Reproduction of Circuit Boards, PCB tools

[Fred Finster]

Wayne & Jim,  Good idea.   Hope you are successful with following through
your idea.  Like to hear
your comments on the following.

Here is a company in Florida that sells a PCB CAD package that can import
a scanned image of a PCB.  Then you can recreate the original art work by
tracing over
the top of the signal traces.  Yes, about $1000,  kind of expensive but
could reverse
engineer your circuit boards very well.

http://www.holophase.com/image.htm
http://www.holophase.com/editor.htm
http://www.holophase.com/circad98.htm
http://www.holophase.com/dleval.htm    Download an evaluation copy for Free.
I used the 16 bit DOS version
 to make simple schematics and print to a .PS postscript file.  Then convert
the PS file into a PDF file
using Adobe Acrobat.   Now I can explain a circuit or connector diagram and
share it with someone over the internet.


http://www.apcircuits.com    A good board house in Calgary Canada. That can
do inexpensive two sided
plated through hole boards.  I  made a 3" x 4" PCB from my own schematic.
Cost $131 for 6 pieces.
Although there is no silkscreen, and no green solder resist layer.  You have
have that but costs
more dollars.
I used the http://www.cadsoftusa.com/   Eagle version 3.55 to make the
gerber file to send to AP Circuits to
build a PCB.  They have version Eagle version 4.00 will run under Linux.
Has online Help news group.
$50 for a manual, recommended, & CDROM.   Can download over the internet for
freeware version.  Limited
to 3.2" x 4" size double side boards, non-commercial use.

Other PCB packages that are useful.
http://www.ivex.com   200 pin package for $35 from NTE.


http://www.graphicode.com
http://www.graphicode.com/index.cfm?section=Home&page=5  Download free
Gerber file Viewer software.
This is good. I liked it very well to check that the Gerber files would
produce the layout that you
wanted.

Fred Finster  WB7ODY
The PCB board I produced using Eagle is for the http://www.K3JLS.com
Frequency Agile K3JLS PLL controller board.
Can control the PLL inside a Business Band radio.  Like GE Delta, GE
Phoenix, Motorola Syntor & Syntor X.


ps.  Anybody have a schematic for the Radio Shack 022-305 1.3 Ghz frequency
counter?  I mostly
interested in the front end.  Mine has very low sensitivity.  I would like
to trouble shoot it.
I have already shut gunned out the transistors Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4  from  MMBTH10
SOT23 surface mount
to MMBR901  SOT23 surface mount transistors.

Still insensitive.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Heathkit Owners and Collectors List
> [mailto:HEATH at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV]On Behalf Of Wayne Sushak
> Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 9:09 PM
> To: HEATH at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV
> Subject: Reproduction of Circuit Boards
>
>
> Hello all...
>
> Have been searching for a way to do this for a long time, for various
> projects.  Finally decided to go for it this year.  Forgive me, but am
> starting with the TA-16 guitar amp (I have 6).  Will follow with
> the SB104A
> series later.  Have found a local outfit that has a very high resolution
> commercial scanner (something like 12,000 x 12,000) coupled to a
> CAD system
> coupled to an automated board production system.  The TA-16 board
> will cost
> me $200 for the scan/database creation, and $300 for the first five boards
> produced (obviously, they get cheaper in quantity).  The boards will be
> duplicates of the original except that they will be glass epoxy
> (instead of
> paper phenolic) with a mask on the back (for those who don't know, a mask
> is a coating that means only the copper where the holes exist are exposed
> to the air).  They will also include the full silk screen of the
> front side
> of the board.  My next gambit will probably be the SBA-104-1 Noise Blanker
> as I am missing 3 for the five 104A's I have.  With any luck, will try to
> have the 104 series done over the next two to three years or sooner as the
> finances allow.  Don't hold me to anything, but will do the best
> I can (now
> to decide which of the 104A's to cannibalize to do this....having seen me
> disassemble one of the TA-16s, I think they are trembling...).  Any
> comments would be appreciated....
>
> BTW, massive kudos to Mike  (WB8VGE)  http://www.theheathkitshop.com/  for
> the display board for the SB-104A series (and I don't even know him).  I
> have several replacement gas discharge displays for this series, but have
> been waiting a long time for a LED replacement board.
>
> (Mike:  please use real GENERIC parts, make 'em cheap & make 'em
> available,
> ...pant - pant)
>
> ...wayne
>
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