Anyone any good at making PCB's?

[n3lrx]

I've been trying to make some PCB's for Steve's AM Monitor and to be honest.. I Suck! I'm using ExpressPCB It's FREE!! If anyone is any good at making PCB's I have the resources to make PCB's using Photo-Reactive PCB material. If you can make the design for me I'll make you a FREE PCB from your design.. I've been trying and I can't get it right.. I wind up with a mass of garbled traces that in reality would never work.

I'm going to keep trying, I'm also going to try with something simpler like the SSM2166 compressor/limiter schematic. There are a bunch of free PCB design software if you Google "PCB Design Software" you'll come up with quite a few pages of freebies. Most make proprietary files but you can still export them to BMP and I can turn the BMP into a Negative for PCB processing. Double sided is possible, but the via's will have to be manually soldered, as I have no way of pre-tinning them. Single sided would be easiest.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who could use these PCB's so if there is enough interest if we can get them designed and group together to pay for them to be done professionally you may be able to get your PCB for these designs at cost.. Provided someone's got more smarts than me to do it! That's not too hard to prove! Prescription drug's have fried my brain!

[WA1GFZ]

We use express pcb for prototypes here at work.

[W1EUJ]

For all the effort one might put into processing the bd. following the layout, why not just have ExpressPCB finish the job? The drilled double-sided boards with plated thru holes isn't too expensive given the amount of time one might end up putting into it. I have yet to get a board with a manufacturing error.

I've layed out boards many times in ExpressPCB for work and hobby. In fact, today the Space Shuttle is launching with a satellite (RAFT1) that is carrying a PCBExpress board I did; it is a matchbox sized radar transponder. On that board I used alot of plated vias and groud plane as a heat sink for an oscillator circuit.

I might be able to do the layout; the circuit looks pretty simple. For anybody willing, I would love to do it in SMD; I'm more comfortable with SMD layout (and being pretty young, I can solder 0201 caps!). I'll do it for free, just for the practice. Let me check my schedule.

How many folks want a QIX modulation monitor board? I could look into the cost of a kit?

David Goncalves
W1EUJ

[n3lrx]

I'll take one as long as it's components are not too small for me to build! Or even pre-assembled and tested if it's composed of a few specks of sand! LOL

Anything smaller than a 2512 is too small for me!

I was going to try to build it with standard sized stuff because with the exception of a few parts most of the parts are on hand.

[W7SOE]

Let me know if you still n eed help, perhaps I could allocate come time.  I make prototype/development boards at work using Eagle. 


Rich

W7SOE

[WB3JOK]

I'm partial to Olimex myself. Inexpensive, they take Eagle (and other) files directly via email, and good quality. The only problem is the airmail shipping from Bulgaria takes about a week.
-Charles

[Jim KF2SY]

We've had nice results with this Ca. place below.

http://www.speedycircuits.com/index.html

[steve_qix]

I've been trying to make some PCB's for Steve's AM Monitor and to be honest.. I Suck! I'm using ExpressPCB It's FREE!! If anyone is any good at making PCB's I have the resources to make PCB's using Photo-Reactive PCB material. If you can make the design for me I'll make you a FREE PCB from your design.. I've been trying and I can't get it right.. I wind up with a mass of garbled traces that in reality would never work.

I'm going to keep trying, I'm also going to try with something simpler like the SSM2166 compressor/limiter schematic. There are a bunch of free PCB design software if you Google "PCB Design Software" you'll come up with quite a few pages of freebies. Most make proprietary files but you can still export them to BMP and I can turn the BMP into a Negative for PCB processing. Double sided is possible, but the via's will have to be manually soldered, as I have no way of pre-tinning them. Single sided would be easiest.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who could use these PCB's so if there is enough interest if we can get them designed and group together to pay for them to be done professionally you may be able to get your PCB for these designs at cost.. Provided someone's got more smarts than me to do it! That's not too hard to prove! Prescription drug's have fried my brain!

Hi !

Well, first of all, as the circuit designer, I did not ever make a PCB of that particular circuit.  I suppose you could make a board for your own individual implementation (anything beyond this would require permission),  but you would probably not be pleased with the final results    I have made a large number of changes and improvements to the circuit (including the one with analog meters) over the past few years, and have a production version of the updated monitor.  This can be seen at http://www.radioassociates.com.    The new version of the modulation monitor has many, many more features (including a peak hold), and is quite a bit more accurate - as the display responds in microseconds instead of seconds.  It comes in a beautiful enclosure as well.  If you really want to build it [and calibrate it] yourself, you could get an unassembled unit (with the PC board, of course!).  You could, I suppose, just get the board and chase down all of the parts and make your own enclosure.

On the SSM2166 mic preamp, there is a board for this as already (standalone).  The following boards are available:

• SSM2166 mic preamp board.  Also provides power for electret element.  Takes 8 - 16VDC in
• Class H Modulator board.  Can be used with a wide variety of class H output sections.  Built in negative peak limiter, adjustment aids
• Pulse Width Modulator Board - with anti-aliasing filter, negative peak limiter, feed-forward.  Output: TTL level PWM @ 120kHz.
• Pulse Width Modulator Output Section.  Configure from 1 to 5 MOSFETs (250w to 1kw)
• Efficiency Meter / Overload Detect and Shutdown Board (nice !) [works with class H board and PWM board above, or use with your own circuit].  Shutdown senses modulated voltage to current ratio.  If current rises faster than the modulated voltage, overload is detected - rig shuts down

All above are also available with parts as well as boards alone.  Contact me if interested !!

Regards,

Steve