How to make a good photo positive film for PCBs with a laser printer.

[TerminalJack505]

Have you found a way to plate your through holes or do you just solder some bus wire on either side?

Not having plated through holes can be a bit of a trap for those making their own double-sided boards. Sometimes you will have to manually drop a via since you won't otherwise have a connection from one side to the other through a pad. You either manually drop a via or, if possible, solder the pins on both sides of the board.

[linuxgeek81]

@TerminalJack505 That's a problem allright, since CAD software always assumes that drills are always through plated, no option to change that at least in Eagle. However most parts can be soldered on both sides, only pin headers can pose a problem. Actually I never had a functionality problem on one of my PCBs because of this. Also, it is problematic only if you wire signals through. For the ground plane, be sure it is really connected, not just through a drill.

[Flankymanga]

@linuxgeek81 Hi Michael - as allways good job out there. It is perfect to see that you are still in good spirrit doing videos like this. I was wondering exactly the same as TerminaJack mentioned - how to actually make the connection of one side of the board to the other. So to put it right - if we are home pcb makers, the best way to do it is either make a hole with plates on both sides and solder a wire through it?

[cr1ticalvoid]

the funny thing is i was thinking about how to do it

[daxweb]

damn cam battery! i could watch your video for hours!! they are great!!!!

[shawnygz]

interesting, though i dont think i will be making my own pcbs anytime soon

[MrSvenssondaniel]

Hey mike! Great to see that you are back. Any chance that you could do a small walkthrough of the basics in eagle?

[linuxgeek81]

@MrSvenssondaniel My tripod got legs and went away, so it could be a little hard to do it. However I think about it. You know there are video tutorials for Eagle around already.

[jimarcin]

well I just though that etching on your own is generally for home hackers/maker. So having such a big knowledge, as You have, time spent on making pcbs just costs more than sending it to pcb manufacturer ;-)

[linuxgeek81]

@jimarcin The whole point of this hobby is "being able to do it". The art is certainly not to feed a machine worth a couple of millions with data to produce something but to do it with little ressources and a bit of spirit. Anyhow, let's drop the discussion here.

[jimarcin]

How come you still etch your PCBs? Being so advanced in electronics isn't it just pointless wasting your time and effort to save few cents?

Greetings from Poland, love your attitude, knowledge and video content! ;-)

[linuxgeek81]

@jimarcin I don't exactly know what you mean... but prototype boards are quite expensive and also it takes a couple of weeks for them to get delivered at a reasonable price. Of course if the layout just gets to complex to do yourself one has no option...