My First PCBs / Kicad Design Course
I took another online learning course back in 2014, this one about PCB design using KiCad. Even though KiCad is a bit of monster, this course made it as effortless as possible to navigate;
For my first PCB attempt I wanted to stick with something so simple that even I couldn’t mess it up, so I decided on the Bazz Fuss guitar pedal from the home-wrecker website here;
As you can see, I’ve spaced everything far to far apart; I think the board measures 5x5cm, which is probably enough room to fit 4 versions of the circuit on, but the main thing is that it works, so at least I didn’t mess that up!
The boards were ordered from;
…who are incredibly cheap: Ten 5x5cm boards for $14, which is almost free isn’t it? Delivery did take a while, but if I’d have wanted it quicker I should’ve paid more. Although I’d never printed boards before, the quality looks pretty good to me.
What I’ll know to do differently for next time; Without doubt I’d add lots of testing points just so it’s easier to add extra features… say I wanted an on/off switch, which I suppose could’ve added to the battery jack, but it’d have been a lot less hassle to have it come from a spare test point. I might also consider putting multiple circuits on one board, then using the table saw to cut them up. That way you could get even more for your money.
Overall though I’d consider this first attempt a success 