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

previous by date index next by date
previous in topic topic list next in topic

Subject: RE: [Homebrew_PCBs] Dyeing PCBs for a vintage look

From: "Brad" <unclefalter@...>
Date: 2016-11-16

I was wondering about emulating the board house markings.. that’d really help with both my TVT and Mark-8 clones.  How did you go about having the stamp made?

 

So you dyed the PCBs yourselves?  I’ve tried making enquiries with board houses about getting the right color material made but they just look at me funny or the samples they send end up being way off.  I don’t know why it’s so hard to produce a shade of green that was literally everywhere in the mid-70s.  I’m told that shade was considered ‘natural’.

 

From: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2016 10:11 AM
To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Dyeing PCBs for a vintage look

 

 

I had to replicate some boards in some gambling machines once. It had to look exactly like the original for legal reasons. We had to order dyable pcbs, get capacitors of the same color, etc. and make some rubber stamps to emulate the old board house markings(in japanese no less) on the phenolic. They were close enough to match an old photo, but right next to an original you could tell right away. The board house was pretty funny when we asked for unplated through holes and no tin/nickel plating. For a lot more money the board house would've made the raw boards the exact color and silkscreen the fiberglass before the copper.
Good luck to you and let us know how it turns out.

 

On Nov 15, 2016 9:41 AM, "Dwayne Reid dwayner@... [Homebrew_PCBs]" <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Many of the old PCBs were made with phenolic PCB material.  The color varies between brown to various shades of beige.

You can still purchase bare (blank) copper-clad phenolic PCB material.

Another characteristic of old PCBs is that the layout is often done by hand, using crepe dots and crepe tape in various widths.  Even earlier layouts were strictly hand-drawn - no tape or dots.

dwayne


At 01:08 PM 11/12/2016, 'Brad' unclefalter@... [Homebrew_PCBs] wrote:

Hey guys,
 
I have recently heard of some methods of ‘dyeing’ PCBs to achieve coloration closer to what vintage PCB stock looked like.  I’m wondering if any of you have experience on this, what works, etc.
 
I recently acquired some original, untouched Mark-8 computer boards: http://bradhodge.ca/blog/?p=826
 
I’m hoping to use them to help create replicas.  But I just can’t get the PCB to look the way I want.  They look too modern.   I’ve heard dyeing can help, and that one can even fake the fab house marks somehow.
 
I’m surprised there isn’t a stock of vintage copper clad out there somewhere.  Seems to be vintage everything else these days in electronics..
 
Brad

 

--

Dwayne Reid   <dwayner@...>

Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd    Edmonton, AB, CANADA

780-489-3199 voice   780-487-6397 fax   888-489-3199 Toll Free

Custom Electronics Design and Manufacturing