David Gould wrote: SNIP Anybody remember the SCAMP kit? My first, and still in the attic... SNIP < What is a reasonable process for making your own boards these days, or is wirewrap still it for prototypeing?> Use free/cheap pc layout s/w, email Gerber files to vendor. APC in Canada costs about $100US for two plated thru 3x6" boards. 2 day delivery, FEDEX. I find the boards to be more reliable than WW, and changes are almost self documenting. Ever try to remember what you changed in WW, and have to trace all the damn wires? If you need faster turnaround, some PC shops (at least in the wilds of Indiana here) will expose and etch boards if you bring in the artwork. 2 hrs/$20 at the local graphics place for the artwork, 2 hrs/$20 at the pc place, and you get SS undrilled board back. Would assume the same or better in your part of CA. SNIP < Where can I get (or rather which should I get) a reasonable set of databooks> Everybody has datasheets in Adobe on the net now. I like the paper -- much faster -- but I don't think the companies can afford to kill that many trees anymore. Or get the CDROM, which are usually easier to get than paper. SNIP < Now that we all have computers, I probably don't have to draw my next project by hand. What software (prefer freeware, prefer Linux based, but> I use AMS EZRoute -- about $300 for schematic entry and router. About 90% of a good system, if they would just fix the damn bugs. Get the DOS system -- their Windows system is a graphic redo of the DOS system, has fewer features and more bugs. IVEX is free for the small version (100 pins), but I can't get it to use decent schematic shapes (NAND gate is a square with a circle, like IEEE format, and I can't change it). Rumored to be buggy. PADS has released their DOS version to public domain, and (IMHO) it has few bugs, but a worse human interface than EZRoute -- you can FTP it. SNIP < It looks like you just order stuff from Digi-Key these days. Is this true, or are there other better suppliers? Any good surplus places?> We get most stuff from Digi-Key. Reliable, and their prices are OK. Also take credit cards. Mouser is good, and Newark et al are ok, but unresponsive to small orders. Also, the big guys' catalog prices are usually BS. Request quotes (by fax), even for smallish quantities, and you will often get much lower prices. Digi-Keys catalog prices are honest. I haven't been to civilization in years, but the southern end of the valley used to be full of surplus stores. You can get lots of parts off old boards quickly with a blowtorch and a concrete floor. Be sure you can afford the alimony payments. Mike Mullen VP, Engineering TLA Systems Ft Wayne, IN (219) 422-0377 "Engineering Whores. Yes, we can do that. How much money do you have?"