BuddytheReow
Breadboard Baker
By (semi) request, I thought it may be time for someone to put together a guide on how to design a circuit on stripboard/veroboard. This will done in a few parts, so please bear with me. The parts 2 and 3 (possibly more) will be a "build along" tutorial to give specific insights on how to design your own and teach you "how to fish" rather than giving you a fish. This is a skill that you can get better at with practice. Part 1 will be the basics and general tips. Build alongs will use these tips in practice.
First things first. Check out a previous thread about what stripboard/veroboard is and how to build a circuit on them from an existing layout. IMO, this is the most DIY option out there and a perfect candidate to commit a new design to something solderable without building a PCB.
If you don't feel like reading through all that I will try to sum up here to get everyone up to speed:
Ok. Now that that's out of the way it's time to start diving in to the basics.
Stripboard is nothing more than a bunch of individual copper tracks such as the below. These tracks only go in 1 dimension (left-right in the pic below)
A breadboard is similar in nature, but with a cutoff channel in the middle and longer, vertical tracks on the sides. These are primarily for powering your circuit.
I'm showing you the comparison because if you can breadboard something then you can definitely design a stripboard layout. You'll just need to think about it a bit differently. The main difference in designing between these 2 is in the use of cuts and jumpers.
Let's talk jumpers first.
Jumpers are pretty simple. All you're doing is connecting 2 tracks together with a single wire. Many, but not all jumper wires for breadboarding are flexible and use a 3 dimension in connecting 2 sections. Plug it in on once side and you can literally "jump" from one end of a breadboard to another and go over many components. For vero, there is no "jumping" allowed over components from a good practices standpoint. You're asking for trouble. All the holes your jumper wire lays on top of are no longer available to put components into. You can, however, add a cut underneath since there is no soldering involved. Jumpers are incredibly useful for creating more grounding points.
Now let's talk cuts.
A cut is nothing more than severing the copper strip in a particular row on the underside of the vero. In application, I tend to just use a drill bit with my fingers and twist it back and forth until I no longer see any copper remaining. The purpose of a cut is to make one long track into multiple, smaller ones. Cuts are used to sever any AC or DC signal from going to a particular point without the use of a jumper or other component.
What tools do I need to design a layout
You've essentially have 2 options: pencil/paper or a computer. Unless you enjoy erasing a piece of paper 2393474 times out of frustration, computer is more practical. I would highly recommend DIY Layout Creator. You can just google DIYLC and install the freeware. I think it's only windows compatible, but don't quote me on that. I'm sure there is a Mac equivalent out there. The software itself is relatively intuitive and you'll need to take some time playing around with it and making practice circuits to get the ins and outs.
Board Size
In theory, you can use any size vero you want as long as they manufacture it in that size. We are limited by the amount of real estate inside the enclosure. The below dimensions are what I found on the net without actually whipping out some stripboard of my own and measuring. We're lazy about this sort of thing, you know?
1590B - 21x23
125B - 23x23
1590A - 12x15
Now, that being said, I tend to use these above dimensions as a guide for absolute, worst case scenario. Don't forget, we still need to put this in an enclosure with pots, a stomp switch, jacks, LED bezel, and power plug. Whatever enclosure I am putting this in I tend to shave off a few columns or rows to give me more wiggle room for offboard wiring.
Components
As a generalrule guideline for myself, I tend to keep with what I call a "natural" footprint for all components as much as possible. What I mean is if you were to put any components on the board you should try to keep the holes they cover to a minimum. You can bend the leads to extend the footprint of the component (resistors mostly) to connect one circuit block to another, but I keep that to a minimum. Sometimes you have to with your particular layout. This is for aesthetics and to help keep the layouts as compact as possible. Compact just looks cooler and looks like you know what you're doing 
"Natural" Footprints:
When designing a layout, you are building 2 different circuit paths simultaneously: power and audio. You'll need to find a way to power your components and allow signal to travel to the circuit block, within the block, and out to the next one without crossing the streams. There are few exceptions to this rule such as a fuzz face. IMO, this is what stumps people the most, including myself when I first set out doing this. Parts 2 and 3 will be a little bit of hand holding on this.
Offboard Wiring
At an absolute bare minimum, you'll need to keep in mind 4 (most likely 5) points of contact to the board: IN, OUT, POWER (usually 9V), GND, and indicator LED. I leave the OUT connection til I get close to the end of the circuit to figure out where I want it to go. There is no rule where you can put these on your board (just check out dirtbox layouts and you'll see what I mean) but designers tend to stick with certain trends they like to do which makes sense to them. Before getting too far in my layout I get the LED portion taken care of.
Pots
Pots can be a nightmare when wiring them up. To keep things neater I tend to keep each pot wired on only 1 side of the board. In a pinch and if you have to, use both sides to connect each of the lugs. Just don't cry that it looks messy when all boxed up.
Neatness
Many of us here loooove our circuit porn. Just take a look at the build reports forum. While neatness isn't a requirement, there does come a sense of pride when things look put together. That being said, try to keep standing/diagonal resistors to a minimum. If you have to, you have to. I've done it and once it's boxed up you'll never hear the difference!
Other General Tips
First things first. Check out a previous thread about what stripboard/veroboard is and how to build a circuit on them from an existing layout. IMO, this is the most DIY option out there and a perfect candidate to commit a new design to something solderable without building a PCB.
If you don't feel like reading through all that I will try to sum up here to get everyone up to speed:
- Stripboard/veroboard are the same thing. Throughout these tutorials I will use these names interchangeably. It is NOT the same thing as perfboard or many prototyping boards.
- Vero is cheap and can be cut down to the size you want. A large board can be used for multiple projects.
- Vero is like a blank canvas for circuits. Like breadboarding, there are multiple ways to make the circuit work.
- Stripboard is very forgiving with regards to solder and can be easy to desolder components.
- Offboard wiring makes your final build an aesthetic mess and is the major downfall of this prototyping platform
- Because this is a blank canvas, there are more rooms for error and a higher likelihood for troubleshooting if you're not careful from both a design and soldering standpoint. Check your work frequently.
Ok. Now that that's out of the way it's time to start diving in to the basics.
Stripboard is nothing more than a bunch of individual copper tracks such as the below. These tracks only go in 1 dimension (left-right in the pic below)
A breadboard is similar in nature, but with a cutoff channel in the middle and longer, vertical tracks on the sides. These are primarily for powering your circuit.
I'm showing you the comparison because if you can breadboard something then you can definitely design a stripboard layout. You'll just need to think about it a bit differently. The main difference in designing between these 2 is in the use of cuts and jumpers.
Let's talk jumpers first.
Jumpers are pretty simple. All you're doing is connecting 2 tracks together with a single wire. Many, but not all jumper wires for breadboarding are flexible and use a 3 dimension in connecting 2 sections. Plug it in on once side and you can literally "jump" from one end of a breadboard to another and go over many components. For vero, there is no "jumping" allowed over components from a good practices standpoint. You're asking for trouble. All the holes your jumper wire lays on top of are no longer available to put components into. You can, however, add a cut underneath since there is no soldering involved. Jumpers are incredibly useful for creating more grounding points.
Now let's talk cuts.
A cut is nothing more than severing the copper strip in a particular row on the underside of the vero. In application, I tend to just use a drill bit with my fingers and twist it back and forth until I no longer see any copper remaining. The purpose of a cut is to make one long track into multiple, smaller ones. Cuts are used to sever any AC or DC signal from going to a particular point without the use of a jumper or other component.
What tools do I need to design a layout
You've essentially have 2 options: pencil/paper or a computer. Unless you enjoy erasing a piece of paper 2393474 times out of frustration, computer is more practical. I would highly recommend DIY Layout Creator. You can just google DIYLC and install the freeware. I think it's only windows compatible, but don't quote me on that. I'm sure there is a Mac equivalent out there. The software itself is relatively intuitive and you'll need to take some time playing around with it and making practice circuits to get the ins and outs.
Board Size
In theory, you can use any size vero you want as long as they manufacture it in that size. We are limited by the amount of real estate inside the enclosure. The below dimensions are what I found on the net without actually whipping out some stripboard of my own and measuring. We're lazy about this sort of thing, you know?
1590B - 21x23
125B - 23x23
1590A - 12x15
Now, that being said, I tend to use these above dimensions as a guide for absolute, worst case scenario. Don't forget, we still need to put this in an enclosure with pots, a stomp switch, jacks, LED bezel, and power plug. Whatever enclosure I am putting this in I tend to shave off a few columns or rows to give me more wiggle room for offboard wiring.
Components
As a general
"Natural" Footprints:
- Resistors: 1/4w is 4 holes. 1/8w you can get to 3 holes
- Box caps: 3 holes
- Electro caps: 2 holes
- Diodes: depending on what you're putting in, 3 or 4 holes
When designing a layout, you are building 2 different circuit paths simultaneously: power and audio. You'll need to find a way to power your components and allow signal to travel to the circuit block, within the block, and out to the next one without crossing the streams. There are few exceptions to this rule such as a fuzz face. IMO, this is what stumps people the most, including myself when I first set out doing this. Parts 2 and 3 will be a little bit of hand holding on this.
Offboard Wiring
At an absolute bare minimum, you'll need to keep in mind 4 (most likely 5) points of contact to the board: IN, OUT, POWER (usually 9V), GND, and indicator LED. I leave the OUT connection til I get close to the end of the circuit to figure out where I want it to go. There is no rule where you can put these on your board (just check out dirtbox layouts and you'll see what I mean) but designers tend to stick with certain trends they like to do which makes sense to them. Before getting too far in my layout I get the LED portion taken care of.
Pots
Pots can be a nightmare when wiring them up. To keep things neater I tend to keep each pot wired on only 1 side of the board. In a pinch and if you have to, use both sides to connect each of the lugs. Just don't cry that it looks messy when all boxed up.
Neatness
Many of us here loooove our circuit porn. Just take a look at the build reports forum. While neatness isn't a requirement, there does come a sense of pride when things look put together. That being said, try to keep standing/diagonal resistors to a minimum. If you have to, you have to. I've done it and once it's boxed up you'll never hear the difference!
Other General Tips
- Practice tracing other layouts online. Not necessarily against a schematic (though that would help), but just to see how others do it. Good practice would be to draw a schematic based solely on the layout.
- Don’t forget LED and CLR. I’ve had to get creative after making a layout using any free 9V and ground connections to offboard wire both of those components. Not a dealbreaker, but kind of annoying and I’ve kicked myself a bit for not thinking of that earlier.
- ICs and trimmers take up more real estate than you think.
- You can always make a daughterboard for certain sections in a pinch, such as a diode selector with a switch. Or simply wire the diodes to the switch.
- You can add cuts and jumpers underneath ICs. Many layouts have cuts to separate the pins from one another.
- Once you’re done with the layout, trace it. Make sure the power and signal paths aren’t overlapping. I usually forgot to add a cut or two when going through this step. Trace it again after a few hours or the next day with fresh eyes to make sure it works “on paper”.
- Designing a layout isn’t easy, but it gets easiER the more you do it. It’s a giant game of problem solving and trial and error like most DIY projects.
- Most importantly, have fun!
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