What do you want a photo of, the issues with the AP, or just boards I've made with the picture paper?
The issues I've had with AP is the length of time it takes. I'm guessing that might be directly related to the second issue I have with it, which it does not give me crisp edges to the etched lines. I get a bit of pock marked edging. It's still very useable, but doesn't create nice edged lines like I'm used to.
This one was etched with AP. If you want to see the detail of the edging I'm talking about, I can break out the macro lens and show you the traces.
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I would consider this a regular FC board that I make:
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Great job Mark!
I'm a former Electronics Tech (30 years) and I worked for Sears Product Services. My Dad was a Tech, and I grew up in a TV repair shop.
When I was in my teens, I started reading Popular Electronics, and at nineteen, I began building some of the projects. I started off breadboarding, then discovered Press N Peel in the early 1990's, and have stuck to that method, having gotten good results.
I've been writing e-commerce software for a number of years now, and haven't picked up a soldering iron in several years. Last week, while cleaning our utility room, I stumbled on a box that had a few of my old projects in it:
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The one on the left is the famous "Bio-Stimulator." I put the round nuts on the side (an improvement, IMHO), as you can more easily touch it to the skin that way. The pot to adjust the level is on the front, also easier to get your finger or thumb on. The "Protect 2 Audio Sentry" on the right is my own design and build.
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The 2 pictures above are of the famous "Powered Subwoofer" that I made in 1996. The board you see wasn't straight, so I etched another and used it, but I kept the board. Even then, Press-N-Peel did a pretty fair job. The 2nd picture shows the completed project. I was almost faced with building a speaker enclosure, when a customer brought in an Advent for repair. The tech just replaced the unit, and threw the Advent out. I rescued it from the dumpster, removed its innards, and built the project in that. I used it for several years, it has great sound. In fact, it still works.
As to etching, the most important step is preparation: clean the board. I used comet cleanser, and made sure to rinse it throughly.
Heating the etchant solution is a must.
Finding the box is what prompted me to find this site, as I Googled Popular Electronics projects, and up it came in the results.
The box I found was also full of parts and about 90 Popular Electronics/Electronics Now/Electronic Gadgets magazines. Also, my ESR meter, scope, several DVM's and my trusty old Simpson 360. A real treasure trove! So, this find has gotten me interested again, and I just sent away for fresh circuit boards, etc allelectronics.com and Digi-Key, and 25 special project boxes from
Polycase - Plastic Electronic Enclosures. I'm putting my electronics lab back up, and am looking forward to getting back into building things.
If you don't mind me asking, what program do you use to layout your boards?
-Bill