Question about building on perfboard?

[Chris Goodson]

I'd like to try to do some projects on perfboard but I've never used it much except for really simple stuff.  My question is do you mount everything as it looks in a layout then add jumpers or look at the schematic and try to directly connect everything you can?

I tried building a Shaka Brada 3 using the later method and it turned into such a mess I eventually gave up on it.

[RDV]

My question is do you mount everything as it looks in a layout then add jumpers or look at the schematic and try to directly connect everything you can?

You can go either way. I use the leads of components quite often if convenient, other times I trim them and jumper. The keys to successful perfing IMNSHO are:

1. Make a layout beforehand(or do Runoff Groove projects), and mark off components as they are installed.

2. Take your time & try to be neat & efficient.

3. Make sure all your solder joints are good. Most of my de-bugging problems have been due to cold solderjoints and the like.

4. Try to make the input on one end and the output on the other. This helps avoid noise & oscillation in high-gain circuits.

Often I just lay them out like the schematic(if possible) and mark off parts as they are installed.

HTH

RDV

[Lonestarjohnny]

Chris, a very easy perfboard build and a very useful one at that is ROG's Fetzar, this is a good pre amp Emulateing  build, add Switch, Jack's, LED, and you got a great sounding pedal to start your collection,
and Like Ricky said, follow thier layout step by step, best thing to do is hand draw thier layout  so you will get a feel for the circuit, I find doing this I seldom make a mistake, and don't get in a hurry, take your time, and where you can, use the lead of the part just installed to hook to the next link in the circuit, keep's you from putting in to many jumper's, the more solder connection's you make, the more chances for a cold solder joint or wrong connection.
Have fun and take a look at my T.R.O.G.G. today some time, I'll be posting some pic's of my perf build of seven circuit's on one master board that I'm working on.
Have Fun,
JD

[smoguzbenjamin]

One tip I can give you is do it in one go. There's nothing more irritating than building something on perf and forgetting where you were. Takes me about 15 minutes to figure out where I was and by then my soldering iron's gone on standby :mrgreen:

[Lonestarjohnny]

Yeah Ben your Right except it's my brain that goes on standby,
:lol:  :lol:  :lol:
Jd

[petemoore]

Here's another added Tip...
 Do it 'by the nodes'.
 Check to see how many connections are made at each node, and plan the installation of the parts accordingly...two or three or more at a time...depending on whether i'ts a socket pin [in which case I often use a short R lead of or off a resistor] or if it's just leads sticking through, I just bend the one over to, or twist the two leads together a bit.
 Also look at and read the Tweek-O article at Small Bear electronics...a great tutorial on perfboarding...good read for 'perf prepping'.

[john1056]

One thing I've found that makes things easier is to mirror the layout in a paint program and use that to work from.  This allows you to view your leads on the bottom of the board as they appear in your layout.  I get really confused trying to visualize things backwards.  I would also recommend perf with the little copper rings around the holes.

[aaronkessman]

definitely use perfboard that has a copper pad on each hole.

another useful type of board is bussboard. look at the picture towards the bottomr of http://tangentsoft.net/elec/breadboard.html . It has two busses straight down the center. those are good for + and - leads. There are other types of boards out there. Strip board, boards built around DIP-8 IC's, etc. Depending on the circuit type and complexity, one board might be better than another. Dip-8 IC's are hard to use on that 2-strip busboard i mentioned, but there'd be no need to use a transistor-based circuit like a fuzzface on DIP-8 board.

keep in mind that on boards that have busses, you can cut the copper traces anywhere you want to isolate holes or groups of holes.

my Spyder uses a straight up copper board which I cut traces into (i found it in the trash and it was easy+cheap). whatever works!

Aaron

[Mark Hammer]

With time, I think you'll find there are things you don't mind perfing, and other things that, thanks-I'll-wait, will want a PCB.

Probably the easiest things to perf are discrete transistor-based projects.  These are nice because you can run the V+ along one edge of the board, ground along the other and easily build it from left to right, just like the schematic.  Ideally, you use transistors for these which conform to the E-B-C pinout, though other pinouts provide only minor inconveniences.

I have way too many partly finished perf-projects,and the best advice I can give is that you probably want to print out and keep a copy of the schematic beside you thatyou can check off each connection made as you go along.  PCB's have a way of remembering where you left off for you, but perf downloads the responsibility to you, the builder.  Unless it is the sort of thing you can easily build in an hour, chances are your building will be interrupted by something, whether sleep, phonecalls, running out of solder, a shout to come over and watch the replay of that catch/throw/hit/basket/touchdown/etc, or something else.  Between needing to keep flipping things back and forth and interruptions, memory will become your enemy.

One piece of advice I will offer is that, given the inevitable need to desolder things, plan out what gets wrapped around what carefully.  I try to make a point of wrapping the leads of expensive things around the leads of cheap things.  So, if I have to connect a resistor and cap, I wrap the lead of the cap around the resistor and solder, rather than wrapping the resistor around the cap and clipping the cap lead short.  Invariably you'll find yourself wanting to rearrange the components, or swiping a part from a less well-cherished board for a new project, and you'll need longer leads on the caps to make them usable.  Resistors are cheap compared to caps.  Same thing goes for transistors.  The only place where I would alter that advice would be if you have some resistor value that is extremely rare and hard to re-obtain in your neighbourhood.  Bottom line, keep the leads of things you want to hang onto longer.and clip the leads of things you don't mind wasting shorter.

A good pair of end-nippers is important since fitting a board into a chassis  behind the pots without shorting anything out against the case can often depend on how flush you were able to clip all those little "solder mountains".

I also find it useful to secure wire leads to and from the board with a dab of hot glue at their base.

[puretube]

interrupted by something, whether sleep, phonecalls, running out of solder, a shout to come over and watch the replay of that catch/throw/hit/basket/touchdown/etc, or something else.

are we rowing the same boat?
:wink:

[RDV]

interrupted by something, whether sleep, phonecalls, running out of solder, a shout to come over and watch the replay of that catch/throw/hit/basket/touchdown/etc, or something else.

are we rowing the same boat?
:wink:

Have you ever been to Canada?  :wink:

RDV

[petemoore]

Off set certain parts for ID...write your own code...
 I like to have parts go up and down soemtimes for even layout in less space, but signal path components I put spacing like up three [so the part can lay flat, and over one...this designates it as a signal path item.
 Another Thing I like is keeping the Gnd.s and Pos's easilily ID'd.
 And the other other things is leaving just enough extra component lead above board, and accesible for the DMM or signal injector.
 ROG tho has numerous expamples of perf layouts, very nice "thanks guys'...that you can see and learn from...I like using their nice perf layouts...
 Measuring resistors with the DMM prior to installation is a good one too.

[Chris Goodson]

Thanks for the replies everyone, this should get me off to a better start with it.  What is ROG?  Can I get a link?  I'd like to check that out.

[B Tremblay]

What is ROG?  Can I get a link?  I'd like to check that out.

ROG is the de facto forum acronym for runoffgroove.com

[Chris Goodson]

I used to have that site book-marked a while back and somehow lost it.  That's definatly the place for anyone wanting to build some stuff on perfboard, very cool!

[Lonestarjohnny]

Hey Chris, sorry bout that, I have to remember, to start out by saying the correct name, RonOffGroove, these circuits are a delight to build and I get excited a lil to much sometime's and abreviate thier name,
:oops:  
JD

[Sic]

akk!! you lost the Run Off Groove link??  runoff and its older counterpart home-wrecker are awesome places!!! dunno what'd i'd do without them.

[aron]

Roughly like this:

[Chris Goodson]

Thanks, I'm gonna save a copy of that to use as a guide for when I try to do it again.  I've been wanting to build one for quite a while.