Universal stripboard

Today I have tried to put together the first universal board using the stripboard template I've posted earlier. It is not the best soldering job, but ... I think it works

I have attached some images of the process. Basicall, these were the steps taken:

- fix drill template, mark holes with feltpen on paper, look at backside of stripboard and mark again (images hole1, hole2, hole3)
- drill holes w/ 2.5MM drill, just throug the strips (images drill1, drill2, drill3)
- fix the components template, using the PIC as guide (image comp)
- solder the components; final result is in image uboard.jpg

Regarding the order of soldering, I did some of the vias first (below the L298N) but when I put the L298N on, it melted trough some of the vias, creating a shortcircuit between +5V and GND. If you use a stripboard, do those later (it is a little difficult because there's not much space next to the L298N). Finally, I tested the voltages using the guide on the Wiki - they seemed alright.

Since I have not been able to flash a PIC yet, I will have to wait and find out if it really works as it is supposed to, but so far I am confident. At least there was no smoke ... ;-)

Joost

nice, i like how you left the paper in there. hopefully it doesnt get too hot... it would suck if the board caught fire.

Well, I expect the board doesn't get that hot; then again: paper has an autoignition temeprature of approx 233C [en.wikipedia.org] which would save me to build the extruder - I can just press the filament throught the stripboard and extrude ABS ;-)

Joost

That was a good one Joost. On the off chance that it actually does happen, I'd like to see that blogged