[Coco] Blank EPROM-based Program Pak Board Design Released

[Mark J. Blair]

On Nov 4, 2013, at 19:06 , Chad H <chadbh74 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hey Mark.  I got my boards  today, still awaiting the components to finish
> them out.  I'm curious about working with the design files and wondering how
> easy it would be to make "modifications".  Is that a easy process?  For
> someone who is not familiar with the files, how should I approach that?
> Thinking about perhaps adding a LED and such.

I hope the boards work out well for you! In case it's not immediately obvious what you need to do, I have some pictures on my web page showing how to clean up and bevel the card edge:

  http://www.nf6x.net/2013/10/cocoeprompak/

I designed the board with a CAD package called Eagle PCB:

  http://www.cadsoftusa.com/eagle-pcb-design-software/?language=en

There is a free version of Eagle that might do everything that you need. I have a paid version, and I'm not sure whether this board design fits within the constraints of the free version. If you try it out, please report back whether it works for you. I run Eagle on my Mac, and it's also available for Windows and Linux. It's pretty primitive compared to higher-end PCB tools like I use at work, but those are REALLY expensive, even compared to the most expensive Eagle version.

I'm not sure how to quantify how easy the process is, because that'll depend a lot on the individual person. Lots of hobbyists use Eagle, though, and there are tutorials and support groups all over the internet. Some of the electronics hobby suppliers like Sparkfun, Adafruit, etc. have published how-to stuff for Eagle if I recall correctly. If you would like to learn how to design your own PCBs, then making some simple modifications to an existing design might be a good way to get your feet wet before you design something from scratch.

-- 
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/