Moving on from breadboard.

[Peter Rudin]

Hi,
I have been dabbling in electronics this year and have only really got so far as following a few schematics using temporary components on a breadboard. What I would like to do is take something I have working on a breadboard and turn it into a fixed circuit I can keep. My soldering skills are very poor but will never improve if I avoid it forever. I have seen posts mentioning strip board and other types of pcb.

What would you recommend as the next step on from breadboarding circuits? I have been buying move of my components from the cpc website and they have an awful lot of board types available but little or no information for the amateur or hobbyist how doesn't know what they are doing.

Thanks in advance.

[pom901]

A temperature controlled soldering station with a fine tip makes the job much easier, as does using the appropriate diameter solder. 1 mm or smaller works well for most through hole component projects. I build many projects on single sided 0.1" pad spacing perf board.



Here is a link to a low cost soldering station, this site also has prototype perf boards.

http://www.mpja.com/productsdirect.asp? ... 5=17204+TL

[Peter Rudin]

Thanks,
Is this the sort of thing?
http://cpc.farnell.com/roth-elektronik/ ... dp/PC01215 ?

[Simon (Webmaster)]

You need the board with copper strips joining the holes in one direction, I think the board you linked only has pads, with no strips. I can't really tell from the website which boards are suitable - the pictures are small and the descriptions aren't terribly helpful. The board I have here is from Farnell, but is quite old and the code is no longer recognised by their website. I'll have a look tomorrow in the paper catalogue to find the right one.

A soldering station (temperature controlled iron) is indeed very useful, but probably not really worth it to begin with. If you are buying an iron I've found the Antex type 'C' 15W or 'XS' 25W are both good, although I prefer the 15W one for small jobs as the 25W is a bit large, but the 15W isn't really up to it for big joints. If possibly get the version with silicone cable - partly as it is heat resistant, but also as it is much more flexible, making handling much easier.

Also get a proper stand. I must admit to having a soldering station at work and much preferring it. I also find a small vice and some 0.2kg weights very useful for holding items whilst soldering them, certainly much better than a 'helping hands'.

See the beginners guide on this website for a quick guide to soldering. EPE magazine have (or certainly used to have) a comprehensive soldering guide on their website at www.epemag.co.uk.

[Simon (Webmaster)]

A suitable board would be Farnell (www.farnell.co.uk) order code 1201473. There are other sizes in the range - the full range is at http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/level5/module ... 241014.xml, any of the boards described as 'Strips' not 'Pads' should be fine.

I expect CPC have the same or equivalent items since they are part of the same company, but I don't have a CPC catalogue to check.

[Peter Rudin]

Thanks for that,

I will order some of the strip board for this project and see how I get on.
I am going to open an account with farnell and buy all the components I need for this little project from them.

I already have a soldering iron I was given a kit with a soldering gun, iron, helping halds, solder and flux for Christmas last year and a copy of electronics for dummys. I have worked though that book and made all the circuits on a breadboard. This year I bought electronics projects for dummys and I want to start getting into making more perminant circuits.

I will let you know how I get on.

[Simon (Webmaster)]

Both Farnell & RS will accept credit card orders - postage is free but there is a minimum order value - £20 for Farnell I think, but not certain now as my orders are normally over that.

[Peter Rudin]

My project has been slightly delayed due to items being out of stock when I order them, I will let you know how I get on.

I have the strip board now, I assume that I have to break the copper strips in the correct places eg I am using an 8pin op amp ic, I would have to break the strips otherwise pins 1/8, 2/7, 3/6 and 1 & 4 would all be connected. What is the best way of doing this? Do I just take a scalpel to the copper strips?

[Simon (Webmaster)]

Either use a drill bit about the same diameter as the width of the copper strip (turn it by hand, only enough to break the copper, you don't need to drill right through the board!) or a strip breaking tool - the one I have is just a drill bit with a handle on, but the better ones are more like a reamer and do cut the strips more cleanly. I've found it best not to push hard when turning the tool / bit - trying to do it too quickly tends not to cut as cleanly.