I wish I could like this video as many times as I've watched it. Not just the tips, but to get you in the right mental state for prototyping. I need to become more like this.
Yeah, what happen? You better be careful what you wish for. I'm afraid he become more like his prototype, whatever the hell that was. His brain done spun out into some sort of Hoover Vacuum Cleaner or something. Or maybe got banned for spamming the like button.
This was one of the best practical prototyping videos I have seen. It would be awesome to know more about your tools, supplies, on hand components (with lots of details). Really enjoyed seeing the details of the f-4 boards, Molex crimper, wire, Teflon ect. ect. Thank you.
This video is an absolute gold-mine. Every aspiring or current electronics hobbyist should watch this, probably multiple times. There's a large number of wildly useful ideas and techniques here!
Everything in this video is gold! I do about 2/3 of this myself, and I'm going to try to work the rest in now. Bare wire + teflon tube is genius. I can't tell you how much time I waste just stripping wires in these point-to-point projects. (So much that I usually just make a PCB.) I also really like your cutter. I have an acrylic-scoring blade that I bought for mat knives that's essentially the same thing, but if I didn't, I'd be making one of yours.
I have that same blade, but I think I'll make one like his anyway - the acrylic scoring blade makes too narrow a cut, while the chisel tip makes a nice wide gap that won't attract so many copper hairs.
@@clockworkvanhellsing372 Word of warning: the insulation on magnet wire is very thin, and you can get significant crosstalk between wires running in parallel, even over a few inches. I like kynar-insulated wire-wrapping wire better.
This video is tragically under-viewed. Not only did it open my eyes to a bunch of soldering strategies I hadn't considered and made them look possible even for my hacky soldering skills, you introduced me to QRPme, and that tipped me over the edge into finally getting my Technician's license...
I have never seen better tips in any other video. This was absolutely perfect and I love how it included a wide variety of methods that are all easily done. Thank you so much!
I've learn so much from your video. I spent 16 months at an internship and didn't learn even 1/10th of what you taught me in this video. Thank you Leo.
I'm pretty sure that most $$ chasing youtubers would have made a separate video (complete with click baity "save hours and dollars with this one cool trick" headlines) from each of the dozens of tips in this video. Absolute gold. Thank you.
most precious collection of tricks and tips i‘ve ever seen - back in my days as HW designer i used quite a few tricks myself and found similarities to some of your tricks, but never used to work with smd‘s in that time, we could stick with THT parts and used wire wrap and solder sockets the most, but the tricks with solder boards scratched connections are absolutely golden - never thought this works so well - Leo. your collection is one of the biggest gem‘s one can find in YT - thanks for sharing them with us - stay safe and healthy - you got a new fan, kind regards from Mannheim, Germany
Im a retired repair technician. I hated having to dive off into SMT but as it was a professional necessity, I did. But I always hated them. Now that I am several years into my retirement and I spend many an hour riding motorcycles I have found myself with a fresh need of new more efficient methodologies of dealing with SMT. Ive recently decided to take ab personal safety device I have been running on my bike as a POC on towards a DIY product consisting of a few individual modular-mounted boxes designed to enable a typical DIY rider an option of a quick plug and play style installation on his or her motorcycle . Space available makes SMT components an absolute must. Leo's practical approach to some problem areas I'm dealing with is quite insightful and a blessing for an old dog like me. Thanks for sharing Leo. Reply to Jan Verschueren: I guess we types are a very niche section of the atypical audience here on RUclips. Like David Luther stated below SMT hasn't lent itself to me easily either but with some of these new methods to master, maybe soon!
Wow, *SUPER* useful, thanks! The scratch-n-sniff SMT adapters were a revelation, as well as the recommendation for fine, bare wire + tiny Teflon tubing. I also liked the suggestion to use adhesive copper tape for laying down power and ground planes. Pure gold, thanks again!
I love your xacto knife modification for expedient PCBs! I've been doing the two parallel cut and scrape method by gluing two blades together, the ground blade tool removes the scrape step. I've never used teflon tube, must try that. I use magnet wire with the insulation that tins easily from the ends (but less so in the middle) for interconnects and kapton tape for insulation where required. Definitely into copper tape for bus and ground, drill track breaking on veroboard and isolation on clad matrix board. CA glue can be handy for larger components that need mechanical support beyond their leads, but sometimes I just tie them down with tinned wire soldered to the plane. Cosmetic nail glue is cheap and comes in disposable project-sized tubes so you never have the open tube solidified by the next project. It can be annoying when it fumes as you solder, but soldering heat also cures it rapidly when you glue a fragment of board to another and then tin it. I don't like the wicking solder under double-sided island method, but it can work too.
Your channel is incredible. Your knowledge and teaching methods are top notch. As a professional who runs my own repair lab… It’s wonderful to come across channels like yours. I stream RUclips in my lab all day because it gets lonely… and all the metrology/ recalibration crap makes me want to jump out of a window. Too bad I’m on the bottom floor.😁🔫 But channels like yours are a breath of fresh air! Truly in the top 1%
I wish I could have watched this video 10 years ago when I started a job requiring just this sort of fast cheap prototyping. Instead I had to teach myself through trial and error, and although I did some of these things, I didn't' come to half these excellent solutions. I haven't done that job for 5 years now, but I still really appreciate the brilliance.
That method for fast prototyping surface mount gear is the best thing I've ever seen, and I will be trying it on for my current project when I rebuild it. Glad I found this video
Very rarely you can strike gold on RUclips and this is it. Thanks so much for sharing in such a comprehensive and thoughtful way, much appreciated. I'm a hobbyist and an amateur astronomer. I built my own dome observatory and designed and built all the electronics and programming of AVRs and computers. All my AVR circuits are on breadboards. The wiring is tough and it really needs professionalising, so now I can get started - thanks again. :) :)
I love this video. I have realised that I spend hours of stress doing the manual part of projects - like soldering. I now try to use connectors, ribbon cable and dupont connectors wherever possible. I make a 3d printed mount for all the breakout boards that need to be held together. It's far easier to change the CAD, and let the printer do the work whenever there is a change.
There are channels you subscribe to for the heck of it. Then there are the few that if you didn't your really not using all of the available grey matter. This is one of those gems. I really really wish this guy was my instructor when I was in the Avionics Electronics Program back in 1989. I would have been further ahead with my skill sets by a remarkable degree and I would have enjoyed my work so much more. This guy and those few like him just weren't around for guys like me back in the day.
Thanks Leo! Oh my god, this is honey for my soul! I could really have used your advice when I was doing exhibition tech one-offs for a living 5 years ago and was reinventing the wheel daily as all autodidactic learners do. You are now officially my Jean-Luc of electronics, I will be coming back!
After browsing prototype tips and trick videos for years. YT finally recommends a diamond mine. This ones going into my modular cookbook. Thanks for your hard work God Bless.
Leo, this video completely changed my workflow!! I've totally converted over to this technique, and crossed with Manhattan style islands glued to the board too. Thank for posting this video, it's a great one!!
Loved watching it!!! INTUITIVE and METHODICAL Cant see anything UNLESS you have knowledge of it.... I now see clearly!!!! ALL I have todo now is rewatch this x10 To reinforce everything
I'm new to this kind of stuff and I find watching these things helps with building up my mental model of how I can approach my own projects. It's really cool to see how experts think about their problems, so I can try to copy that line of thinking. Thanks for the video!
In middle of designing my first prototype board, RUclips just suggested this video (probably because of all the googling I have been doing) but there were a lot of helpful tips on this video. The biggest thing is making adaptor boards, that was super helpful, thank you for posting this video.
There are SO MANY good tips here. As a hobbyist, I think it's great that you're includes process tips as well as tips on materials and techniques. Thank you!
100% spot on -- I'm someone who has been there and done that. One thing that especially resonates with me is the tip to reduce your mental workload. That really can't be stressed enough. Nothing makes you want to quit like having to resolder wires every time you want to make a test and having it not work. Print-out the datasheet pinouts, have them all there in front of you.
I LOVE this video. The Teflon tube trick is gold!! While cutting the PC board, I either use a silicone mat or just some fine sandpaper so that it does not slip..
wow truly a master at your proffession, been working as an embedded software engineer with alot of my work including HW design, and I´ve so often had problems not finding components with larger versions, that could have been used for testing. These tips are amazing, and could change everything in how i work. thank you!
My grandpa was doing simple boards this exact way 40 years ago, mostly with through-hole components. But I never learned to do this, seemed super tedious, I couldn't bear the process - I always wanted to get the result immediately. Your video is very informative, is full of tricks, and makes the process look more feasible for a normal person. Thank you!
I think this might be the best hobby/semi-pro tips video I have ever come across. It has the solution to a large number of very relevant problems people will have. It's nasty to try and cut and strip many of the really thin wires - especially the ones mostly sold on Amazon. Wire-wrap cables and teflon tube over just copper wires is way better/easier for the smaller stuff. And at an affordable price too. That home-made cutting knife is also great. A normal exacto knife really is not optimal for the task - and if pressing too hard (as happens when it's the wrong tool) may break the blade and having a very sharp blade flying around. And cheaper for a hobbyist than buying a small CNC and try to learn how to use.
The Xacto cutting tool is the grandson of the Formica cutter I made ~55 years ago from a 1" wide broken power hacksaw blade. (Zero cost from the factory my father worked at). Very nice video and ideas.
I love this technique, would've saved me a lot of headache fiddling with a breadboard then a non-equivalent through-hole op amp on my current project. And that's a great tip using thinner copper clad, I'll have to pick up some for my next project.
Hello, we need more videos if you didn't know it. I am rewatching them now. I know your busy, but we need you to almost start over from electronics basics and the point if engineering the finished project. Your very concise and Informative. You have no lack of video ideas working with electronics.
You know this video is superb when you have Elliot Williams commenting it :) and as he says is pure gold. Its sad RUclips doesnt have a "bigger thumb up". Im an instant subscriber. Great channel.
Wow, these tips are really neat! Never heard of any of these since I did my apprenticeship 10 years ago. Due to the antiquated methods I was taught, I still stick to THT components on perfboard. Can't wait to try out your xacto blade idea and design technique. Thank you so much!
Dude, the technique with using the plain copper clad FR4 and cutting it into "islands" just opened up a whole new world for me. I will never use a breadboard again.
Great video ! First time on this channel but this guy speaks so much common sense. Years of experience condensed into watchable, educational, practical video format. I am a fan. Goz
Great vid. This 50+years experienced tech picked up some very common-sense and valuable ideas that I'll be using to improve my next R&D project. Thanks a ton!
I wholeheartedly agree with Your strategy of design/testing/layout in parallell, been doing it like that for over 40 years now... My design expertise is largely in analog fast and HV circuits a and HF/MW stuff. Modularization is immensely important. Testing before layout prevents many recipes for disaster... and use simulators wisely and with caution. They are excellent for some tasks and hopeless for others. I liked Your scratch tool, definitely going to try that but I will make one from scratch since I have a fair machine shop. Probably try a piece of carbide, FR4 is really dulling. I actually have sub mm cutters for the lathe between 0.4 to 1 mm for small retaining rings etc, perhaps those could be used. All my work nowadays is SMD and it is just seems getting smaller and smaller over time. No way for me to work without a stereo microscope anymore. And some high quality tweezers etc. Best investment I made in recent years is a Weller XCMT kit with exchangeable tips and a SMD desoldering tweezer. Speeds up my work a lot, also have the same WCP20 as You as well for a very long time. The soldering station has buttons for 2 temperatures which is immensely useful for me. Temperature sets in a few seconds. Most of my wiring is with 0.1 to 0.3 colored solderable magnet wire. Used deadbug in the past taught to me by one of my mentors Coe Wescot in the 1970:s while the bugs still had legs... Still have that Vero wiring pencil. Nowadays I order new adapter boards from china when needed, just make a simple layout and get exactly what needed. Cost is very low. I have also standardized several sizes small prototype boards with 0.1" pads around a ground plane that can take connectors. Very useful for modular testing and sometimes re use of circuits. I use shop made rosin - IPA on my boards to facilitate soldering. Non activated rosin seems not corrosive as far as I have seen and can be left as a protective lacquer on prototypes. The solution degrades over time. Got burned by CA glues, developed some allergy. Some friends of mine had the same issue. Nose distance and hi temp decomposition products may make that worse in this case. If I use manhattan pads I now just solder them double sided to the ground plane or stick them on with 3M365P. For LowRel, hot melt glue. I also use copper tape, but the glue is not very good. One of the best I found is outdoor copper anti snail tape for gardening. On prototype decks, I almost never use them, but if You do for obvious reasons ditch the cheap ones and buy a few high quality ones. Hopes any of these ramblings helps. It is my experience that in this line of work there is always infinite room for improvement... I also highly recommend the writings of Jim Williams in the old LT application handbooks.
Nice video, when I had my electronics business this is how I worked and yes it is the way to prototype, but I also in stage three make a PCB and etch it my self before going to get the PCB, there is nothing better than in house prototype boards.
oh MAN so much experience packet in just this video! its amazing, I'm kinda of a noob, been repairing and learning stuff for the last year but going deeper into electronics each day, and man, wow cant count how many things you said clicked inside my head, i been battling with frustration in my company while designing my first machine and everything you said its just gonna be my how to step by step guide from now on, thank you a lot, because this is a breakthrough for me, and you don't know how much you just help this nobody stranger in the other part of the world. Again thanks, Subscribed and waiting for more of your videos!
Extremely good advice , I learned most of this myself over 20 years of experimenting and building, (even though I dont always do it!), thanks for packing all this into a single video.
Good advices. I have to say that I made some electronics for remote two doors opening, and it has been working on a breadboard for 3 years now. I've used thicker wires for breadboard connections.
This is great stuff... common sense items that every developer should consider and reconsider. If you are prototyping, this is your go-to video! Thanks for your hard work Leo
Some great techniques there Leo! Like the copper tape idea.. I have been trying the nickel plated steel strip ( for battery packs) soldered to the cheap breadboards with 0.1” isolated PTH grid pads for high current prototypes. With tinning they worked great. Can even work them double sided if the PTH via is drilled out at the crossovers
Excellent, Priceless Info! Why didn't you make this video 60 years ago? I basically developed most of these techniques from the "school of hard knocks" and smoke! Didn't have PCB material or SMT parts back then (transistors were new and hard to get); so I sometimes built semi complex circuits in "air" like a giant spider's web. One of my criteria of success was when it worked two or 3 days later and a week after that. Fifty years ago, I could get surplus Teflon tubing and copper clad board, even with holes in them (but I would have to cut a few more lawns to get the extra money for the holes 😁). All your electronic videos should be MANDATORY for all EE students!
KiCAD + FlatCAM + CNC and your board is ready in about 1hr with 0.2mm clearance so you can solder SO, QFN and 0603 components. In addition, you can mount through-hole components on the back side. Use solder paste and bake the smd board on led desoldering plate. This will save you a lot of time instead of soldering each component. Plus results looks amazing.
super useful information!!! thank you. As a hobbyist I'm always in need of informations like that because of the lack of formal training. Thanks again!
For your method, try making your "Manhattan" islands with different widths of copper clad tape. No need for scrapping the lines. I recently tried the following method and I liked it. I printed a large scale view of the schematic on paper. I used spray adhesive to attach the paper to foam board (found at the dollar store... maybe 3/8" thick, with paper on both faces.) I ran copper tape next to the lines of the schematic (so I could still see them,) leaving gaps for the components. I soldered on the SMD components. Through hole components stick through the copper tape, into the foam and are, then, soldered. (Prick holes in the tape, for the pins to go through.) I soldered the linked sections of tape. I used scotch tape to insulate between where tape routes crossed, but were not electrically connected. I liked the method. The assembly was much more robust than I expected. Advantages: You have the schematic built into the board, so 1) there are no layout mistakes, 2) the schematic is right there, for verification, and 3) there is no designing, or building, of the island method. Fast, easy, accurate, way easy to make corrections and revisions... I had no trouble with the foam melting, but I was careful to not linger in one spot. HTH. Cheers. Oh, I forgot to say that I very much hope that you will actually try my method and tell me what you think of it. Suggestions for improvement are welcomed.
@@Cristi4n_Ariel Nothing special is needed. I ordered the copper tape on Amazon. Just make sure that it is actually metal tape and not just metal colored plastic.
As someone who wasted 5 hours on a project before, by hand soldering some tiny packages by hand with wires and tweezers to a bread board and then gluing the chip to the board, this copper scoring method looks like a game changer.
I wish I could like this video as many times as I've watched it. Not just the tips, but to get you in the right mental state for prototyping. I need to become more like this.
Did you succeed?
Yeah, what happen? You better be careful what you wish for. I'm afraid he become more like his prototype, whatever the hell that was. His brain done spun out into some sort of Hoover Vacuum Cleaner or something. Or maybe got banned for spamming the like button.
This was one of the best practical prototyping videos I have seen. It would be awesome to know more about your tools, supplies, on hand components (with lots of details). Really enjoyed seeing the details of the f-4 boards, Molex crimper, wire, Teflon ect. ect. Thank you.
This video is an absolute gold-mine. Every aspiring or current electronics hobbyist should watch this, probably multiple times. There's a large number of wildly useful ideas and techniques here!
A total, unexpected, delight - thank you.
Everything in this video is gold! I do about 2/3 of this myself, and I'm going to try to work the rest in now.
Bare wire + teflon tube is genius. I can't tell you how much time I waste just stripping wires in these point-to-point projects. (So much that I usually just make a PCB.)
I also really like your cutter. I have an acrylic-scoring blade that I bought for mat knives that's essentially the same thing, but if I didn't, I'd be making one of yours.
I have that same blade, but I think I'll make one like his anyway - the acrylic scoring blade makes too narrow a cut, while the chisel tip makes a nice wide gap that won't attract so many copper hairs.
@@BrightBlueJim Yeah - it's not a "cut" it's a groove with an actual width.
@@paulwomack5866 exactly, you need a clearance gap
Just use enameled copper wire and use the soldernto burn of the insulation. Works perfect with a hot iron.
@@clockworkvanhellsing372 Word of warning: the insulation on magnet wire is very thin, and you can get significant crosstalk between wires running in parallel, even over a few inches. I like kynar-insulated wire-wrapping wire better.
This video is tragically under-viewed. Not only did it open my eyes to a bunch of soldering strategies I hadn't considered and made them look possible even for my hacky soldering skills, you introduced me to QRPme, and that tipped me over the edge into finally getting my Technician's license...
I have never seen better tips in any other video. This was absolutely perfect and I love how it included a wide variety of methods that are all easily done. Thank you so much!
This is video is pure gold. Probably purer than a Rolex.
I've learn so much from your video. I spent 16 months at an internship and didn't learn even 1/10th of what you taught me in this video. Thank you Leo.
I'm pretty sure that most $$ chasing youtubers would have made a separate video (complete with click baity "save hours and dollars with this one cool trick" headlines) from each of the dozens of tips in this video.
Absolute gold. Thank you.
Wow. Never have I been more impressed by a random video that played after something I was watching on RUclips. Subscribed
most precious collection of tricks and tips i‘ve ever seen - back in my days as HW designer i used quite a few tricks myself and found similarities to some of your tricks, but never used to work with smd‘s in that time, we could stick with THT parts and used wire wrap and solder sockets the most, but the tricks with solder boards scratched connections are absolutely golden - never thought this works so well - Leo. your collection is one of the biggest gem‘s one can find in YT - thanks for sharing them with us - stay safe and healthy - you got a new fan, kind regards from Mannheim, Germany
Im a retired repair technician. I hated having to dive off into SMT but as it was a professional necessity, I did. But I always hated them. Now that I am several years into my retirement and I spend many an hour riding motorcycles I have found myself with a fresh need of new more efficient methodologies of dealing with SMT. Ive recently decided to take ab personal safety device I have been running on my bike as a POC on towards a DIY product consisting of a few individual modular-mounted boxes designed to enable a typical DIY rider an option of a quick plug and play style installation on his or her motorcycle . Space available makes SMT components an absolute must. Leo's practical approach to some problem areas I'm dealing with is quite insightful and a blessing for an old dog like me. Thanks for sharing Leo.
Reply to Jan Verschueren: I guess we types are a very niche section of the atypical audience here on RUclips. Like David Luther stated below SMT hasn't lent itself to me easily either but with some of these new methods to master, maybe soon!
Wow, *SUPER* useful, thanks! The scratch-n-sniff SMT adapters were a revelation, as well as the recommendation for fine, bare wire + tiny Teflon tubing. I also liked the suggestion to use adhesive copper tape for laying down power and ground planes. Pure gold, thanks again!
Well, pure copper
I love your xacto knife modification for expedient PCBs! I've been doing the two parallel cut and scrape method by gluing two blades together, the ground blade tool removes the scrape step. I've never used teflon tube, must try that. I use magnet wire with the insulation that tins easily from the ends (but less so in the middle) for interconnects and kapton tape for insulation where required. Definitely into copper tape for bus and ground, drill track breaking on veroboard and isolation on clad matrix board.
CA glue can be handy for larger components that need mechanical support beyond their leads, but sometimes I just tie them down with tinned wire soldered to the plane. Cosmetic nail glue is cheap and comes in disposable project-sized tubes so you never have the open tube solidified by the next project. It can be annoying when it fumes as you solder, but soldering heat also cures it rapidly when you glue a fragment of board to another and then tin it. I don't like the wicking solder under double-sided island method, but it can work too.
Your channel is incredible. Your knowledge and teaching methods are top notch.
As a professional who runs my own repair lab… It’s wonderful to come across channels like yours. I stream RUclips in my lab all day because it gets lonely… and all the metrology/ recalibration crap makes me want to jump out of a window. Too bad I’m on the bottom floor.😁🔫
But channels like yours are a breath of fresh air! Truly in the top 1%
I wish I could have watched this video 10 years ago when I started a job requiring just this sort of fast cheap prototyping. Instead I had to teach myself through trial and error, and although I did some of these things, I didn't' come to half these excellent solutions.
I haven't done that job for 5 years now, but I still really appreciate the brilliance.
Holy buckets. All I can say is "thank you." What an amazing treasure trove of sage wisdom!
That method for fast prototyping surface mount gear is the best thing I've ever seen, and I will be trying it on for my current project when I rebuild it. Glad I found this video
Very rarely you can strike gold on RUclips and this is it. Thanks so much for sharing in such a comprehensive and thoughtful way, much appreciated. I'm a hobbyist and an amateur astronomer. I built my own dome observatory and designed and built all the electronics and programming of AVRs and computers. All my AVR circuits are on breadboards. The wiring is tough and it really needs professionalising, so now I can get started - thanks again. :) :)
I love this video. I have realised that I spend hours of stress doing the manual part of projects - like soldering. I now try to use connectors, ribbon cable and dupont connectors wherever possible. I make a 3d printed mount for all the breakout boards that need to be held together. It's far easier to change the CAD, and let the printer do the work whenever there is a change.
I was looking for precisely this video for (literal) years. Awesome.
There are channels you subscribe to for the heck of it. Then there are the few that if you didn't your really not using all of the available grey matter. This is one of those gems. I really really wish this guy was my instructor when I was in the Avionics Electronics Program back in 1989. I would have been further ahead with my skill sets by a remarkable degree and I would have enjoyed my work so much more. This guy and those few like him just weren't around for guys like me back in the day.
So great video! Thanks a lot!
Thanks Leo! Oh my god, this is honey for my soul!
I could really have used your advice when I was doing exhibition tech one-offs for a living 5 years ago and was reinventing the wheel daily as all autodidactic learners do.
You are now officially my Jean-Luc of electronics, I will be coming back!
This video should be mandatory for EVERY want to be Engineer! Thanks for sharing...
Glad it was helpful!
After browsing prototype tips and trick videos for years. YT finally recommends a diamond mine. This ones going into my modular cookbook.
Thanks for your hard work
God Bless.
Been looking through YT videos all day for just a good general 'how to prototype circuits' explanation. This video has been by far the best.
Thanks -it's one of my most-viewed videos.
Why is this channel only get 14K subs ? , this should be more popular . This would save me a lot of time if I watched it during Uni. Amazing content.
Leo, this video completely changed my workflow!! I've totally converted over to this technique, and crossed with Manhattan style islands glued to the board too. Thank for posting this video, it's a great one!!
Now and again you just find a GOLDEN video. This is one. Thank you. Very helpful to me at this point in my project building.
Loved watching it!!!
INTUITIVE and METHODICAL
Cant see anything UNLESS you have knowledge of it....
I now see clearly!!!!
ALL I have todo now is rewatch this x10
To reinforce everything
Amazing! It is so easy to build circuits using your method even by 0603 parts. The connections are solid and stable. Wonderful! Thank you so much.
I'm new to this kind of stuff and I find watching these things helps with building up my mental model of how I can approach my own projects. It's really cool to see how experts think about their problems, so I can try to copy that line of thinking. Thanks for the video!
Absolutely brilliant. There are SO many golden tips in here. I’m going to re-watch many times, I think…
This is maybe the best video about prototyping on the internet
Thanks for reminding me what I did when I was a kid and forgetting it all. Back to basics again and so recycled SMDs are not a problem anymore.
In middle of designing my first prototype board, RUclips just suggested this video (probably because of all the googling I have been doing) but there were a lot of helpful tips on this video. The biggest thing is making adaptor boards, that was super helpful, thank you for posting this video.
That's a lot years of experience concentrated in less than a quarter of an hour, thank you!
I have been building prototype circuits for decades. There was not one tip in this video that I did not like! Thanks Leo!
There are SO MANY good tips here. As a hobbyist, I think it's great that you're includes process tips as well as tips on materials and techniques. Thank you!
I hope youtube recommends me this video at least every second month!
100% spot on -- I'm someone who has been there and done that. One thing that especially resonates with me is the tip to reduce your mental workload. That really can't be stressed enough. Nothing makes you want to quit like having to resolder wires every time you want to make a test and having it not work. Print-out the datasheet pinouts, have them all there in front of you.
I LOVE this video. The Teflon tube trick is gold!! While cutting the PC board, I either use a silicone mat or just some fine sandpaper so that it does not slip..
wow truly a master at your proffession, been working as an embedded software engineer with alot of my work including HW design, and I´ve so often had problems not finding components with larger versions, that could have been used for testing. These tips are amazing, and could change everything in how i work. thank you!
My grandpa was doing simple boards this exact way 40 years ago, mostly with through-hole components. But I never learned to do this, seemed super tedious, I couldn't bear the process - I always wanted to get the result immediately. Your video is very informative, is full of tricks, and makes the process look more feasible for a normal person. Thank you!
Great video. I'm about to build my first prototype having finished the breadboard version. I found this video at just the right time.
Epic guide!!! So much info in a small video! Definitely will be rewatching!
I have an x carve machine but you still give me invaluable tips ..and the squirrel eating a nut cracked me up...cheers
this channel is so underrated
one of the best videos on circuit prototyping. excellent job
You dear Sir are a genius. I never thought of doing it like this myself. Thank you for sharing your experience.
This is the best electronics prototyping video I've ever seen. So much great information, really! Thank you.
I think this might be the best hobby/semi-pro tips video I have ever come across. It has the solution to a large number of very relevant problems people will have.
It's nasty to try and cut and strip many of the really thin wires - especially the ones mostly sold on Amazon. Wire-wrap cables and teflon tube over just copper wires is way better/easier for the smaller stuff. And at an affordable price too.
That home-made cutting knife is also great. A normal exacto knife really is not optimal for the task - and if pressing too hard (as happens when it's the wrong tool) may break the blade and having a very sharp blade flying around. And cheaper for a hobbyist than buying a small CNC and try to learn how to use.
The Xacto cutting tool is the grandson of the Formica cutter I made ~55 years ago from a 1" wide broken power hacksaw blade.
(Zero cost from the factory my father worked at).
Very nice video and ideas.
I love this technique, would've saved me a lot of headache fiddling with a breadboard then a non-equivalent through-hole op amp on my current project. And that's a great tip using thinner copper clad, I'll have to pick up some for my next project.
Half way through and I'm hooked. These are very cool ideas!
Hello, we need more videos if you didn't know it. I am rewatching them now. I know your busy, but we need you to almost start over from electronics basics and the point if engineering the finished project. Your very concise and Informative. You have no lack of video ideas working with electronics.
You know this video is superb when you have Elliot Williams commenting it :) and as he says is pure gold.
Its sad RUclips doesnt have a "bigger thumb up".
Im an instant subscriber. Great channel.
Wow, these tips are really neat! Never heard of any of these since I did my apprenticeship 10 years ago. Due to the antiquated methods I was taught, I still stick to THT components on perfboard. Can't wait to try out your xacto blade idea and design technique. Thank you so much!
This is exactly what I was hoping for when I clicked this video. Thank you for your advice!
I may not understand everything but this is highly usful
And i simply must thank you
Fabulous! All the time saving survival tips in one place!
Dude, the technique with using the plain copper clad FR4 and cutting it into "islands" just opened up a whole new world for me. I will never use a breadboard again.
Great video !
First time on this channel but this guy speaks so much common sense.
Years of experience condensed into watchable, educational, practical video format.
I am a fan.
Goz
Genius. One of the greatest set of tricks for SMT. Thank you very much!
Great vid. This 50+years experienced tech picked up some very common-sense and valuable ideas that I'll be using to improve my next R&D project. Thanks a ton!
I wholeheartedly agree with Your strategy of design/testing/layout in parallell, been doing it like that for over 40 years now...
My design expertise is largely in analog fast and HV circuits a and HF/MW stuff. Modularization is immensely important. Testing before layout prevents many recipes for disaster... and use simulators wisely and with caution. They are excellent for some tasks and hopeless for others.
I liked Your scratch tool, definitely going to try that but I will make one from scratch since I have a fair machine shop. Probably try a piece of carbide, FR4 is really dulling. I actually have sub mm cutters for the lathe between 0.4 to 1 mm for small retaining rings etc, perhaps those could be used.
All my work nowadays is SMD and it is just seems getting smaller and smaller over time. No way for me to work without a stereo microscope anymore. And some high quality tweezers etc.
Best investment I made in recent years is a Weller XCMT kit with exchangeable tips and a SMD desoldering tweezer. Speeds up my work a lot, also have the same WCP20 as You as well for a very long time. The soldering station has buttons for 2 temperatures which is immensely useful for me. Temperature sets in a few seconds.
Most of my wiring is with 0.1 to 0.3 colored solderable magnet wire. Used deadbug in the past taught to me by one of my mentors Coe Wescot in the 1970:s while the bugs still had legs... Still have that Vero wiring pencil.
Nowadays I order new adapter boards from china when needed, just make a simple layout and get exactly what needed. Cost is very low. I have also standardized several sizes small prototype boards with 0.1" pads around a ground plane that can take connectors. Very useful for modular testing and sometimes re use of circuits.
I use shop made rosin - IPA on my boards to facilitate soldering. Non activated rosin seems not corrosive as far as I have seen and can be left as a protective lacquer on prototypes. The solution degrades over time.
Got burned by CA glues, developed some allergy. Some friends of mine had the same issue. Nose distance and hi temp decomposition products may make that worse in this case. If I use manhattan pads I now just solder them double sided to the ground plane or stick them on with 3M365P. For LowRel, hot melt glue. I also use copper tape, but the glue is not very good. One of the best I found is outdoor copper anti snail tape for gardening.
On prototype decks, I almost never use them, but if You do for obvious reasons ditch the cheap ones and buy a few high quality ones.
Hopes any of these ramblings helps. It is my experience that in this line of work there is always infinite room for improvement... I also highly recommend the writings of Jim Williams in the old LT application handbooks.
Excellent! I have built many prototypes but always room to learn!
Always good to get advice from an older guy in the field
Great job, now you give me a good reason to use more often my milling machine in the boards.
Nice video, when I had my electronics business this is how I worked and yes it is the way to prototype, but I also in stage three make a PCB and etch it my self before going to get the PCB, there is nothing better than in house prototype boards.
I think this should be mandatory watching, great stuff
oh MAN so much experience packet in just this video! its amazing, I'm kinda of a noob, been repairing and learning stuff for the last year but going deeper into electronics each day, and man, wow cant count how many things you said clicked inside my head, i been battling with frustration in my company while designing my first machine and everything you said its just gonna be my how to step by step guide from now on, thank you a lot, because this is a breakthrough for me, and you don't know how much you just help this nobody stranger in the other part of the world. Again thanks, Subscribed and waiting for more of your videos!
Great channel! If these videos keep coming it's going to get big. Thanks!
Fantastic video. I learned a ton this first time through and am sure I will rewatch. The straight-cut prototyping technique is dynamite.
Excellent video! Thank you for the tips!
I've done lots of this stuff, but learned more here too, thanks Leo.
Extremely good advice , I learned most of this myself over 20 years of experimenting and building, (even though I dont always do it!), thanks for packing all this into a single video.
My Gosh! I've seen at the very least 3 to 4 solutions to my prototyping issues. Thanks
This is gold, thanks for sharing your experience, hope more people are like you in this world, it would be a better place!
Good advices. I have to say that I made some electronics for remote two doors opening, and it has been working on a breadboard for 3 years now. I've used thicker wires for breadboard connections.
This is great stuff... common sense items that every developer should consider and reconsider. If you are prototyping, this is your go-to video! Thanks for your hard work Leo
your close up shots are super useful
Lots of great advice! Gonna have to go back and take notes.
Some great techniques there Leo!
Like the copper tape idea.. I have been trying the nickel plated steel strip ( for battery packs) soldered to the cheap breadboards with 0.1” isolated PTH grid pads for high current prototypes. With tinning they worked great. Can even work them double sided if the PTH via is drilled out at the crossovers
Excellent, Priceless Info! Why didn't you make this video 60 years ago? I basically developed most of these techniques from the "school of hard knocks" and smoke! Didn't have PCB material or SMT parts back then (transistors were new and hard to get); so I sometimes built semi complex circuits in "air" like a giant spider's web. One of my criteria of success was when it worked two or 3 days later and a week after that. Fifty years ago, I could get surplus Teflon tubing and copper clad board, even with holes in them (but I would have to cut a few more lawns to get the extra money for the holes 😁). All your electronic videos should be MANDATORY for all EE students!
KiCAD + FlatCAM + CNC and your board is ready in about 1hr with 0.2mm clearance so you can solder SO, QFN and 0603 components. In addition, you can mount through-hole components on the back side. Use solder paste and bake the smd board on led desoldering plate. This will save you a lot of time instead of soldering each component. Plus results looks amazing.
Really good video! Finally a good explanation of how to work with SMD parts at home.
super useful information!!! thank you. As a hobbyist I'm always in need of informations like that because of the lack of formal training. Thanks again!
amazing uses for so many things I had dismissed. I will absolutely be using these tips.
Just found this tutorial...totally gold!
For your method, try making your "Manhattan" islands with different widths of copper clad tape. No need for scrapping the lines. I recently tried the following method and I liked it. I printed a large scale view of the schematic on paper. I used spray adhesive to attach the paper to foam board (found at the dollar store... maybe 3/8" thick, with paper on both faces.) I ran copper tape next to the lines of the schematic (so I could still see them,) leaving gaps for the components. I soldered on the SMD components. Through hole components stick through the copper tape, into the foam and are, then, soldered. (Prick holes in the tape, for the pins to go through.) I soldered the linked sections of tape. I used scotch tape to insulate between where tape routes crossed, but were not electrically connected. I liked the method. The assembly was much more robust than I expected. Advantages: You have the schematic built into the board, so 1) there are no layout mistakes, 2) the schematic is right there, for verification, and 3) there is no designing, or building, of the island method. Fast, easy, accurate, way easy to make corrections and revisions... I had no trouble with the foam melting, but I was careful to not linger in one spot. HTH. Cheers. Oh, I forgot to say that I very much hope that you will actually try my method and tell me what you think of it. Suggestions for improvement are welcomed.
Nice, I have to try that, where do you get high quality materials?
@@Cristi4n_Ariel Nothing special is needed. I ordered the copper tape on Amazon. Just make sure that it is actually metal tape and not just metal colored plastic.
Man I watched this video several times.
Great stuff.
I do not understand your (English) language,
but much of what you have shown makes a lot of sense
This. Is. Gold. Period.
You are a.. a.. a god.... to much was learned in just under 15 min, thanks!
you saved me from a lot of pain! Thank you!
This is pure Gold.. Thank you so much for sharing.
As someone who wasted 5 hours on a project before, by hand soldering some tiny packages by hand with wires and tweezers to a bread board and then gluing the chip to the board, this copper scoring method looks like a game changer.