I commented on a Youtube video and the author replied he found that he could get PC Boards made for cheap from Futurlec.com. I looked at their FAQ and found that they will accept designs made in ExpressPCB, which is what I use. Their cost estimator said I can get the same boards for 44 dollars, 2/3 the cost of expressPCB’s $66.00. And single-sided is even cheaper. I can also get them made single-sided with the silk screen for even a little cheaper. There is no minimum but the setup charges are fixed, so it pays to order enough boards to reduce the total cost per board (not including setup, mine are $1.27 each).
I have sent a few of my designs to ExpressPCB. One of them, my Blue Blinky, is my favorite. I’ve built at least 25 of them so far, but I think I won’t be ordering any from Futurlec because I still have four boards that I haven’t stuffed with parts.
Once I ordered some boards for my”Fading Red Eyes” which is a ‘PSO’ phase shift oscillator that runs at about 1/3 Hz. It drives six LEDs, and needs about 6 to 9 volts., depending on the color of the LED. It’s a simple circuit so I could build it on the plywood boards I’ve been using lately.
My recent projects, the flashers, might be a candidate for some boards from Futurlec. However, I’ve built 6 or 7 of the Bowden flashers, and I think I’ve about had as much fun with it as I can stand. The dual switched capacitor board might be a good candidate, since it will drive any color LED. It has about 21 components, not including the AA cell. I could put it on a long thin board like my Blue Blinky and then use the same paper clip loops for the battery holder. The original one I built is 1 inch by 1-3/8 inch (25mm by 35mm) so I think it would fit nicely on the same size board as my Blue Blinky.
Having the PC board also serve as the battery holder is very convenient and helpful, but if the circuit is very low power, as is the case with these flashers, then it may be better to design the holder for the AAA cell. Or could I make a battery holder out of paper clip loops that would hold both AA and AAA cells? I’ll have to think about that.