> layout,

I use the free version of Eagle, as I am an Electronics hobbiest. Eagle makes it
easier to get the board "right" by right I mean matching the schematic.

> putting the resist on the board,

Using plain copper clad I do toner transfer with an iron. You don't _have_ to
pay the $2-3 a sheet for the press-n-peel stuff, I use inkjet photo paper in my
laser, about 20cents a page. I generally have to make 2-3 attempts to transfer
before I get a really good one, but I don't do it often enough to truly develop
the skill.

> etching

FeCl, I put the container in a larger tub of boiling water to warm it up a bit
and I agitate with a matchstick. Rather than throw the etchant away I recycle it
using iron electrodes to electroplate the copper out (turns it back to FeCl). A
very inexpensive solution for the problem.

Doing it this way, the effort goes into drawing the schematic right, the rest
of it is a process to follow. It is orders of magnitude easier than breadboard,
and unlike breadboard if it does work you can just keep on trucking (I have yet
to etch something this way that didn't work)

> Thanks

Take a look at http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/Homebrew_PCBs for a lot more
information, and significantly more complicated setups than mine.

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