Seems like I'm always breadboarding a VFO or something around here, and I always end up with a rat's nest of clip leads and wires when I'm testing the thing, so I decided to make a little test box that I can use for such experiments. The case is plastic, but it is sprayed on the inside with conductive paint ("nickel-spray," I think they call it), and I've mounted a piece of unetched copper-clad fiberglass circuit board to the bottom. I've added a smaller strip of copper-clad board to that (to use as a power-supply buss, for example, and a small terminal strip. The front and rear panels of the case are also made from double-sided copper-clad board, and on one panel, I've mounted a couple of banana jacks for power and an RCA jack; on the other panel, I've mounted two BNC jacks.
I can build circuits right in the box, or I can build them on smaller scraps of copper-clad board and mount them in the box, with power and signal connections to the appropriate jacks. Although the lid is not shown in the photo, I can also attach the lid if shielding is necessary when testing.
Although I have a couple of small solderless breadboards, I really prefer soldering parts together, ugly-style, when I'm experimenting, and this little box makes it very easy to deal with power and other connections.
73 de aa0ms
No comments:
Post a Comment