Shoot-can I even use this no-metal perfboard?

[ExpAnonColin]

I bought a sheet of perfboard without the metal at radioshack (a bit cheaper, and I figured it would be easier to break if it was minus the little metal rings), but now I can't for the life of me get the solder to "stick" to the perfboard... Should I just toss this one and go back and get the one with metal on it, or is there something I should do first to the perf so that the solder sticks onto it better?

-Colin

[Joe Davisson]

That type of board is designed for poking the leads through the holes and soldering them on the back. Solder isn't supposed to stick to the board The board is an electrical insulator.

I've built lots of circuits on that stuff. The advantage is that you can remove stuff and make repairs without harming the board too much. The disadvantage is that it tends to be sloppier and hard to repair.

Pad-per-hole is probably the best. I think it's easiest to solder the parts into the holes, and clip the leads short. Then use thin bare bus wire to make connections. This works better than bending the leads underneath because if you have to remove a part, you can simple disconnect the bus wire, desolder the part and pull it straight out. When you bend leads underneath it becomes .:very:. hard to repair.

There is a good tutorial here:
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Projects/TweakO/TweakO.htm

That's a pretty good way to do it. Using the flea clips wastes space, but can make general tweaking (like swapping capacitors) easier since it can be done from the top side, and looks nicer. But you can just solder parts directly into the board, which is what I always do.

The stuff you got isn't wasted, keep it for simpler circuits which don't have as much potential for mistakes or repair. I use it a lot for power supply circuits, etc. But if you work on a complex project, it's worth getting the pad-per-hole board.

-Joe

[ExpAnonColin]

Right, thanks a bunch, looks like I'm going to be needing some pad per hole.. Guess it didn't click when I was at radioshack.

-Colin

[zachary vex]

i used to make all of my circuits with blank perfboard.  you just bend leads together until they are positively in contact, warm both leads with the iron and apply solder.  it's not quite as neat as pad-per-hole, but it's actually easier to keep the solder from going places you don't want it to go.  just remember to get the leads fully bent into place and stuck before you apply heat and solder so you don't have to do too many things at once.

[The Tone God]

I too built alot of stuff on this type of perf. I still use it everyonce and awhile when I want to do something quick and not worry about all the other pads.

Andrew

[ExpAnonColin]

Hmm... maybe I'll try it for learning's sake (I've used pad per hole before).

How do I keep a pot attached to the board securely, then, if I can't actually attach it to the board? Just make the solder close enough so that it is "stuck"?

-Colin

[Bill_F]

Just last night I built the EA Tremolo from Runoffgroove with it. It's fine for easy builds like that.

[maarten]

Just stick the leads of the pot trough the holes and connect them at the other side to the leads of components or to wires: wind these around the pot leads, then solder.
Maarten

[smoguzbenjamin]

You could also use an insane amount of solder so the huge globs of tin'll hold the pot down  :twisted: