Re: [tlug] [OT] Any electricians / electrical engineers around?

[Andrew Errington <a.errington@example.com>]

On Friday 04 January 2008 14:06, Dave M G wrote:
> Godwin, Daniel,
>
> Thank you for your help.
>
> I've been looking at Godwin's diagram for a while, and I think it's both
> tantalizingly close to my ability to make it, and yet just a little too
> far.
>
> I think I understand how to organize Godwin's schematic in terms of
> which parts go where.
>
> What I'm unclear about is how I construct the board on which they go.
> The ones I saw in Akihabara all had copper on one side and holes through
> it. I don't get how those are used without connecting everything to
> everything and shorting out the system.
>
> I have a vague notion that chemical etching is used, but that starts to
> get into a level of electronics design that is above me, not least
> because I only have a soldering gun.
>
> So I guess I'm asking another basic question... what kind of mounting
> surface should I look for that gives me the best balance between
> versatility and ease of construction. Ultimately I want to cut it into
> some kind of circle.

The stuff you saw was probably stripboard:

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/stripbd.htm

It would be a bit tedious, but not too difficult, to arrange things so that 
the strips would support the LEDs in a circular arrangement.  As I said 
before, you can use card, or plastic with holes punched through, or just 
thick copper wire bent around in such a way as to support the LEDs when they 
are soldered onto it.

Here's a project built on perforated board:

http://www.dansdata.com/caselight.htm

Here's a link to a project built with bent wires:

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2007/1/28/215243/977

Perhaps these will both explain and inspire.

I still maintain that a variable bench power supply and a bunch of LEDs in 8 
groups of 6 would be the quickest and easiest solution for you.

HTH,

A