RC-Cams Nav-Lights

[j8m8l]

Hi

I am planning on building this, http://rc-cam.com/navlight.htm to keep me busy during the winter holidays, but would like to make a PCB for it

This is my first time designing PCB's and was wondering if ne one out there could give me a hand

The problem i see is that there are LOADS of intercrossing wires, which would be hard/impossable to rearange into tracks

Attached is the schematic

Thanks

Josh

[vintage1]

Ah, Well that is the PCB designers art...and believe me it took me well over a couple of years to get neat and good...


Get a sheet of paper, a rubber and a pencil, and the components you are to use, and measure each one.

Then just get going. And scrap, rub out and try again. Eventually you will come up with a layout that just has one or two bits you CAN'T link up except by using a bit of wire.

Then use a bit of wire. Or often we used to use very low value (4 ohm) resistors as links, because they were cheaper than making wire links, since they fit on the machines with all the other resistors :-)

However, you are not designing for mass production :)

[Mr.RC-CAM]

Hmm, you got me curious about how many circuit jumper wires would occur on a small single sided NavLight PCB. With a little bit of effort, I ended up with only two jumps. With more effort, it could probably be done with none.

Below you will see what the final board looks like. It is 1.0 inch x 1.3 inch. The A & B green traces are the two jumper wires. The S1 green traces go to the On/Off switch. Cap C2 was omitted since in this tight layout it is not needed (C1 is sufficient).

All resistors are 1/8W and will fit in the given areas without a fuss. If you find that your series LED resistor requires more than 1/8W, then use a 1/4W and stand it a bit vertical (it wont fit if it is layed flat). Note: RC-CAM's LED Calculator will tell you what size wattage is needed on your chosen LED resistor.

The board would be half the size if you went with SMT parts and double sided construction. But for "kitchen sink" etched boards, single sided is the way to go.

Regards,
MR. RC-CAM
www.rc-cam.com

[Mr.RC-CAM]

I just added the PCB layout to the NavLights web page. You can download either 1X "camera ready" art (PDF file format) or industry standard Gerber CAD data.

RC-CAM

[j8m8l]

WOW

Mr RC, you offer quite a service

Some people would be selfish and not release the code, but not only have you given the code to the public, you have put in LOADS of extra effort

I appreciate it

So....What program did you use, and how??

Josh L

[Mr.RC-CAM]

So....What program did you use, and how?? Protel 99 SE. Expensive, but works well.

RC-CAM

[vintage1]

Originally posted by Mr.RC-CAM
Hmm, you got me curious about how many circuit jumper wires would occur on a small single sided NavLight PCB. With a little bit of effort, I ended up with only two jumps. With more effort, it could probably be done with none.

Below you will see what the final board looks like. It is 1.0 inch x 1.3 inch. The A & B green traces are the two jumper wires. The S1 green traces go to the On/Off switch. Cap C2 was omitted since in this tight layout it is not needed (C1 is sufficient).

All resistors are 1/8W and will fit in the given areas without a fuss. If you find that your series LED resistor requires more than 1/8W, then use a 1/4W and stand it a bit vertical (it wont fit if it is layed flat). Note: RC-CAM's LED Calculator will tell you what size wattage is needed on your chosen LED resistor.

The board would be half the size if you went with SMT parts and double sided construction. But for "kitchen sink" etched boards, single sided is the way to go.

Regards,
MR. RC-CAM
www.rc-cam.com

Well if you use R4 as a jumper you can get rid of the B-B link for sure..and R8 can be turned around as well to jump three tracks and eliminate A-A. In fact if you move the associated LED1 all the way round the board to near R7 its all near A anyway.

So topologically, no links are needed at all. Its just a question of careful rearrangement, and a bit of neatening up...

[RMihara]

I think it's safe to say that vintage1 has, um...'vision' :D

-Roger

[vintage1]

Originally posted by Wild Moose
I think it's safe to say that vintage1 has, um...'vision' :D

-Roger

Er - did I say something funny? Did I miss something spectacularly obvious?

When I used to do this for a living, 'no-links' was a matter of professional pride...

Confused of Cambridge...;(

[Norman Adlam]

Ok, Here's my version of Rc-Cam's Navlight board and schematic.

I've included a zip file of the board and schematic files in Eagle format.

[Norman Adlam]

Here is a piccy of the completed board!

[Norman Adlam]

Also here is a piccy of the completed board track layout. I have made the the board slight larger (and the tracks somewhat wider) to make it easier for home manufacture.

Hope these come out all right! :)

[Mr.RC-CAM]

Good work -- came out nice. What are the PCB dimensions?

Regards,
Mr. RC-CAM

[Norman Adlam]

Hi,

My PCB is 1.25" x 1.75", but obviously could be significantly shrunk by re-doing the layout to have vertical standing resistors, and to shrink the space between the components.

Thought I'd do it the current size to help the home user.

Thanks for all your effort on providing the base for this project! Great work! :p