Building my first prototype

[Digital Larry]

This is the first PCB I've done in about 15 years or more.  It is the first CAD based design for my own purposes (rather than something I did at work) and also the first board I did not etch myself (kinda hard with 4 layers obviously).  I wasn't sure I still "had it".  I go back to 1:1 tape on mylar for layouts and DIPs as the tiniest things.  I slapped the design together with wrong parts, wrong packages, and iteratively worked everything out over the next few months.  Not the most efficient way to go about it.  I just realized that layout can be somewhat entertaining, but going through spec sheets for dozens of components to make sure they will really fit when you finally build it - that's serious and not very fun.

This one is a bizarre combo of thru hole and SMT.  Thru hole because I had the parts and wanted to use them (some of them are from an old burglar alarm).  SMT because I needed the space and heading towards manufacturability.  The fit in the enclosure is perfect.  I had dummied it by gluing a laser printout 1:1 of the top layer onto some thin cardboard, then cutting it out and drilling holes for the 1/4" jacks.

Used the PCB Shopper website to compare FAB houses.  Wound up with easyEDA.  Got ten 4-layer boards 108 x 65 mm approximately, 2 sided silk screen, for about 6 US dollars each.  Lots of places have 100 mm square as their nominal maximum and ding you pretty hard for going over.

I soldered a few SOT-23 packages, SOIC, 0805 and 1210.  Dang those things are small!  My biggest problem is vision.  If I take my glasses off I might as well be under water.  I have a magnifier lamp and also a headband magnifier with extra flip down lens on one eye.  It's not super high quality.  Really need bright light!  And my bursitis is acting up!  just kidding.  But I did build up the power supply and got 3.3 volts, then I put most everything else on and it was still showing 3.3 volts so at least I didn't short anything out.  Not having soldered SMT in a real long time, I dreaded doing it, but today I feel like doing more!   

Missing a few parts which I'll order and will be here in a few days.  I've found a couple issues so far even before the boards got here, which are fairly easily fixed.  Left a trace off, and a glitch in DipTrace goofed up the ground net naming... wound up with bottom layer copper pour connected to a signal rather than GND.  Need to cut 4 thermals and then scratch solder mask and gnd it elsewhere.  The design passed DRC and connectivity check but showed up pretty quickly in a visual review of the Gerbers.  I was just really anxious to finally send out the order because I thought I'd never do it!  Live and learn.