ExpressPCB reportedly has good service.. but there are some nasty catches to
using their "free" software.
Technically you don't really own your design created in their program and
must always use them for additional runs (which becomes expensive!). Read
the license carefully before creating your board in their software. If you
ever go to publish the design, then you are limiting everyone else to using
them as well!
I'd recommend avoiding their software and using the hobby version of Eagle
(educational version) or KiCad if you don't want any restrictions. Then
take your STANDARD Gerber files and price around.. there are many good PCB
houses. For a one off, two sided board, if you are really not in a hurry,
BatchPCB (SparkFun) has a cheap service that works OK.
Their tutorials on Eagle are good as well.
There are a lot of Chinese houses that are cheap now, also..e-bay is loaded
with them. Of course your design will be sold to hams in Asia without you
knowing about it.. but that's the risk you take! :O)
I'm not saying not to use ExpressPCB, (or maybe I am I wouldn't use them
personally,, there are better deals out there)... but please be aware of the
License restrictions of their "free" software.
Fred, W0FMS
On Wed, Apr 13, 2011 at 6:01 PM, Grant Saviers <grants2@pacbell.net> wrote:
> For those not familiar with ExpressPCB, here is the deal -
>
> three double sided plated thru hole boards 2.5" x 3.8" delivered in
> about 3-4 days for $51.
> free layout and schematic entry tools, decent library of digital parts
> and pad layouts
> larger boards, 4 layer, solder mask, silk screening available for more $
>
> I've used them for a number of projects and the quality is very good and
> the tools are easy to use. SMT or thru hole (various drill sizes are
> available) is no problem and adding holes for cut/break lines is easy as
> long as you stay under the hole limit (about 300 per board) for the $51
> special.
>
> expresspcb.com
>
> Grant KZ1W
>
> On 4/13/2011 3:28 PM, Fred Spinner wrote:
> > Manhattan style is where you take small pieces of PCB (little squares or
> > whatever) and hot-glue (or epoxy or whatever) them to a bigger piece of
> PCB
> > or other surface, typically a ground plane of some sort, to make a
> > multi-layer stack (like a "skyscraper" or "manhattan"). I personally
> don't
> > like building that way.
> >
> > http://www.k8iqy.com/construction/ConstructionMethods.htm
> >
> > Seems to have a good explanation. I prefer a dremel and a small router
> bit
> > and hand etching a board that way instead.
> >
> > Fred W0FMS
> >
> > On Wed, Apr 13, 2011 at 11:41 AM, Stan Labinsky Jr.
> > <wa2puq@frontiernet.net>wrote:
> >
> >> Fred, "Manhattan" style... I missed that one in class... care to
> explain?
> >>
> >> Stan
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Fred Spinner"<
> fred.spinner@gmail.com>
> >> To:<towertalk@contesting.com>
> >> Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 11:03 AM
> >>
> >> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] I.C.E. Vendors
> >>
> >>
> >> There is nothing to stop anyone from hacking a small part of a PCB,
> >>> soldering the chip on to it, soldering leads on to it and making a
> leaded
> >>> part out of a SMT part. this is handy if retrofitting an existing
> etched
> >>> board design.
> >>>
> >>> But for something like a filter, a Dremel etched PCB or "manhattan"
> style
> >>> construction with SMT parts would be no more difficult than building
> >>> point-to-point with leads-- it would probably be easier and the end
> result
> >>> would work better.
> >>>
> >>> But yeah, if you can get the values in SMT, you can always MAKE leaded
> >>> parts
> >>> out of them. Doing that is a completely valid substitution for an
> >>> one-off.
> >>>
> >>> Fred W0FMS
> >>>
> >>> On Sat, Apr 9, 2011 at 10:44 AM, Dan Zimmerman N3OX<n3ox@n3ox.net>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> You can get every necessary value for the BC band-reject filter from
> >>>> Mouser
> >>>> (and I'm sure, Digikey) in 100V 5% ceramic surface mount type. I
> forgot
> >>>> to
> >>>> check if all were available in C0G, but I know some were, and I think
> all
> >>>> are... it's very standard and the correct choice for RF applications.
> >>>> Prices are low... 40 to 60 cents in Qty. 1 for some spot checks.
> >>>>
> >>>> > From what I can find the HF Q of the standard chip caps at least
> >>>>> 600-1000
> >>>> (dissipation factor of at most 0.0015 is quoted many places, which is
> >>>> Q=667,
> >>>> some data sheets say Q>1000). And I think all this is probably more
> or
> >>>> less
> >>>> the same for C0G ceramic disks vs. C0G ceramic chips if dielectric
> >>>> dissipation is at fault.
> >>>>
> >>>> Intuition tells me that anything a leaded ceramic disc cap could do, a
> >>>> surface mount chip cap can do better with the exception of handling
> >>>> continuous RF currents and dissipating the resulting heat... not
> because
> >>>> they're more lossy (they may be less) but because they are physically
> >>>> smaller. For receiving filters this should not be an issue. For
> things
> >>>> like QRP low pass/bandpass filters, etc, they might. (For QRO filters
> >>>> you'd
> >>>> probably be looking for mica caps anyway. But even there, surface
> mount
> >>>> versions seem to be more available and a bit cheaper ($4-$5 in Qty.1)
> at
> >>>> least in new parts )
> >>>>
> >>>> It's not too hard to use surface-mount chip caps in dead-bug
> construction
> >>>> as
> >>>> long as you have a decent pair of tweezers.
> >>>>
> >>>> 73
> >>>> Dan
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> TowerTalk mailing list
> >>>> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> >>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> TowerTalk mailing list
> >>> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> >>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
> >>>
> >>
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > TowerTalk mailing list
> > TowerTalk@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
> >
> _______________________________________________
>
>
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