vectorboards?

[List, Christopher]

	I agree with Tony on his points. 
	I'm pretty anal about it - I layout my entire circuit in visio
before I start to minimize trace length and number of jumpers. For a big
circuit like a VCO with waveshapers, or a statevariable VCF, this is
essential. When I put it together, I know where everything will go so it
comes out really clean and neat. I take real pride in making them look
as professional as a "real PCB" - but more "organic" because the traces
are like thick tubes (I should put some pictures on my www page)... The
best thing about using this stuff is that if you decide aftert building
that you want an inverting output, or some other circuit modification,
you can easily make the changes....

	I've never had any reliability problems and all of my
"precision" circuits (VCOs, S&H, etc) - though noise is something I've
had problems with on and off. I tend to attribute it to the fact that
I'm using unsheilded connection between faceplate and board, and an
unsheilded housing for the boards...

	- CList 

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Tony Clark [SMTP:clark at andrews.edu]
> Sent:	Thursday, June 11, 1998 8:43 AM
> To:	Synth-DIY
> Subject:	RE: vectorboards?
> 
> > Do you really end up with low noise, clean circuits by doing this? I
> gather
> > then that most of the circuits you're working on are not too
> sensitive to
> > board layout.. even VCO's? 
> 
>    Well I believe there's a trick or two to using the vectorboards.  I
> 
> use the type that have no strips.  That means its all just holes and 
> pads.  I do that because it allows me the most flexibility in
> placement 
> and routing.
>    My main trick is to route as much of the traces as possible without
> 
> using wire to jump from one point to another.  What I do is take 
> component lead clippings and start soldering them from pad to pad and 
> snake them around the board until they connect to where I want them to
> 
> go.  Obviously you can't really route everything there, so in the end,
> I 
> have both "traces" and wire doing the connecting.
>    Another trick is to keep all components connected to the inputs of 
> things as close as possible. Of course this is something that you'd
> worry 
> about if designing a real PCB, and certainly more important for these 
> vectorboards!  It's usually the inputs that get priority as traces on
> the 
> vectorboard and the outputs that get wires.
> 
> > building my modular, I want it to be reliable and low-noise -
> something I
> > can spend my time playing rather than repairing...
> 
>    The best measure against noise is supply filtering.  That and using
> 
> reliable voltage references not based on the supply voltage!
> 
>    Tony
> 
> ------------------------------------,---------------------------------
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> I can't drive (my Moog) 55!         |     The E-Music DIY Archive
> ------------------------------------|  
> Tony Clark -- clark at andrews.edu     |
> aupe.phys.andrews.edu/diy_archive
> http://aupe.phys.andrews.edu/~clark |     Contributions welcomed!
> ------------------------------------'---------------------------------
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