>If that's what he meant, then what are the Xs thru the >circles supposed to be telling us? I have no idea what the x's are for. As I said in my previous email, I found the part in the solpad library in Eagle and assumed it was standard. >> Do you really need to take such an accusatory tone when pointing such >> things out? >Yes. This is not a electronics knowledge or newbie issue. Actually, it is. I believe I said several times before that I'm a know-nothing student. Things like the vdd symbol not pointing up, that's because I didn't know any better, not because of sloppiness or rudeness. The same thing goes for most of my other mistakes. >Not only is it rude to ask 2000 people to review >something you haven't bothered to clean up a bit, but it also points to >messy thinking. This is the fourth PCB I have designed. Is it really reasonable for you to expect it to be perfect? >He should be ashamed of himself. Since that obviously >isn't working, we'll have to do it for him. I don't understand why you believe I should be ashamed of myself. From the things you have said, you might not understand why, but I'm actually proud of my work. No, it's not professional. But considering that 95% of my peers don't even really know what a PCB is, let alone how to make one, I think I'm doing pretty well. Maybe you forget what it's like to be a student, but learning is a process that takes time. I doubt you just "woke up" one day knowing everything you now know. Furthermore, most people learn best by trying something, making mistakes, and then being shown the correct way to do it. I welcome your constructive criticism, but there's no need to be rude. I know that I'm not a professional engineer like you, Olin, but the only way for me to become one is to continue learning by working on projects like this. You say I should be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. I'm proud of the fact that I've taught myself all of this stuff and that I'm actually making an effort to learn. If this list is for professional engineers only then I'll stop posting on it; I didn't know. >Neatness trancends disciplines. Would you seriously hand in a homework >assignment looking like that? You may not have read my previous email, but I said that I've really only had one electronics course. I think my professors would be thrilled if I handed this in as a homework assignment. Most of my peers have close to zero practical experience when it comes to electronics. >You'll find SMD parts easier once you get used to them. However a tight >pitch QFN is not easy to get right. I suggest you use the 44 pin TQFP >package at least. I'm sorry, when I said TQFN in my original email I meant TQFP. I am using the 44 pin TQFP package. >I see that some of >the pins aren't connected, so maybe you can use the 18F2550 in the 28 pin >SOIC package instead. That's fairly easy to solder by hand. All but three pins are connected, aside from the NC pins (which I assumed were not supposed to be connected to anything). >> It's a single layer board, >Why? You don't get a price break for using only a single layer because th= e >board house will use a 2 layer process anyway. As a few people deduced, I'm making this at home. As of now I've only made single layer boards and would like to stick to that. >But, I would agree, for a hobby project cost (within reason) isn't the >biggest factor It is for me! I'm your typical broke college student.. >Etch your own boards if you want to for the experience, the satisfaction, = or >whatever, but don't kid yourself that its easy or that you'll save all tha= t >much money. It costs about one dollar for me to make a 3x4" PCB. I couldn't afford to get a PCB professionally made. >It really isn't that hard. Print the artwork on to magazine paper with >a laser printer, transfer to copper clad using a laminator, and etch. I >can reliably do .5mm spacing, which is as small as I can comfortably do >hand soldering. That's pretty much how I do it. I apologize to everyone if my lack of experience has made me seem rude; I really am not trying to be. Almost every engineer I've talked to over the past few years has been extremely supportive of my hobbies and excited for me that I'm trying so hard to learn, but if a student like me is not welcome on the piclist, then as I said before, I'll stop posting. --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .