21–30 of 39 posts
Hi, I'm the creator! Thank you all for your thoughtful comments. Some of you wanted a photo album of the journey; I quickly collected one here [0]. Apologies for duplicates, no descriptions, and Google. The full album shows a lot more of the process, but I also linked some quick highlights / milestones at the end of this comment. Also, to those who were wondering, I am still in the market for a Summer 2019 internship…
I love this. I've been a professional dev for almost a decade now, and over the last couple of years have started migrating toward a blend of hardware and software/firmware development, and I can't get enough of learning to build physical things from scratch. I don't often get to iterate in this way at my job, and rebuild the same thing over and over, so I tend to spend my free time with projects like this that start…
I love this. I've been a professional dev for almost a decade now, and over the last couple of years have started migrating toward a blend of hardware and software/firmware development, and I can't get enough of learning to build physical things from scratch. I don't often get to iterate in this way at my job, and rebuild the same thing over and over, so I tend to spend my free time with projects like this that start…
What did you use for a power supply, out of interest? I've been dabbling with synths & info about power supplies seems to be the major thing that's lacking.
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/474-PRT-10811
Now I'm using the same barrel jacks, but with an old linksys wall wart.
That said, it's not an ideal situation, and I'll most likely build something like this in the not too distant future:
http://musicfromouterspace.com/analogsynth_new/WALLWARTSUPPL...
I love this. I've been a professional dev for almost a decade now, and over the last couple of years have started migrating toward a blend of hardware and software/firmware development, and I can't get enough of learning to build physical things from scratch. I don't often get to iterate in this way at my job, and rebuild the same thing over and over, so I tend to spend my free time with projects like this that start…
Oooh you should learn how to route PCBs, you're going to love both the process and the result.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oooh you should learn how to route PCBs, you're going to love both the process and the result.
Came across this little PCB mill just today: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX44z-SSL7LzcB4xxgUdHHA
I love this. I've been a professional dev for almost a decade now, and over the last couple of years have started migrating toward a blend of hardware and software/firmware development, and I can't get enough of learning to build physical things from scratch. I don't often get to iterate in this way at my job, and rebuild the same thing over and over, so I tend to spend my free time with projects like this that start…
Similar story here, developer then sysadmin, but I decided I wanted to have a hobby and "physical stuff" seemed interesting. When my child was born I spent my paternity leave getting started with Arduino, and ESP8266 devices. These days I've kinda stalled, but there's something fun about making the hardware and the software, and getting back to the limits I used to "enjoy" with limited RAM/flash-space. Mostly my proj…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oooh you should learn how to route PCBs, you're going to love both the process and the result.
Came across this little PCB mill just today: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX44z-SSL7LzcB4xxgUdHHA
Drilling is a pain in the ass. The bits break easily and drilling accurately, even with a press, is hard. Milling makes this so much easier. Then you need to think about plated through holes, do you rivet? Do you just put some 30 gauge wire and solder?
Nowadays I find I rarely need to rush boards and Oshpark is so cheap it's ridiculous. There are cheaper companies (I've yet to try Dirty PCB), but you get 3 boards, ENIG and really good tolerances for free. Even rush shipping ($20 international fedex) is cheaper than getting it done here in the UK. The only competitor I've found is Ragworm, and they're both more expensive and you only get one board with HASL.
Unless you really want a board made now, I would say just get them made for you. The quality is so much better without spending tons of time. Of course sometimes you really do want a prototype instantly and if you want to make a weird shape - perhaps a really long rectangle that would cost a fortune to get made, it's worth having the kit in your house to do.
On the milling side, I'd be tempted just to buy a Spokeo mill which can apparently do reasonably good PCB milling. Costs a lot, but at least it'll do other things as well.
I've recently got access to a lab with some very expensive rapid protoptying kit (from LPKF), which I'm keen to try out. It can even do 3D PCBs laid onto plastic components.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Came across this little PCB mill just today: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX44z-SSL7LzcB4xxgUdHHA
I used to make PCBs at home, first using toner transfer and ferric chloride (never again, impossible to avoid staining everything in your lab), then with a UV lithography mask (photoresist and a laminator) and an exposure box used for making stencils. The UV stuff is actually pretty good, you can easily go down to 0.5mm pitch with some practice. Etching is still a pain, but I started using a clear etchant (sodium per…