I was just thinking what would be some easy common household items that could act as pcb substrates for TH. Anyone used anything like cardboard, thick paper, plastic(eek!), etc?
I have some 100wt paper that I was thinking possibly could work for simple TH circuits without too much difficultly and wouldn't burn under an iron. Of course it wouldn't beat a protoboard/perfboard or pcb but for quick one-offs of simple circuits it might do the job.
Epoxied layered card is quite workable. Its good if you want something very customised, eg fancy coloured PCB, or 3d shapes, or full colour graphics in the pcb itself. 6 layers of 140gsm is about right. Be as miserly as you can with the epoxy, and press the stack under a weight overnight while it sets. Put clear epoxy on the outside to make it fire retardant and protect the paper surface. If it doesnt need to be fire resistant or cleanable you can skip that. To complete the effect, paint dip all the components.
NT
I used to use plastic floor tiles when I was a kid.
Lexan would be cool, maybe a neat color like blue or amber. You'd have to drill holes for the leads. We have the "Tap Plastics" stores around here, and they have great scrap bins.
John
"Kodfk Dleepd"
** Cardboard and paper are highly hydroscopic - a disaster if leakage is any kind of issue with your circuits.I have used 3mm thick clear acrylic sheet with good success to repair holes burnt in phenolic or glass PCBs - good for tube or SS circuits - even for RF stuff.
... Phil
Is good ole perfboard from any RadioShackesh electronics suppler not available. That's always been my least common denominator for PCB use.
I tried 1/16" plywood from a hobby shop once and the drilling for 16 pin DIPS was a PITA!
any
"hygroscopic"
es
=A0even
TH?
You used to be able to get unetched PCB material pretty cheap on the surplus market. I don't know if you still can, what with manufacturing moving off shore and processes changing -- but it may be worth a try.
"Phil Allison"
"hygroscopic"
** Hmmmmmmmmmmmm....About 25% of examples ( 2 million of them) on Google spell it my way.
Windows Spellchecker passes it.
Only a colossal pedant would object - and look who did.
.... Phil
So? I can find examples of "rediculous" and "definately".
Doesn't mean it's the word you want.
Accuracy is essential in electronics.
any
Slightly, not highly. Paper based boards have their limitations, but are still useful for many circuits. That's true of pretty well all fibreglass/epoxy board substitutes.
NT
(snip)
s any
Interesting.
I always took "hygroscopic" to mean "absorbing moisture" as in from the air, and "hydroscopic" to mean "absorbing water" as in from a puddle of water.
According to the online dictionaries I checked "hydroscopic" means "pertaining to a hydroscope". A "hydroscope" apparently being some sort of instrument to view things under water.
So I learned something new. But darn, I have actually used the distinction between hydro- and hygroscopic in the past :-(
-- egernet
Interesting, cool answer.
Reminds me of when we put decals and such on school lunch boxes.
"Phil Allison"
"hygroscopic"
** Hmmmmmmmmmmmm....About 25% of examples ( 2 million of them) on Google spell it my way.
Windows Spellchecker passes it.
Only a colossal pedant would object - and look who did.
.... Phil
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