D. R. Chicotel wrote:
>
>PCB: Please tell me how to make an inexpensive, consistent PCB. While it
>may be easy to do, many of us have not set up the design tools and equipment
>to put it together. I'll gladly take a lesson in easy PCB making.
>

You can get a good but free PCB layout program called easytrax by
Protel. It is the little brother of there autotrax program. It runs
under MSDOS and is more than adequate for most boards. You should be
able to get a copy from Alberta Circuits at http://www.apcircuits.com/

If you have a laser printer, you may want to consider the toner transfer
systems. One is from a company called DynaArt Designs. You can access
their web page at http://www.dynaart.com. With this system you print the
artwork 1:1 to a laser printer, and then transfer the toner on to the
PCB using heat and pressure. The toner acts as a resist, so the board
can be directly etched. The advantage is the quick turn around. The
disadvantage is inconsistent results. I think this can be remedied if
you buy one of their 'SuperFuser' devices. Has anyone used a
'SuperFuser' ? If so what results did you get.


--
Randy Howe
Axiak Electronic Design Ltd.
Vancouver, B.C.