Meter backpack.

Well dammit.  I spent a few hours testing traces and resoldering points on the not-working board only to finally realize I'd soldered the transistors on backwards.  Fixed that.  It's still not working, but it was more not working before.

Perils of DIY Etching #62:  no silk screen means no markings to align your components correctly.  I might actually print up a silkscreen layer next time and iron it on after I've tinned the traces.

I'm seriously considering just bailing out on this board and etching a new one with vias to make almost all component soldering happen on the back.  This one has been soldered and resoldered so many times I don't know if I trust it to last a month.

Perils of DIY Etching #23:  no through-hole plating means that header pins and other components that can expect some stress are only soldered to a tiny, poorly-adhered wafer of copper.   You are in a maze of twisted copper traces, all alike.  You are likely to rip one up.


Not sure how to best address the strain relief issue, but if I redo the board I'm gonna make sure I solder it nice and clean on both sides.

Here's what the board-with-vias might look like:

Like this, except I really need header pads on the top to help hold the pins in place.