the simple circuit amplifier oscillated.

I have followed your updates on the making of your amps and it seems to me that you often found instability in the implementation.

All these things make me wonder if the component structure from this method is prone to oscillation? May be the thick solder tin? Or... well, I honestly cannot see anything wrong.
 
thats an easy and fast way for making pcb. i also use the manual method no software.. but i use a cutting blade to remove the copper from the clad instead of ferric chloride. i think it is still faster than using software.i'll post some picture once my internet connection is ok and fast.......

:)
 
Thank you Jon2xflash and Rodeodave

It is a very old idea i had in 1963 i think..... as needed to do things in very cheap way... so, i have developed this style where i can observe tracks and i go checking while building the circuit.... if we do from left to rigth to rigth handed guy, then everything is fine..no parts burned by the soldering iron...i love the method..but it is not pretty i have to recognize..but for small circuits, surrounding circuits, small supplies, attenuators, simple circuits for VU meters and these small things it works very well.

I would like to see a close up picture of your method...a video or a nice picture..i have never use blade...i used once a high speed drilling machine, a dremmel, with a small rounded tip that destroyed and removed some copper..so, i was producing the lines exists in between two copper tracks...but was not good...too much noisy, dirty and the drilling machine was so fast that burned the board because of friction.

Yes, the name in my country is the same "acido Muriatico" or Muriatic Acid.... works fine..not so dirty alike the ferric thing that overheats and boils when we mix the grains (powder) with watter.... an exothermic reaction makes the liquid easy reach 100 degrees celsius... when we do not know this happens we melt the plastic thing we use to produce the mixture..... also damages ceramics and destroy other things..if touches clothing..no way to remove...the stain will be there for the ethernity.

regards,

Carlos
 
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i think the nacl (sodium chloride) provides cl- ions that react with the copper so copper ions can be made, when all the cl- ions are used by the copper ions (cu2+) there is need for more salt. the cl- ions forms copper di chloride with cu2+.

oops i just read in the article the same i wrote here, well it makes sense to me anyhow.
i feel silly now.
 
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Yes...no doubts a professionally etched is hundred percent better

But it is not a good idea to etch a board to give a try in an idea...we may loose time and the board....for prototyping and adjustments, protoboard and this type of board is better..even the Universal ones are a hell to solder and dissolder.

You know what i mean?... not to make to last forever something that may not last more than a small time while you try something.

I have assembled thousands..imagine if i had ordered each one of these boards to give a try in something.... the money i would have lost...but of course..if someone assemble 2 or 3 amplifiers whole life...a good idea is to order boards from manufacturers.

regards,

Carlos
 
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I have no idea why diy'ers can't get perfect toner transfer ,
Me and MJL have it perfected ... 20 minutes from printer to drill.
Good enough to sell $$$$ -

215252d1300784575-2-tibi-genesis-transformers-pb250-ax.jpg


NO pits or undercut - sprint to tinned PCB in minutes
215237d1300768138-mongrel-supersym-ii-nikkohvps.gif

215364d1300859393-mongrel-supersym-ii-psalldone.jpg


I am at a few hundred boards now , I screwed up on maybe 3-4 of them.
I just tried the vinegar/salt/h2o2 .. it made a perfect board. The toner transfer is the main process , ONLY HP toner will work (some replacement HP toners as well) ... it is low melting point- 215C. Even my tiny letters and 1-2mil "targets" come out with much definition. DIY'ers must try harder , read the instructions on googled "toner transfer" and HCL based acid etching , practice makes perfect. I just made a bubbler for my HCL , after bubbling for more hours , I can get 3 times the etching done (with a little salt - makes more CuCL2 :D ). As far as the "pro" ones , just the screenprinting is better .. but I will have that beat next ... ALL true DIY.

OS
 
Nah.... this method is confused..the photographic paper is a hell hard to remove

it sticks into the board...when you remove pieces of toner goes out and left failures.... people use to repeat several times the operation using hot iron..also ou have to drill the board.

Not only me, all my friends said the method is a hell hard to be made at home..all them have complained a lot....i give up to use the hot iron..the toner transference method... but i can see (do not know how many times you repeated the transference till you succeed) you have made a good job and transistor is very good doing these things....well... transistor is just awsome (MJL.....)

This method is good if you're not making prototype.... a final one...but really takes a lot of time doing it and need a lot of skills...people tell us the glories but they use to hide the several boards they lost trying..this is expensive and confused to make...i have tried several times and i felt this extremelly hard to be made...takes a lot of time..needs a printer..a photographic paper...to remove you have to put it into water..need skills to use the hot iron, .... not a good idea.

To do this way it is better to order boards from manufacturer, because at the end your cost is high considering the several time you have tried...the time you spend and the need to prepare the image using computer and software.

It is not in a minute or two.... only drilling you spend several minutes to each board... and image preparation...use of software.... if you have not the laser printer you have to find a shop to produce copies (here is this way), the image transference with hot iron is difficult, the paper can skid..when you remove paper, the toner tracks use to be often removed too, left failures in the lines.... lines are not straigth..border lines are very ugly.

Observe the watch and make notes..you spend more than an hour to produce a board..that hour is be finishing while you will be half way to finish your drilling work (boring thing)

You are skilled doing that, transistor too...but really, the method is painfull alike a kick in between........our patience.

To produce and assemble this you spend hours working....my method is a poor man's method....really simple and you can produce the board and assemble simple circuits in less than 5 minutes.... your method spend much more than that just drilling the hell thing...also you cannot glue your board into the chassis or you will produce shorts....uncle charlie super board (ahahahahaha!) accept you to glue it to the chassis and ready and yours cannot.

Also your method have not invented anything.....mine invented the SMD..ehehehehehehe.

regards,

Carlos
 
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Soak it in soapy water for 30 minutes !! :eek: . Use photo paper or just a glossy magazine. Clean the blank board with no edge burrs with acetone. Press super hard on iron , soak in the warm water , rub the paper off. My kids can do it.
The 3-4 I have messed up were from the edge "burr" or a greasy fingerprint.
That is out of about 270+ boards- all different sizes. (even 2 oz. FR-4)

I even do "mass- production" , 6 at a time (below). If you practice , you will get it right , just like soldering.
What are you talking about ?? HOURS.. I can do 6 amps completely drilled, stuffed, and tested in 2 hours. For just the boards ,
I could do 12+ in 2 hours ... it only takes 5 minutes to etch.

PS- I can drill each of those boards below in 3-4 min. all 6 in 20+ (2 hole sizes) also, (below 2) is after the transfer and soapy water/rubbing. Just practice this step before etching ... it is the most important.
No secrets ....
I showed this level of DIY to everybody :
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/169590-mongrel-supersym-ii-18.html#post2390956
OS
 

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No winning , Carlos just is not proficient at it ... so he tells everybody else it is not a worthy technique. (Some) can produce "near" board house quality. :rolleyes: And , it doesn't take hours (after doing a few).

This sure beats the chinese delaminated pad garbage boards with the pretty colors ( desolder 100 times on my FR-4).

OS
 
To do this way it is better to order boards from manufacturer, because at the end your cost is high considering the several time you have tried...the time you spend and the need to prepare the image using computer and software.

regards,

Carlos

It is probably best to order the whole amplifier Ready Made from the manufacturer if the objective is to save time and money. If the desire is for the " HeathKit " experience, buy professionally made boards and be assured that your unit will basically look and perform exactly like your neighbors. Your boards will also fail and burn up like your neighbors....LOL

It is a lot more exciting for me to learn new skills such as playing with circuits and then making some boards to be tested. Any fool (like me) can toss some ready made Gerbers to the board house. Some of the excellent Chinese copies make the "professional" boards manufactured for our forums look rather silly.
 
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