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Simple PCB Building Method

A

amdx

Jan 1, 1970
0
I ran across this video. In it the build puts together a PCB using small
pieces of PCB superglued to a larger piece. Not a new method,
but beginners may find it useful.
Years ago I purchased some Rogers Duroid pcb, it is 1/32" and teflon.
I use a paper punch or a leather hole punch to make small discs of pcb.
The Teflon material makes it very easy to punch. It is much easier than
making small squares with FR4 material.


I have no comment on the FM transmitter quality.
Mikek
 
M

Michael Black

Jan 1, 1970
0
I ran across this video. In it the build puts together a PCB using small
pieces of PCB superglued to a larger piece. Not a new method,
but beginners may find it useful.
Years ago I purchased some Rogers Duroid pcb, it is 1/32" and teflon.
I use a paper punch or a leather hole punch to make small discs of pcb.
The Teflon material makes it very easy to punch. It is much easier than
making small squares with FR4 material.


I have no comment on the FM transmitter quality.
Mikek
Or you can use a "Dremel tool" and cut away islands in the copper.

But the only reason such "pads" are useful is if you need to put it in a
small space, so the parts need to be close to the board.

Otherwise, just build it up above the board. The components going to
ground provide a platform for the other parts, and as some have pointed
out, if there's a point that needs support but doesn't have a component
going to ground, you can use a high value resistor, that won't affect the
circuit.

It makes it really easy to change things, or for breadboarding, you just
desolder the parts and start again. I had one piece of circuit board that
I used for such breadboarding, I used it endlessly.

If it's for a finished product, assuming it will be put in a box, then how
"messY' it looks never matters.

Michael
 
M

Michael Black

Jan 1, 1970
0
Good RF bypassing technique too. Reminiscent of the "spark plate"
mica square DC power bypass once used in automobile radios.
It's only good if there's enough capacitance, and only good if you
actually want to bypass there.

What is good is that since the board being used is intact, there is a good
ground surface, and available wherever you need it. So leads to ground
can be short, unlike point to point wiring on perfboard, or the days of
wiring on chassis where the ground points were wherey you had a nut and
bolt and a solder lug.

But a pad in itself won't provide enough capacitance for a bypass
capacitor unless the frequency is quite high, or you have really large
pads.

The good thing is that they don't provide much capacitance, so except at
higher frequencies, VHF and UHF, they won't interfere with most circuits.
You don't want the signal to your trnasistor bypassed to ground, which is
what would happen if this actually provided good ground and you had a pad
for the base of the transistor.

I used a strip of ultra thin PCB material in a gunn diode oscillator.
Bypassing the DC supply is important to get them to oscillate
efficiently. I wrapped it around the 3/4" copper tube end that
formed the cavity.
And that's a whole different thing, way high up in the microwave range
where small value capacitors are large enough to be bypass capacitors.
Playing with microwave can be hard since lead length becomes significant,
but playing at microwave can be easy since required capacitance is so
small that you can build things like bypass capacitors (K1CLL used to do
endless things in this area, using copper strip and teflon insulators) and
variable capacitors, the small values needed making it easy to make them
yourself.

Michael
 
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