Guide PCB & VU meter how to, ch ch check it out

In this mod I will show you how to product your own PCB. We will make a Volume meter for Winamp (Check out an old VU meter guide for electronic elements info). I prepared PCB layout for you in bitmap format. You can download it here. The easiest method is to print that on a transparent foil. Look at the things we´re going to use for this mod.



I bought ferric chloride in local store. It cost me 4 Euros, but we won´t use it all, just a lil bit. I printed my PCB layout on a foil and now I have to cut it. Use scalpel or whatever you want.





Transparent foil is not so cheap so I printed 8 PCBs on it if something goes wrong. And it went wrong, I ruined two of them Now when you cut it, take a piece of copper board. Cut it by following PCB layout.



Now when you´re done with cutting, take your foil and put it over board. Take a piece of paper and put it on a top.



I took an old iron to heat a foil. WARNING: You will have to clean your board before transfering a foil on it, there shouldn´t be any grease on it. Now take your iron and adjust temperature to maximum. Put it on a board and press it down. Wait for a minute or two and then check it. Try to stick foil out of board and if you see that toner transfered to foil, you´re done. If it didn´t transfer very well, take Edding 3000 or some other tip pen and correct it. It will be OK, don´t worry.



I had to correct few lines also Now when it is over, we have to use ferric chloride to etch the board. It´s a bit messy, so use a ceramic or plastic sink for etching. WARNING: Use gloves and safety glasses and wash off any skin splashes immediately. Etching should look like this;



Always pour ferric chloride into water, don´t do it counter way. You should warm the etchant so you don´t have to wait long. If you warm it to 50°C and if you use fresh ferric chloride, a PCB will etch in well under 30 minutes.



When etching is done, you will have to clean toner with alchocol. When you´re done, your PCB will look like this. Not bad at all Now we have to drill holes for components.

Typical hole sizes : ICs, resistors etc. 0.8mm. Larger diodes (1N4001 etc.), square-pin headers, D connectors, IDC connectors, TO-220 leads etc. : 1.0mm, terminal blocks, trimmers etc. 1.2 to 1.5mm. My board after drilling (LMAO I didn´t manage to drill all holes properly, but nevermind )




And now the final product, it looks great IMHO;







You can find everything you need for configuring Discolitez here.

You can download a sample movie @ Cro modders . Movie was taken with my cell phone LG U8120 Movie is in .avi format (3 MB)
If you like this guide, let me know it Post ur comments
Please support my work by clicking on ads on my site. Tnx guys

 

great guide, im very interested in making my own PCBs. 2 questions though, is that ferric chloride a pretty standard thing in hardware stores, or would i have a hard time finding it? also, is it poisonous or dangerous to people? just wondering.

 

I bet u will find it in any store which sells electronic components
Ferric chloride is an acid when u put it in water so it can burn u, but it´s not poisonous. I suggest u to do the etching in a room with windows open so u don´t breeth it in all the time

 

You can usually get better results by using glossy photo paper instead of OHP film.

Iron it onto your PCB then place the whole thing (including the photo paper) in warm soapy water. The paper should peel off after a while, and you're ready for etching.

 

i have no idea whats going on but from that guild i could do what ever it is that was

 

I don´t understand what u r trying to say LMAO

 

These two posts have had me in stitches for an hour..ahh jeez.

Anyway, this is a cool guide..thanks for providing it, it's very interesting . Luckily, my electronics dept. will let me use their bubble etch tanks and UV developers, but I never knew you could make PCBs at home at relatively low cost. ( Im rambling again )

 

I started to sell these VU meters and I can say that I am pretty satisfied with mass production for now
I made this one for a customer from Slovenia






What do u think?

+ =

 

how much are they

 

They are 10 Euros, you can choose board color and LEDs color