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Net Work Alan Winstanley Concluding our nostalgic 60-year journey back to the origins of Practical Electronics, this month’s Net Work reminisces about a product that transformed our hobby, and made electronics construction accessible to every enthusiast. I n my previous two columns, I looked back at the 60-year history of Practical Electronics. The first issue appeared in late 1964. It was designed to meet the demands for hobby projects that exploited new and rapidly evolving semiconductors. As vacuum tubes were swept aside and transistors arrived on the hobby scene, new low-voltage projects would be built using unwieldy tag strips or ‘turret boards’, although some projects utilised basic printed wiring boards (now called printed circuit boards or PCBs) instead. I noticed in some 1966 back issues a multi-purpose project PCB called the “Bonanza Board” which, cleverly, could carry a dozen different circuits. The home constructor had to etch a board for each project themselves, using quite a perilous process. An etch resist pattern was traced by hand (or offset using carbon paper) onto copper-clad phenolic panels, and the desired pattern was then ‘inked in’ using lacquer or cellulose paint. The board was then immersed in a noxious pickle of hydrochloric acid and iron perchloride, better known as ferric chloride, before being drilled. Vero’s original engineering drawing taken from the 1959 patent, showing how copper strips could be linked or drilled out to form a working circuit. 4 Understandably, this hazardous and laborious process was not for every hobbyist, so a method of easily building smaller, one-off circuits or prototypes was sought. A system that also allowed ‘chopping and changing’ when perfecting low-voltage circuits would also be ideal for experimenters. The answer came, of course, in the form of Veroboard, the first ‘stripboard’ product of its kind, dedicated to the rapid prototyping and low-volume production of electronic circuits. Enter the Matrix The story of Veroboard turned out to have many twists and turns. With the help of the UK Intellectual Property Office, I obtained copies of the original 1959 UK and French patents that were submitted by staff at Vero Precision Engineering Ltd (VPE) at the time. The re-discovered drawings for “Improvements in Wiring Boards” illustrated an idea that would become familiar to us all. Veroboard was described as a regular matrix of holes punched through non-conductive SRBP (synthetic resin bonded paper) panels, with copper strips on the underside that could be configured by linking or interrupting them. Various references describe the firm’s origins. Geoffrey Verdon-Roe (1918– 1997) was the Managing Director of VPE in the late 1950s. The firm was claimed to be a very highly respected British precision machine-tool manufacturer, but was not a company that had any connection with electronics. The Roe family name will be familiar to many, however. Geoffrey’s father was (Edwin) Alliot Verdon Roe (1877–1958), who pioneered and co-founded the A. V. Roe (Avro) aircraft company in 1910. He’s commemorated by a local authority plaque in London; see https://www. londonremembers.com/memorials /alliott-verdon-roe-sw18 Despite Roe having some controversial political affiliations, ultimately Avro designed 70 notable British aircraft, including the famous WW1 Avro 504 biplane, the Lancaster bomber, the Shackleton, and the Avro Vulcan, each arguably the finest aircraft of its type at the time. (I’m reminded of Sydney and Frederick Camm at this point – see last month’s Net Work). Roe later hyphenated his surname to Verdon-Roe. Avro was swallowed up by Hawker Siddeley in 1962, which itself is now part of the BAE Systems aerospace company. The suggestion is that VPE then recruited some technical staff from SaundersRoe (SARO) with the aim of developing precision electronic controls for their machine tools, something they ultimately failed to achieve. The former S. E. Saunders Ltd was a flying-boat manufacturer in which Alliot Verdon-Roe had previously coinvested, if not rescued from financial ruin altogether. He was also chairman of Vero Precision Engineering until his death in 1958. SARO was also subcontracted to work on Britain’s “Black Knight” (later, Blue Streak) space rocket project, which was test-launched successfully from Woomera, Australia in 1958 (see https://youtu.be/Mnvd3P9H3o40). For anyone interested, YouTube has plenty more resources including a video at https://youtu.be/Ne8shDmcd5g and a TV documentary at https://youtu.be/ oGOTjAL5VVg I can only speculate that in the late 1950s, Britain’s aerospace industry possibly sought an electronic circuit prototyping system fit for the transistor era, which sparked the quest for a solution. Joining the dots together, this might have led to Vero’s now semiredundant electronics team being tasked with developing a product suitable for the electronics industry. Their 1959 patent for an “improved wiring board” was duly published in 1961. The patent also suggested using holes in other patterns (eg, circles) and possibly using conductors other than copper, or even etching copper strips using printed circuit techniques instead. These ideas would hopefully prevent piracy or adaptations of their ideas by others. Manufacturing the new stripboard Practical Electronics | January | 2025 The original 1966 PR photos we received showing the Veroboard manufacturing process. demanded expertise in precision engineering, including indexing, stepping, punching and milling. VPE had the necessary machine tools and skills, but once the design and production had been perfected, the manufacture and further development of Veroboard was hived off into a separate electronics company. One of the patent’s authors, Terence Fitzpatrick, was then unceremoniously sacked by Geoffrey Verdon-Roe in January 1961, his electronic designs skills no longer being needed. Craft work In the December 1966 issue, we featured a news item showing Veroboard being manufactured by Vero Electronics at their new factory in Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, in Hampshire. It showed an indexing machine piercing sheets of copper-clad board (probably 0.2-inch [5.08mm] or 0.15-inch [3.81mm] matrix at the time). They perhaps used a vacuum extraction system to remove debris (those holes must go somewhere, after all), followed by a second process using milling cutters to remove unwanted copper between the strips. Judging from the photos, production looked like a slow process. Practical Electronics and amateur constructors have long had an affinity for Veroboard. It would be fair to say that its role was critical in enabling hobby electronics to blossom, especially with the digital age coming just over the horizon in the 1970s. Veroboard could carry dual-in-line chips admirably, and constructors were adept at linking copper strips with jumper wires, or isolating them using a special ‘spot face cutter’ tool [a drill bit of the right size would work too – Editor]. Although Veroboard was aimed at electronics professionals, happily, they decided to offer four sizes for the hobby trade. Vero Electronics even Practical Electronics | January | 2025 manufactured a sample size for Practical Electronics readers. It was 10 strips x 24 holes, a format I became very familiar with during the late 1970s, when Editor Fred Bennett asked me for some simple circuits that novices could build using it. My “Uniboards” series was duly published in Everyday Electronics. I guess Uniboards was inspired by the “Bonanza Boards” idea mentioned earlier, only an infinite number of circuits could now be built by anybody, thanks to the adoption of this universal stripboard. The first edition of Everyday Electronics in 1971 had a free sample of Veroboard (as shown in November 2024’s Net Work), and the October 1981 issue carried not only some free Veroboard but also a full-page advert from Vero Electronics themselves, celebrating 20 years of the eponymous product. Vero wrote that “such is the influence that Veroboard has had, and is still having, that the very name has become part of general vocabulary.” Ten simple projects were published in the 1981 issue, including three Uniboards designs. Computer World Photographic techniques using UVsensitive chemicals and developers gradually emerged, and by the late 1980s, professional PC software enabled engineers to design complex PCBs on-screen. Hobby electronics tends to follow industrial trends and design and construction techniques have since changed out of all recognition. The use of surface-mount devices and microcontrollers is widespread and wholly different skill sets are needed to utilise them successfully. There’s no need to make boards from scratch either, as PCB designs can be sent to China (or Europe) via the web and delivered just a few days later. Not to be left out of things, Abacom’s LochMaster 4.0 from Germany (Loch meaning hole) is Windows software that handles the design of stripboard layouts (Windows 7+, price €49, download from https://www.electronicsoftware-shop.com/lng/en/electronicsoftware/lochmaster-40.html). Another software product, Ambyr’s Stripboard Magic, caught the tide at one time but was discontinued suddenly. It crops up online as ‘abandonware’. They say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. 65 years after its invention, Veroboard is still a staple for building interface circuitry for Arduino or Raspberry Pi projects. Pleasingly, many coders and makers have ‘discovered’ Veroboard for the first time, and are realising what a wonderfully enabling and adaptable product it really is. It remains ideal for developing smaller discrete circuits, just like early constructors did some sixty years ago. You can explore the Vero Technologies website at https://verotl.com/ but note that online ordering is aimed at trade and industry customers. Vero also specialises in machining electronics enclosures to order, perhaps remaining true to its precision machinetool roots. Some hot tips for Ryobi Back in the February and March 2022 columns, I looked at some rechargeable 18V workshop tools marketed by Ryobi, a brand that’s positioned as ‘middle-of-the-road’ in terms of durability and affordability. There are now several hundred Ryobi One+ power tools and accessories aimed at homeowners, hobbyists, gardeners and DIY enthusiasts alike. They are hugely popular in the USA; a smaller range is sold in Britain. These Veroboards are similar to the original 10-strip types. 5 This “power wheel adaptor” enables rechargeable power tool batteries like the Ryobi One+ to power other devices. Ryobi’s One+ 18V soldering iron allows cordless use for odd jobs or use in the field, but you’ll have to shop around for differently sized tips. In my 20 years of experience, some Ryobi accessories have been a lot more successful than others, but I use their One+ 18V soldering iron for occasional quick jobs, or for tasks located out of reach of a mains soldering iron. Obtaining different-shaped tips has been a problem, though. I prefer using a 3mm bevel tip rather than the chisel or pointed ones bundled with the Ryobi, and replacements from Ryobi cost nearly £18 (see https://services.ryobitools.eu/uk-uk/getMaterial?matident =5133004382&serident=4000462879). It appears no other parts, including the element, are replaceable. Happily, other users reported that tips from the Hakko T18 series also fit the Ryobi (for technical data, see the trade-only website https://hakko. co.uk/product-category/catalogue/ soldering-iron-tips/t18-series/) and I found compatible T18 types are widely available on AliExpress. Doubtless most of them are low-cost clones, but they’re worth a try, so I bought a selection kit of ten different tip styles. They seem a perfect fit, but the original Ryobi sleeve collar must be used, and great care is needed not to break the exposed element either, or the iron will probably be a write-off. Loosely connected With rechargeable 18V batteries in mind, third-party adaptors are sold online that enable popular 18V and 20V ones to fit other brands of power tools. There are also wire-ended types, commonly called “power wheel adaptors” (or with the American spelling, “adapters”) that allow them to be used in applications that require a long-life rechargeable power source. Adaptors for DeWalt, Makita, Ryobi and other batteries are listed on the usual websites. In my garden, I’m using a ‘trailcam’ (a Victure PIR-triggered digital camera) that records videos of wildlife passing by. I hit on the idea of powering it from an 18V Ryobi battery instead, using a power wheel adaptor hooked up to a regulated power supply, so a likely looking adaptor arrived from China a week or two later. The popular design shown has an onoff rocker but, like many such imports, it was unbranded and therefore untraceable. A mini-blade fuse protects against overloads – you’ll want to derate the 30A one supplied – and a spring-lever connector hooks onto the wire ends. I couldn’t resist inspecting the circuit inside, only to find that the battery’s +18V wiper contact was soldered perilously closely to the PCB’s negative plane. In my sample, there was negligible separation between them. Eventually, through wear and tear, it’s not inconceivable that the contacts could wobble or loosen, insulated only by the solder resist, and the battery could risk being shorted out. It was a poor effort at isolating the battery terminals safely, so I’ll use my Dremel to remove the excess metal before going any further. A suitable DC supply powered from a rechargeable 18V battery could be handy for driving LED lighting, Christmas decorations and novelties outdoors, alarms or monitoring systems in areas where minimum maintenance is desirable or there’s no other power available. The battery’s high capacity means they should last a decent time, and it’s then easy to swap a discharged battery for a fresh one. That’s all for this month. I’ll be catching up on the latest news and more besides, in next month’s Net Work. You can email the author at PE alan<at>epemag.net These compatible Hakko-style T18 tips from AliExpress measure identically. The threaded collar shown didn’t fit, though. Inside the author’s ‘power wheel adaptor’, the +18V wiper was perilously close to the PCB’s negative plane. It will need to be trimmed down. 6 Practical Electronics | January | 2025