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

I've seen this done and was wondering if anyone has some words of
wisdom as to how to do it. Basically, I want to attach a ribbon
cable directly to a PCB. The non-PCB end will use an IDC connector
but I can't afford the size of header pins on the PCB. I've seen
several LCDs that have 50 mil spacing hole/pads. The insulation was
stripped of the ribbon cable, the wires inserted in the holes and
soldered. The solder is about 1 mm high. I need 2-3 mm clearance so
that works for me. Clearance on the bottom is a little less a
problem but even SMT connectors are too big.

Are there special tools for this? It sure looks tricky to do. What
size holes/pads?

Phil