R.G.'s book

[wampcat1]

Here's the scoop on the book.

It's titled "PCB Layout for Musical Effects". The intent of the book is to teach people how to think about electronic parts layout for single layer PCBs. It is not specific to any one system or program for layout. By the end of the book, someone with access to any PCB layout program or even a graphics program should be able to lay out simple effects on the order of a fuzz face or a tube screamer. More importantly, they will be able to start practicing at layout, because practice is where the real learning takes place.

The book goes over what to do first (it's NOT to start connecting components), a bridge for beginners from schematics to initial layout, the importance of layers, progressive optimization, a little bit of cost-based layout rules, and some style things that I think are appropriate for the musical effects world.

The book is not about effects basics, although there is another in the works about that. It does not teach circuit theory, have secret schematics, tell you how to solder, or even tell you how to make PCBs, or even how to use any layout software tool. It's only about how to do the mental processes during a layout - how to decide what goes where, and why, and how to connect things up.

There are a number of start-from-zero layouts in the book, from a one-transistor rangemaster clone up to an OD2.

I charge $23.75 each for a copy, plus whatever postage costs. Priority mail in the US is $3.85. Outside the US is higher, usually about $5 - $7 for postage.

It is only available in hard copy because I have seen the net work its wonders on anything that can be sent in softcopy, and every intellectual property discusstion that happens here verifies my suspicions. I'm pretty sure that the first softcopy or CD I send out will lead to it being posted free on the net. I used two different copy locking services for sending out soft copies early on, but they have both died in the dot-com asteroid strike, so it's available in hard copy only.

I print the hard copy in my garage. I bought an HP Laserjet 5 Si that does duplexing, and I can set it up to print several copies at a time. I bind the copies in the garage too. I asked a lot of low volume book binders for quotes, but I can't get it printed commercially for less than about $20 a copy until I print over 1000 copies; that either runs my per-book return so low that it's not worth it to me to do it or runs your cost up so high that it's not worth it to you. And something tells me that a major publisher is *not* going to pick this thing up for mass marketing. 8-)

That means that I'm perpetually sold out of the dozen or so copies I print and bind at a time. As I am in fact right now. I have a printing run scheduled for about two weeks from now, and a backlog of about a dozen copies requested.

I deliberately make it hard to find my email, as I get an unbelievable amount of spam. For the time being, you can send me enquiries about the book or any other effects questions at the ID fxquest-butdeletethis-dee-oh-tee-cee-oh-em.

Rg -- sending you a pm about distribution..

Brian

[Plosive]

I'd like to buy one of these, but  there's no email address at Geo.

R.G. - Can you add me to the waiting list for when you print up the next batch?