RF Prototyping on a Shoe Box

[Charlie Edmondson]

Joerg wrote:

Hello Ed,

You'll forget shoe box construction once you try
"Manhattan Construction". Go to:
http://www.e-discounter.net/qrparci/messages/6365.html
and scroll down to see what it looks like.
Refer to:
http://www.k7qo.net/manhattan.pdf
for details on how to do it. It is easier than foil on
shoebox, and far better. You have a ground plane under
100% of the circuit.


That's the way to go but it is an old trick. We did that in the 80's,
except that the pads weren't round but usually squares. Easier to cut.

Wainwright makes little strips that can be glued on, including SMT pads.
The only downside is that the peel-and-stick technique isn't too
reliable on really hot summer days when prototyping outside. When it
reaches 100F stuff can start to slide before you got some ground wires
soldered to it. So I either add some real glue or use my own squares.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com
Back in school, we used single-copper-sided duroid, and used copper tape

on the other side. A common tape width was 50 ohms, and we usually
drilled a hole to mount the transistors. That way, we could solder the
ground connection really short, and just bend the other leads up to
solder to the tape.

For bigger, more complicated projects, we had a wide copper tape that we
would cover the entire board with, and scribe it with a dull exacto
knife in a precision pantograph? table with precision dials so you
could get 1 mil resolution if you were careful...

Charlie

 

[Kevin]

Has anyone seen a special drill-bit that might attach to a dremel minidill
that could be used for cutting out circles in PCB board?

Kevin.
"Kevin" <irishdude79@REMOVEyahoo.ie> wrote in message
news:hw1re.1106$R5.277@news.indigo.ie...

http://www.wd5gnr.com/foil.htm

Hi all,
I saw this good site that shows how to prototype RF gear on a show box
using copper tape.
Better than spending a day designing a pcb board only to have to make
adjustments when its too late.

Cheers,
Kevin.

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 01:50:56 +0100, "Kevin"
<irishdude79@REMOVEyahoo.ie> wrote:

Has anyone seen a special drill-bit that might attach to a dremel minidill
that could be used for cutting out circles in PCB board?

Kevin.
[snip]

Yep, I've seen a drill bit that left pads. I'd like to find it again.
Anyone have links?

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

 

[Joerg]

Hello Jim,

Yep, I've seen a drill bit that left pads. I'd like to find it again.
Anyone have links?

No but it must be either something like a miniature hole cutter or a bit
that looks similar to the spade bits for wood. Don't know if the name
"spade bit" is right but they have a small center part and then a spike
on either side.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

 

[Kevin]

http://www.woodcraft.com/depts.aspx?DeptID=2145

Hi Jim just found one! i searched google for "plug cutters"
I think a plug cutter will be a lot cheaper than that harbour punch some
others were mentioning above.
Kevin.
"Jim Thompson" <thegreatone@example.com> wrote in message
news:7tuua1hjfnhs2j1rpbp27p5qaehk81lfvq@4ax.com...

On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 01:50:56 +0100, "Kevin"
irishdude79@REMOVEyahoo.ie> wrote:

Has anyone seen a special drill-bit that might attach to a dremel minidill
that could be used for cutting out circles in PCB board?

Kevin.
[snip]

Yep, I've seen a drill bit that left pads. I'd like to find it again.
Anyone have links?

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

 

[Keith Williams]

In article <uXKre.1202$R5.273@news.indigo.ie>, irishdude79
@REMOVEyahoo.ie says...

Has anyone seen a special drill-bit that might attach to a dremel minidill
that could be used for cutting out circles in PCB board?

How big? I have a circle cutter for my Roto-Zip, which is just a fancy
Drummed tool. The Roto-Zip will easily cut ceramic tile (with the
appropriate carbide bit), so I wouldn't think FR4 would be a big deal.

I believe both the Roto-Zip and Dremmel tools have the same 1/8"
collet, so the bits should be interchangeable.

--
Keith