I realize that this is a Pandora's box topic. But I've finally reached the
realization that I'm going to have to come up with something sturdier than
wire wrap. One of my permanent projects (a wall mounted thermostat)
is falling apart after a couple of years of use. So I'm I wandering into the
realm of PCB making and I'm soliciting advise.

Of course The PicList has several extended threads on the subject.
And yes I've
read them all.

Now not to come in empty handed I come with a few of the resources I've been
doing research from/with. Then the questions.

RESOURCES
---------
One of the best groups I've seen on the subject is the Yahoo group Homebrew
PCBs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs
They talk about every method under the sun and have a vast amount of resources.

One of the best overall "how to do it" posts can be found here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/message/839

Eagle (http://www.cadsoft.de) does represent an opportunity for schematic and
board layout of small boards. However both the free and hobbyist versions of
the products are quite limited. The cost for reasonable sized (4" x 6") boards
is $125! (And only for strictly non commercial use) Ouch!!!
I've been playing with it and will probably use it for my first couple of
tests. Questions are Eagle related.


Some interesting suppliers:

   Circuit Specialists: http://www.web-tronics.com
      Really cheap presensistized copper boards

   Dyna-Art: http://www.dynaart.com
      Silver plating among other items.

   Austin Electronics: http://www.austinelex.com/ae_118.htm
      PCB PhotoFab kit

After slogging through all the posts and all the different techniques I
finally concluded that presensitied positive photoresist boards etched in
plain old Ferric Cloride optimizes the costs and process repeatability.
This is especially true because I only have inkjet printers at home, so
printing to transparancy then exposing, developing, and etching is very
cost effective.

QUESTIONS
---------------------------------------------------

Now on to the questions.

1)
   I'm looking for one small eagle tip. How in the heck do you create a power
   bus? I've used a few of the numerous tutorials
   out there to layout my first board (a 16F628, 3 resistors, and an
   LED). But I'm clueless as to how to create a physical representation
   of the power supply buses. Just draw a thick line?

2) More Eagle. Is there any way to force the autorouter to generate a single
   sided board only? Even after forcing the cost of the top side to 99,
   sometimes it will still generate a top side trace or two.

3) Any standards as to line thickness and pad size for novice boardmakers.

4) Final Eagle. Has anyone tried any tricks for creating larger boards by
   segmenting and cut/pasting the smaller boards into a larger board?

5) Specifically for Olin. Your PIC library is great. Would you object if I
   posted a copy of it (with proper attribution of course) on my PIC page?

Thanks,

BAJ

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