[sdiy] drilling pcb boards...sore throat

[Adam Schabtach]

> Of course, the professional boards are nicer, with printed 
> jumpers, plated-through holes, tinned vias, silkscreened 
> layouts, etc.  However, the big reason to do it yourself is 
> because it's fun.  Isn't that the ultimate goal of DIY?

Personally I think it's fun to open an envelope and gaze in wonder and awe
at PCBs made professionally from my artwork. ;-)

I've been thinking about this very issue a bit recently, having done boards
both ways. I think I've arrived at the following opinion: If I can get by
with a single-sided board, I'll do it myself. If it has to be double-sided,
I'll pay batchpcb.com to make it for me. I find it tricky to line up the two
sides of the board. (My method is to transfer the artwork to one side, drill
a few of the holes to act as reference points, and then use an improvised
light table to align the artwork on the second side.) I also find doing vias
by hand to be rather tedious. Those two challenges aren't issues with
single-sided boards, obviously.

I do enjoy making PCBs but I actually enjoy laying out the artwork as much
as I enjoy the actual etching and drilling.

Just my humble opinion, of course.

--Adam