Perf board practice.

[paulca]

Please excuse the pride post, but I've been trying to practice my perfboard skills. 

It's just an ATMega328p minimal board.


... and it's ugly bits ...


Features:
* Red 5mA power LED
* Blue 5mA test LED on PIN (IDE) D9
* 5 pin serial programming header
* Reset switch w/ 10K pull up
* 16Mhz xtal with 22pF load caps
* 100nF decoupling cap

The epiphany was using component leads, either from the ones you are using in the circuit or some cheap blue chinese resistors cut up to make the tracks on the underside.  At the very last minute I cooked the power LED somehow.  Ended up having to drill the holes back out to remove it, but I managed to get a new one in and nobody would even notice.  It's always the last bit that goes tits up.  Also... why is it that the best solder joint you make is the one you weren't meant to?

There is another phase to this as I want to add the ISP header on the other side of the chip.  I'm calling the AVR designers some interesting names for crossing power pins and the ARef pin polarity as I "could" have just linked across under the chip, but they are crossed, so I will need at least one insulated link on the underside. 

It's a practice precursor to my next perfboard project which will be a binary clock.  It will be a bit of a step up as it entails:
* an ATMega328p
* 2x 74HC595 shift registers (mins and secs)
* RTC chip
* Battery backup
* 16 LEDs
* 16 Resistors

[paulca]

This is the schematic it's based off:

[Nusa]

If it works, it's a win!

Don't forget you have two sides to the board if you need to make crossovers with bare wire.

Get yourself a roll of wire wrap wire (more if you want multiple colors). It's great for prototyping.

[German_EE]

Looks good, and there's nothing wrong with connecting up perfboard like this for low voltage work.

[Wimberleytech]

Nice work.  You are very patient.  I discovered DIY PCBs about a year ago and have not gone back to hand wiring. 

[paulca]

You are very patient.  I discovered DIY PCBs about a year ago and have not gone back to hand wiring.

There were times.  Muttered expletives and it did nearly get chucked across the room at least once.  Usually when I burnt myself trying to hold a pin I was soldering the other end of and it wouldn't take.

DIY PCB... as in acid etched or do you mean order from a PCB house in China?

I'm tempted to start looking into PCB CAD, it's definitely on the list for when I get round to it.  The binary clock project might need some careful layout sessions, where a PCB layout editor might help, rather than just winging it and getting lucky as I have been doing.