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