PCB Kits?

[DCMagnuson at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/30/98 4:27:29 PM Eastern Daylight Time, lheckman at juno.com
writes:

> 2) Can you recommend a PCB kit for me?  I've seen one in Mouser, and a
>  cheaper one in Jameco that uses a negative film process.  Are these 
>  any
>  good?

I haven't used either of the two you've mentioned above, but I've had good
luck using the supplies from my local Radio Shack.  All told, the kit and
supplies are very cheap, and very straight forward to use. 

>  
>  3) How does "direct etch" work?  Is this what I need?  Do I need a kit
>  to direct etch, or can I just buy a few supplies?

The RS kit is simply a copper clad board (1 sided), a bottle of etchant
solution and an etch resistant marker (Sharpie).  You just color in the areas
you want traces, dunk it in the etcher (1/4" deep or so in a container) and in
30-45 minutes, you'll have a PCB.  

I remember seeing the Mouser kit, and I believe it came with a heater, etc...
the RS kit is much more simple, but also less than $20.  I think the heater
only speeds up the process.  

If you only plan to etch a handful of boards, the simple kit will probably be
fine, but if you plan on doing a lot of boards, the more advanced set up may
be prefered.
  
Dave Magnuson