The blog of a dedicated radio amateur and electronics enthusiast

"Having fun on the air and in the workshop - communicating and creating"

11 March 2010

Home-made PCBs


I made a printed circuit board, (PCB), today as part of the same construction project reported on 25th January. The quality achieved when making ones own boards in the kitchen at home can be remarkably high. I use silkscreen printing and photographic methods of production depending on the nature of the board. If I need a copper ground plane, (as in this case today), in order to equalise earth currents because radio-frequency signals will be present, I adopt the photographic method. If there are only to be tracks present, then the silkscreen printing method is quicker.
The picture shows the silkscreen layer, (top), for component locations, then the track pattern, (mid), and finally the etched board ready for drilling and populating. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

No comments: