Homebrew PCBs

> The tried and true method is to breadboard the circuit.  That way,
> you know the chips, and that the circuit works.
>
> THEN make a board.
>
> A much cheaper way is to buy perf board at radioshack and mount your
> stuff on that.
>
>
> Dave

Basically i agree on what you say, the above which i snipped off.
But i do not agree that every any any board has to be breadboarded first.

If you have a schematic which you understand, where there are no doubts and
guess work there is a good chance the first pcb will be useable.

You can make many mistakes on a breadboard, and maybe destroy more 
components
than see any results. this depends a lot on your personal working methods.

I often make breadboards (the white spring-loaded type), but only if i am 
unsure
of the circuit and want to experiment.

It also depends a lot on how long it takes you to make a board (and how 
much it costs).
If it takes actually less time to get a finished board than wire up a 
breadboard why not
just make one? With good schematics and layou software (no corel draw 
steve ;-) ) the
possibility of making fatal errors (for the parts) is much less.

I have confused the important wires and pins often enough to know what 
happens
if you reverse the power connections.....

To the perfboard: well, this is Homebrew_PCBs, and i trust the people here
know the difference between perfboard and a custom pcb...


ST