Module #007: Thomas Henry's VCO-555, Stripboard Build

I put the whole thing on a single small stripboard because that's where i'm at in my life right now.

I like stripboard because i can do the whole thing without asking for help from a PCB shop in China. Granted, i asked those Chinese shops to make me all the OTHER electronic bits in my kit, but i'm doing the best i can. I would brew silicon transistors in my kitchen if i could.

I have respect for SynthDIY projects that look super polished, like something out of NASA's skunkworks. But the ones that speak to my heart look like they were assembled in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With my builds, i'm trying to walk the line between MadMax and some kind of weird Antiques Road Show folk art.

I almost wanted to call this the "Pepe Silvia Edition" because of all the flying jumpers. There are a lot of places in this layout where i've "broken the rules" for tidy stripboards. My advice to you if you attempt to build this:

1. Build from one side of the board to the other, soldering 2-5 components at a time to build up a cluster of components at a time. I have read about folks doing all the jumpers, then all the resistors and diodes, and then all the caps, etc. I don't recommend that for a build like this. Some of the jumpers need to fly over the top of existing components sooo...
2. Leave room for the flying bus wires that go from one side of the board to the other. This means you may want to "loft" certain resistors to avoid covering the perfboard holes beneath them.
3. Use scraps of wire insulation on the "at-risk" resistors to avoid accidental shorts. I know it looks like they don't touch right now, but when you get it in the case and drive it to the studio, things will shift. R14 next R32 is a disaster waiting to happen, don't let it get you down. Worst case, hit it with the Hot Snot™ (AKA hot glue, aka hot melt) to keep things from shifting. We aren't proud people, but we do need to troubleshoot so don't get carried away.
4. KNIFE. THE. TRACE. Always. Just run your craft knife or box cutter between all the copper traces on the board. Once you've knife'd all the rows, hold your board up to a lamp with the solder side towards you. This will help you spot solder whiskers, which you may have made, even if you're a badass synth wizard.

Without further ado:

And my build: