Operation Manual

Stripboard is extremely easy to use, which makes it a great stepping-stone to custom circuit board design and manufacturing.
However, you should be aware of the following before you buy stripboard:
• There are different types of stripboard. Some stripboards have copper tracks on the underside, which go all the way across
a row or down a column, while other stripboards are split into two separate rows with a gap in the middle like a breadboard.
Yet another type of stripboard, often called a project board, has no copper tracks at all and requires the use of wires to join
components together electrically.
• Stripboard can be made in different thicknesses and with different materials, and one type of stripboard may be more suited
to a particular project than another. For example, a heatproof stripboard is good for a circuit that is going to be in a high-
temperature environment, while thicker stripboard should be used for circuits that may be exposed to rough handling.
• To make the component layout on a stripboard neater, it’s possible to break the tracks on the underside to separate
components electrically. This avoids wasted board space and is an absolute necessity in more complex circuits—but to
achieve the neatest results, you’ll need a small hand-held tool called a track cutter. Remember to add that to your shopping
list if you’re planning on using stripboard, although a small drill bit can also be used.
There are also some tricks to handling stripboard that, if ignored, can make things harder than they have any reason to be:
• The copper tracks on the underside of stripboard are not usually coated in any way. As you touch the tracks, you will
tarnish the copper and make it difficult to solder. Avoid touching the underside of stripboard unless you’re going to use it
immediately; if it’s too late, get some steel wool and give the copper a gentle brush to remove the corrosion before attempting
to solder.
• Unlike a printed circuit board, stripboard has no solder mask—a substance that prevents solder from going anywhere it
isn’t supposed to. As a result, soldering is somewhat trickier than it is on a PCB—it’s all too easy to accidentally join tracks
together with too-large a blob of solder. If this happens, use your desoldering wick to remove the excess solder and try again.
• The holes in stripboard make it easy to snap into custom sizes, but leave the edges ragged. After snapping stripboard, take
the time to file down the edges before assembling your circuit. Make sure you wear a face mask when doing this, because the
dust from stripboard isn’t particularly healthy to breathe.
A Brief Guide to Soldering
Having a soldering iron is one thing, but you also need to know how to use it. Soldering, like any skill, takes practice to become
proficient. If you follow the tips in this section and keep practising, you’ll be creating clean, tidy solder joins in no time.
This may seem obvious, but it’s worth pointing out: soldering irons get extremely hot during use. Make sure you don’t touch any exposed metal
surface, even away from the tip, and be careful where you put the iron down. If possible, buy an iron with a stand, or obtain a separate heatproof
stand. Never leave a hot iron unattended, and if you drop an iron, don’t be tempted to try to catch it!
Soldering works by melting a small quantity of metal to form a join between two components. If you turn the Raspberry Pi over,