Breadboards and Stripboards compared to PCBs

[DDad]

For those who have built breadboards, stripboards and PCBs of the same circuit -

Do you find PCBs have a lot less noise than stripboards? (from using ground planes)
When you put a stripboard in an enclosure is it still noisier than a PCB?
Do you find stripboards are a lot less noisy than breadboards?
If strip boards are noisier than PCBs, how 'bad' is it? (very subjective I know - I have some breadboard circuits that are very noisy in my office but not so much outside on my deck. Haven't done a stripboard yet)

Any other significant differences between the 3 ways to build a circuit?

I prefer PCB to stripboard even though I haven't built a stripboard yet, but some circuits and mods there is no PCB for.

 

[BuddytheReow]

I think there's a lot to unravel here. Each have their pros and cons, and it really boils down to what you want and what you intend to do with it. From what I hear, it's easier to sell a PCB circuit than a stripboard one. Never heard of anyone buying a breadboarded circuit, lol.

Breadboard

• No solder required
• Incredibly easy to swap out parts on the go (again, no soldering)
• Can be tricky to layout if you're not used to it
• Temporary/fragile. If I have a circuit I really want to commit to soldering, it may stay on the board for weeks or even months until I have the time to solder it up. If you drop it on the ground you're most likely hosed with components flying or getting bent.
• No ground plane and can act as an antenna for rf or other electronic noise such as overhead lighting (you've noticed this in your office but not outside). Placing it on top of something that's also grounded will help such as an aluminum lunch tray. I think Chuck does this.
• Reusable. I haven't actually counted how many circuit, but they can last a long time until the tracks inside stop gripping the leads. Quality is key here.
• More difficult to troubleshoot. Even touching a component can make the circuit (not) work.
• Jumpers/offboard wiring are a mess. The protoboard sold here solves many of these problems besides jumpers.
• You need to buy/make jumper wires. There are different types depending on how neat or universal you want them to be (fixed vs variable length).
• Mostly used for prototyping, tweaking components, or to just try out the circuit without sacrificing components/materials.

Stripboard

• IMO, a "true" diy circuit by building everything from scratch, including jumpers and cuts. They take more time than PCBs.
• Many circuit jockeys have already posted stripboard layouts. Some of them have not been verified but the communities do their best to say yay or nay
• Not many choices in stripboard colors unless you get creative (paint, sharpie, etc.)
• Can be noisy, but that depends on the layout of the circuit (i.e. don't cross audio and dc paths, etc). It's much less of an antenna than a breadboard.
• Some noise can go away once boxed up with additional grounding.
• Considered "more permanent" than breadboards since solder is involved. This is the medium that is easiest to solder/desolder. It's incredibly forgiving.
• Stray solder/leads can get caught in the tracks and makes the circuit work not the way you intend it to (control won't function, no output, etc.). Easily fixed with visual inspection and your iron.
• Cheap. A large board is $1.29 on Tayda right now and can make a handful of circuits.
• Layouts can be made with pencil/paper or DIY layout creator (free). DIYLC is pretty user friendly.
• Offboard wiring can be a mess very quickly. Some people here are very particular about their stripboard offboard wiring (in a good way) and it shows. Your first stripboard wiring will not be your cleanest work, but in an enclosure you won't notice it.

PCB

• Most polished/professional look for a circuit
• You'll need to learn some software to layout the circuit. There is free software out there. You'll also need to keep in mind some general rules with circuit layouts and ground pours.
• Considered "most permanent" of the three mediums. Removing a component is the most difficult here.
• Specifically designed to make a particular circuit. Other than component swapping or adding some jumpers you can only make one circuit.
• Can get costly (sorta). Consider tariffs and who you're going to use to make them. Most custom PCB vendors will not just make one PCB for you. You'll have extras. Sell em or give em away. If your circuit doesn't work once you populate the board, you've essentially purchased a weird looking drink coaster.
• Noise can be present depending on circuit layout. Some of it goes away once boxed up, but not as much of an effect as stripboard. If it's got noise before boxing, it will still have it.
• More colors to choose from.
• Cleanest offboard wiring.

 

[Nostradoomus]

• Cleanest offboard wiring.

Unless you are @HamishR

 

[owlexifry]

Do you find PCBs have a lot less noise than stripboards? (from using ground planes)

depends on the circuit.
and depends on the stripboard layout design. some designs are shit. some are good.
but overall, not a huge difference IME.

When you put a stripboard in an enclosure is it still noisier than a PCB?

as above.

Do you find stripboards are a lot less noisy than breadboards?

breadboard builds are usually the most prone to noise vs. stripboard (vero) or PCB build

If strip boards are noisier than PCBs, how 'bad' is it? (very subjective I know - I have some breadboard circuits that are very noisy in my office but not so much outside on my deck. Haven't done a stripboard yet)

as above. it depends.

Any other significant differences between the 3 ways to build a circuit?

stripboard is a lot more effort to build than PCB.

breadboarding is absolutely superior in every way from an investigative standpoint (for basic circuits).
- IME the quickest way to build a circuit.
- you can reuse parts
- no soldering required
- it is very quick and easy to test mods, compare diodes/transistors/opamps whatever in an instant.
but absolutely not a good method for a final durable product.
bringing a breadboard build to a show would be hilarious.

for actual final builds PCB makes everything easier.

but it depends on the person and what you enjoy doing with your time.
not everything is chosen because it is easy.
sometimes it's fun to challenge yourself with things outside of the norm.

I prefer PCB to stripboard even though I haven't built a stripboard yet,

this is an odd sentence.

 

[Feral Feline]

DDad, there's more than 3 ways to build a circuit.

Doesn't matter the medium (breadboard, perf, vero, PCB, P2P, dead-bug builds, etc)...

A bad layout is a bad layout is a bad layout.

If you run an audio-signal next to an LFO, you're going to get ticking.
If you run high-gain circuit's input and output next to each other, you're going to get cross-talk...

Ground-plains and shielded-wiring won't save a signal if the circuit's layout is naff.


I'm a novice at layouts,fwiw.

 

[HamishR]

For me PCB is faster than stripboard but I have got pretty quick at both. The key to either method is to be clean and neat, use short runs of wire wherever possible and keep your iron clean.

I don't find one method quieter than the other - as Owlexifry says it depends. I have built many stripboard overdrive pedals which are whisper quiet, and the occasional PCB which is noisy. PCB design is beyond me which is why I build so much on stripboard. I like stripboard because it is far more forgiving than PCB for experimentation, changing parts, etc. I enjoy designing stripboard layouts. Mainly I like using stripboard because I like experimenting with circuits. I'm not locked into anything. And off-board wiring doesn't bother me at all. It surprises me how many guys here complain about it! I guess coming from building amps on turret or eyelet board stripboard is easy.

If you can find the PCB you want for the circuit you want and don't intend on changing anything then PCB is hard to argue against. And while it is possible to change components on PCB it's not always easy or forgiving. There are good points in either method and IMO neither is intrinsically better. It depends on the build. The reason for the build, the availability of things, everything.