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Subject: RE: Dyeing PCBs for a vintage look

From: "chuck richards" <chuckrr@...>
Date: 2016-11-16

Is it possible that some of those vintage green
boards were epoxy glass and not phenolic?

My impression of it always has been that epoxy glass
is a much more durable and high quality material, where
as the phenolic tends to be brittle and cheap.





>
>
>---- Original Message ----
>From: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
>To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: RE: [POSSIBLE SPAM] RE: [Homebrew_PCBs] Dyeing PCBs for a
>vintage look
>Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2016 05:33:29 -0800
>
>>Back then we just went to a stationary store that made them.
>Nowadays I use
>>a laser engraver to make stamps. The "natural" boards we dyed were
>just
>>translucent, maybe just slightly off white.
>>
>>On Nov 15, 2016 8:27 PM, "'Brad' unclefalter@...
>[Homebrew_PCBs]" <
>>Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 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
>>>
>>> www.trinity-electronics.com
>>>
>>> Custom Electronics Design and Manufacturing
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>



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