Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

I just received my first order of epoxy/glass copper clad (thus far I
have been using 30+ year old phenolic) and the weave pattern is from
the glass is ∗very∗ pronounced on the surface of the copper. Is this
at all common? Have I purchased a low-grade board? I did some
googling, and all I could find in reference to the weave patterns was
in relation to the performance of high-frequency circuits.

Although I am not concerned about high-frequency performance, there is
enough surface irregularity to substantially effect toner transfer.
It actually takes a fair bit of sanding (i.e. I need to start with 100
grit paper) to clean the board up and get things flat.

I also discovered two tips that I did not come across in my reading on
PCBs. Probably preaching to the choir here, but just in case...

1. 30% HCl works brilliantly for cleaning any tarnish off a board.
Just wipes it right off like magic. I can't imagine why so many
people recommend Tarn-X. That stuff doesn't work for crap and leaves
an evil film. $5 wasted IMO.

2. It is ridiculously easy to tin your entire board using nothing
more than a broad-tipped iron. Just put a tiny bit of solder on the
tip of the iron and drag it across the board. It will bridge up
smaller holes so those are best drilled after tinning the board. I'm
glad I didn't waste $15 (or much more) on Liquid-Tin.

-p.