Circuit Construction Methods

I'm upgrading the status from "Under Construction" to "Gradually Expanding". If you have experiences, tips, and opinions based in reality concerning any of these or other construction methods, please feel free to share them with us.

Eyelet & Tagboard

This is what most of us are used to looking at, as lots of commercial amps have used this over the years. It is not the same as point to point - See Below for examples of point to point wiring. Eyelet & Tagboard consists of metal solder cups, called eyelets, pressed into a carrier board.

Advantages:

Easy repair
Modifications relatively easy (provided you don't need to add eyelets.)

Drawbacks:

Fibreboard may become conductive.
Components oriented lengthwise with respect to the board may experience cracked solder joints with flexure.

Notes:

Point to Point

Point to point wiring uses the leads of the components to connect circuit nodes wherever possible. As you can see in the example below, it is possible to pack an incredible amount of circuitry into a small volume, since you have three dimensions to work in. The second example shows (if you look carefully) the use of terminal strips to provide secure anchor points when you need to bring components together at a point not mechanically fixed to chassis in some fashion. (I.e., attached to a tube socket, or a chassis mounted pot, etc...)

[Point to Point #2]

Advantages:

Circuit density can be higher than other types.

Drawbacks:

Can be difficult to modify or repair. (See photo #1.)
Heat can be a problem, especially with components connected directly to tube sockets.

Notes:

I've found layout to be just as tricky as any other method, if not more so. Also, I strongly suggest anchoring connections which don't already go to chassis mounted components.

Printed Circuit

Advantages:

Economical for mass production.
Excellent repeatability.

Drawbacks:

Modification is often difficult.
Vibration and board flexure may crack solder joints or traces.

Notes:

Volumes have been written about PCB design and construction, especially DIY stuff, so I'll leave the explanations to others. Two good starting points are Himpe's FAQ, and the UNLV Prototyping document, found below.

More Information:

PCB FAQ - Vincent Himpe

PCB Design Tools

pcb v1.3 - An X11 based program for Printed Circuit layout. (Source only)
Easytrax - A DOS based PCB Layout program.

Perfboard

[Bottom of Perfboard] Components are placed on the perfboard, and connections are made with component leads on the underside. This is the method I've used up to the present.

Advantages:

Inexpensive
Quick

Drawbacks:

Modifications involve removing the circuit board.

Notes:

Turrets

I don't have any pictures yet, but I have dabbled with the Mini-Clips a few times now. No one else has volunteered any experiences or comments, so I guess that makes me the expert by default. (A position I'll be more than happy to relinquish.)

Advantages:

Can make modifications without having to remove the board.

Disadvantages:

Slightly slower than perfboard.

Notes:

The clips come in two sizes that I'm aware of, and the .042" hole size is what I've been using. I believe there is a tool made for pressing these into the perf board without closing the clip (or cutting your fingers), but I've just used fingers to date. The clip pokes through the board just enough to make a decent solder connection on the other side, should you need to - but that defeats one of the advantages this method has over the more normal perf board construction. (Being able to get at all of your circuit connections without removing the board.

Stripboard

Any takers?

Additional Resources:

Electronic Prototyping: Tips and Pitfalls - UNLV Electronics Shop Web Page

Nathan Stewart, npstewart@pobox.com

$Revision: 1.3 $
$Date: 1997/02/08 08:23:54 $