Hey everyone, I am wondering if anyone knows where I can find some really small perfboard. At the moment I really like using perfboard for small circuits. I'm not ambitious enough at the moment
The smallest size I can find is 2x8cm (4x6 are really abundant as well). I'm trying to build a simple buffer in as small an enclosure as possible. The 2x8 perfboard would fit inside a 1590A enclosure, but I have a 1590LB sitting at home that I want to use if possible. So for the 1590LB, my max dimensions would be 46x33mm.
I like to use the perfboard with double-sided solder holes (usually green instead of brown) so that solder flows through the hole, instead of just adhering to one side.
The design is one 8 pin DIP IC, 4 resistors, and 2 capacitors (plus input and output jacks, a power jack and probably a switch). I suppose I could do point-to-point wiring but I wouldn't know the best way to mount the IC, resistors, and caps. Jacks and switches will be mounted to the enclosure, so that's not an issue.
The smallest size I can find is 2x8cm (4x6 are really abundant as well). I'm trying to build a simple buffer in as small an enclosure as possible. The 2x8 perfboard would fit inside a 1590A enclosure, but I have a 1590LB sitting at home that I want to use if possible. So for the 1590LB, my max dimensions would be 46x33mm.
I like to use the perfboard with double-sided solder holes (usually green instead of brown) so that solder flows through the hole, instead of just adhering to one side.
The design is one 8 pin DIP IC, 4 resistors, and 2 capacitors (plus input and output jacks, a power jack and probably a switch). I suppose I could do point-to-point wiring but I wouldn't know the best way to mount the IC, resistors, and caps. Jacks and switches will be mounted to the enclosure, so that's not an issue.
When I want a little piece of perfboard, I just break it off a larger piece along the appropriate rows of holes. A few strokes of a flat file, and it is ready to go.
I break mine (0.1" pad-per-hole type) into small pieces by clamping at the desired line in a vise. Then apply force by hand.... snap.
I use an Xacto razor saw, or a fine tooth saw blade in my Dremel to cut pieces to size.
I use these a lot, and cut them to length. The races on the underside are the same a the breadboards of similar pattern.
https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-printed-circuit-board?variant=5717555397
I use these a lot, and cut them to length. The races on the underside are the same a the breadboards of similar pattern.
https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-printed-circuit-board?variant=5717555397
Agree and add: you can combine 2 techniques: choose the hole line along which you want to split the board *and* using a metal ruler or equivalent score the base material along same line, so the little "land bridges" between holes snap in a cleaner and more predictable way.
I design and print/etch my own boards, so have everything set up, including a heated 5 gallon perchloride solution tank, but *everyday* I need some small itty bitty piece of Electronics, say an independent earphone out, a balanced out add-on, a clipping Led with a couple components around it, etc. which simply are not worth the fuss of etching, not even using thermal (laser toner) transfer, so perfboard (or my favorite: Vero/Strip board) gets in use.
Just yesterday I had to cut and sand chipboard , I was building some cabinets, and headphone level fed from my cellphone was abismally low.
Fine at night, 3AM in a silent room; absolutely useless against a circular saw, sander or router, so in 1/2 hour I made a power booster/equalizer around an LM386 (the heart of a Smokey amp 😉 ), a couple resistors and capacitors, fed from 2 3.6V rechargeable Telephone batteries (might have used 2 old 3.7V cellphone batteries or 4 x AA or AAA cells) and a custom cabinet out of cardboard.
*Of Course* used stripboard, (might have used perfboard too) and board size was pinky finger sized: 2" long x 1.2" wide .
Works like a charm and is WAY too loud, go figure :
I design and print/etch my own boards, so have everything set up, including a heated 5 gallon perchloride solution tank, but *everyday* I need some small itty bitty piece of Electronics, say an independent earphone out, a balanced out add-on, a clipping Led with a couple components around it, etc. which simply are not worth the fuss of etching, not even using thermal (laser toner) transfer, so perfboard (or my favorite: Vero/Strip board) gets in use.
Just yesterday I had to cut and sand chipboard , I was building some cabinets, and headphone level fed from my cellphone was abismally low.
Fine at night, 3AM in a silent room; absolutely useless against a circular saw, sander or router, so in 1/2 hour I made a power booster/equalizer around an LM386 (the heart of a Smokey amp 😉 ), a couple resistors and capacitors, fed from 2 3.6V rechargeable Telephone batteries (might have used 2 old 3.7V cellphone batteries or 4 x AA or AAA cells) and a custom cabinet out of cardboard.
*Of Course* used stripboard, (might have used perfboard too) and board size was pinky finger sized: 2" long x 1.2" wide .
Works like a charm and is WAY too loud, go figure :
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An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Couldn't edit the earlier post, so this goes on a separate one: sounds redundant, but on regular perf/stripboard you have a minimum size dictated by the minimum amount of hole lines you will need to use; separation of course is fixed: 0.1" or 2.54 mm.
In the above example, I used a DIP package so absolute minimum width is 4 tracks, to accomodate DIP 8 pins in a double row.
Also wanted an uninterrupted ground track, so that makes it 5 tracks wide and add the width of an extra one, because of the edge cuts.
So the above relatively long and narrow board has a minimum physical width of 6*2.54mm : ~16 mm (I measured around 17mm).
This sets some kind of practical limit; any smaller and you need SMT stuff, and real PCBs, where tracks can be much thinner and real close to each other.
Mind you, still feasible to be home made, although it requires more skill, both printing and populating it.
In the above example, I used a DIP package so absolute minimum width is 4 tracks, to accomodate DIP 8 pins in a double row.
Also wanted an uninterrupted ground track, so that makes it 5 tracks wide and add the width of an extra one, because of the edge cuts.
So the above relatively long and narrow board has a minimum physical width of 6*2.54mm : ~16 mm (I measured around 17mm).
This sets some kind of practical limit; any smaller and you need SMT stuff, and real PCBs, where tracks can be much thinner and real close to each other.
Mind you, still feasible to be home made, although it requires more skill, both printing and populating it.
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