I have made single sided PCBs before, but for a new project I need a double sided PCB with vias some of the vias will be under surface mount components, so I cant solder a wire through them is there any alternative to buying $100+ worth of chemicals in larger quantities than I will ever use to plate the vias or spending around $30-40 to have a board professionally made?
just pay to get it done. www.4pcb.com is the cheapest i've found. conductive epoxy will prolly be as much as a board. or lay it out differently.
Try these guys, I dont have direct experience of them but its the best price Ive seen on the net. Linkage Moriquendi
I was going to suggest BatchPCB also, as they're the only one I've really come across, but this 4pcb sounds and looks pretty good also.
I dont know exactly, as I said I havent used them myself. There is more info in the forums including if i remember correctly a tutorial for producing the files. They also do four layer boards now. Moriquendi
would using conductive silver paint inside the holes and then plating using this method work? I think my dad has some paint somewhere, and I could probably find copper sulfate somewhere for cheap (possibly get some from school) and I'm having a bit of trouble finding some of the components for this project, does anyone know where I can get an equivalent to this in the US or what to search for since that page doesnt have much info this is what the contacts look like on the board I think the two connected pads go to a switch then to ground, the other two pads go to different pins on the PIC
why don't you just get the components you can find then route your own board? this way you don't need to mess with the vias, or at least can use wire.
Hmm, it might work but Im not sure that you can plate copper onto silver. Is there some reason that you cant rearrange to board so that there are no vias underneath SMDs? Moriquendi
not enough room with all the components and copper filled areas around the parts hiding the vias heres the board, this just about as big as it can be and still have room for a battery (approx 2.2" x 2.2")
I see your point, and those vias look pretty small to be hand soldering anyway. I think your only option is to have the board manufactured professionaly, the only methos that i have seen for an amature to make proper vias is with a kit that gives you tiny little tubes that you break off in the hole and then expand using a mandrill, only problem is that the kit is expensive and I haven't seen it for sale for a while. I have thought of a couple of methods that might work ( when i was in a similar situation to you) but i never got round to trying them. Moriquendi
I'll try my idea with some scrap board and if it doesn't work, I'll get the board professionally made found the switch, just two more parts I have questions on: is this d/a converter good? (if its not, I need one that has the same or very similar footprint and that is pin/programming compatible) and does anyone know where I could get this (or any pin/programming compatible decoder) for cheap? (I found one place that has it for $6.90, but shipping might be really expensive, would any local electronics stores have it?)
Id just use that one if thats what the board is made for. otherwise you'll be cutting traces and jumpering wires everywhere. doubtful any electronics store would have it, but it wouldn't hurt to call and ask. found this on ebay, $12 plus $4 for shipping to US. http://cgi.ebay.com/ST-MPEG-2-5-LAY...oryZ4663QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem when you buy all these parts, let me know how much they cost. if its reasonable, i might buy a board off of you if you get it professionally made.
current cost is $32 + shipping + board and CF card (up to 2gb) some of the more expensive parts are available as samples, and I'm not including a fm transmitter more info about it here
havent had much success plating a board, so I'll just try for the $500 off at 4pcb if i do get it, i'd be willing to order as many boards as I can for $500 and send them to whoever wants one if you pay shipping if i dont manage to get the $500 off, I'll probly use batchPCB, cost would be $12 + $10/(# of boards) each + shipping
Why not just order the PCB from Ladyada's website? I believe she has them and most of the needed parts for sale.
