Low cost PC boards

Getting a PC board built doesn't cost all that much - if you don't have any special requirements.  There are new Internet based board houses popping up which will do a few boards in a few days for about $100.  One of them is www.expresspcb.com.  They give you the software, it sends your order, you get boards back.  Another way to go is www.apcircuits.com.  You send them artwork, they send you boards, again under $150.  These places have a requirement that the board be .062" thick.  That's exactly what you want for general PCB work.

SimmSticks are a bit more

But, SimmSticks have a special requirement.  They have to be .05" thick (1.26mm).  BOOM!  your dreams of building a SimmStick of your own explode.  You have to go to a "full service" board house.  So, instead of about $100 - to $150 for a few boards, now it's $450 minimum lot charge plus $150 photo plot charge plus $90 tooling charge - oh no, almost $700 just to get in the door.  That's whether you want 2 boards or 10.

One Hundred Boards you say?

Actually, the $700 gets you about one hundred 2" SimmSticks.  $7 per board is not too bad.  But, it's like buying at Costco - how are you going to use 100 boards?  You could reduce the per board cost drastically by building even more - and then what are you going to do with them?  And, what if you have 3 designs you want built?  $2100.  Now we are way outside the hobbyist budget even for Bob.

Three boards in one?

Ok, say we are going to chuck $700 to build a dream.  Put three board designs on one board.  

Look at the DT101.  It has a plethora of optional components - and not all of them work if you put them all on one board.  The DT101 is a simple 18 pin processor board, a real-time clock board, a serial eeprom board, or an RS-232 communications board.  And that is on a 1" board!  

Options, Options

Yep, the way to go is to put options in the design.  Design a single board with several optional components.  Put it together one way it's a thingamajig.  Put it together another way, it's a whatyoumaycallit.  

That's why the KBCZ-VSX1 has so much stuff on it.  Instead of one hundred simple prototyping boards, we have one hundred boards which can become any of 5 different peripherals as well as a prototyping board.  Now, that's only about 15 of each board - HOW ARE WE GOING TO USE ALL OF THESE IN THIS LIFETIME?  Oh, well, something will turn up.  We'll probably have to go into business.

More Quotes in Between

There is a board house that advertises an in between service - they will do one board over night or 1000.  The minimum seems to be about $275.  For a 2.5" SimmStick they are quoting about $302 for 20 with a 10 day turn-around.  That is not too bad.  Especially if you bump up to 50 boards for about $348.  For 100 boards, we are looking at $440.  For 200, it's about $605.

But, we still want a board for under $150

OK, here's what we do - design a daughter board for the DT201 prototyping board.  Put a 30 pin right angle connector on it.  Send your board to ExpressPCB.  Get 10 boards (3.5 X 2.3) made for $149.91.  When you get the boards back, mate the daughter board with a DT201 using the R/A connectors.  This makes your cost per board about $20 - but you didn't have to spend $700.  And, you can connect and disconnect daughter boards if you need to so that a DT201 is not necessarily required for each new prototype.

So, what are my choices again?

Or, just hand wire each board on a DT201 or DT202 for about $6

Doesn't that sound like a lot of money?

Well. yes, it does sound like a lot of money.  But, the question is, "how much is it worth?"  

If you have some common circuitry for each project (like a PIC, a clock, some resistors, a bus connector, and power regulation); and it takes you 3 hours to wire up the common circuitry for each project; and you have to buy a prototyping board anyway - how much would it be worth to be able to put it together in 15 minutes and always have it work the first time?

Many people think it is worth at least $10 - $15 dollars to have a basic PIC circuit on a prototyping board.  Several companies sell them.  And apparently sell a lot of them.  Would you pay $7 for a board that does exactly what you want it to?  Probably.  That doesn't really sound like a lot of money.

So, get a few friends to go in with you on the cost.