Toby, FYI, there is a 2-page article in IEEE Spectrum this month about getting PCBs made for hobbyists. As someone working in PCB fabrication, I found it very interesting. If you are interested in actually making the PCBs yourself, I don't have any recommendations. Making plated-through-holes is the hard part and I'd like to know if anyone could accomplish that in a garage. #4 is an excellent question to ask. Louis Hart -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Toby Carrier Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 1:06 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] Hobbyist PCB Fab Equipment Hello all, I want to start making PCB's at home for prototyping small to medium projects, but I have a few questions about materials, kits and equipment: 1. What is the best kit to buy? 2. What equipment do I need? 3. Where is the best place to get the equipment and/or kits? 4. What safety hazards do I need to worry about? I will be dealing with through-hole and surface mount parts. Thanks for the help. Toby Carrier --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------