What do you guys recommend for prototyping (protoboards)? I see them advertised on eBay with anywhere from a couple hundred to over 2000 tie points. Some have power supplies built in and some don't. What do you guys use, and what do you "wish" you had?
I use various sized protoboards and an external supply for +/-25v variable tracking. Tracking means that as you adjust one knob both the + and - voltages change by the same amount.
I use stripboard, "Veroboard", for prototypes; I'm wary of the integrity of the contacts on plug-in boards for anything but the simplest low power circuits. It requires soldering, but can be fairly quick, and if it works it will last a surprisingly long time.
True, protoboards do have current limitations and are not really suited for power amps.
If you're doing pre-amps, active filters, logic and other low power stuff the protoboards are great. I've had protoboards as large as 8"x10" populated with dozens of ICs and hundreds of resistors/caps. Doing this with a vero board would have been out of the question.
If you're doing pre-amps, active filters, logic and other low power stuff the protoboards are great. I've had protoboards as large as 8"x10" populated with dozens of ICs and hundreds of resistors/caps. Doing this with a vero board would have been out of the question.
More than that, protoboards are usually made of nylon, which is quite hygroscopic; the dielectric properties are dodgy and change with humidity. They're fine for circuits which are totally non-critical of stray capacitance and leakage. Add to that the tendency for the contacts to deteriorate with use and to shave bits of metal off of leads causing unexpected shorts, and you do truly have what Pease calls a "slab of grief."
Besides, they don't make these for vacuum tubes!🙁
I agree with SY . . . but
I've never experienced these problems and I've been using them for 20+ years.
SY said:
I've never experienced these problems and I've been using them for 20+ years.
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