6 Horribly Common PCB Design Mistakes and AppCAD

Today I enjoyed watching 6 Horribly Common PCB Design Mistakes and the follow-up video Design Mistakes You Must Avoid on Your New Electronic Product.

In the first video I learned about AppCAD Design Assistant which is a free tool which boasts a broad bunch of features (and, particularly, it can help you design an antenna on your PCB):

  • S-Parameter Analysis and Plotting
  • Active Circuit Bias Design
  • Cascade Noise and IP3 Analysis
  • Transmission Line Analysis
  • Signals and Systems
  • Complex Math Engineering Calculator

I haven’t used AppCAD yet, but I will check it out soon.

Prototype Circuit Board

Also variously known as “stripboard” and “veroboard” I got myself some of this TZT 10PCS DIY 2.5×6.4 2.5*6.4CM Prototype Paper PCB Universal Experiment Matrix Circuit Board Single Row Continuous Hole 25x64mm. AU$4.71 for 10 pieces, delivered. The boards are fairly small, 25x64mm.

And also some of this: diymore 5PCS/Lot 50X100mm 2-3-5 Joint Universal PCB Boards Single Side Copper Prototype Print Circuit Boards Breadboard. AU$4.28 for 5 pieces, delivered. These are a little larger at 50x100mm.

I still haven’t found exactly what I’m looking for when it comes to stripboard, gonna keep my eye peeled. This is what I have so far: