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I'm still in school and most of my crafting is done from recycled parts that I get off of old systems that are no longer working. Sometimes there is something I need to finish a project and I have to wait until I run across one. Is there anywhere online you can go to get affordable parts like tubes or wiring, maybe even used speaker horns?
Hi, Used parts not really. New ones...some sources Parts Express, Allied, MCM, Jameco and Antique Electronic Supply (tubesandmore.com).
What is newer is the CAD software used to deliver the artwork to the board house. It used to be done photographically, and your layout engineer would "lay tape". Literally. They used strips of colored translucent tape fastened to large clear sheets of plastic, one per layer. They often used different colored tape so when each layer was laid on top of each other, you could see the layers easily by color coding. But this was just for convenience while developing and checking the layout, because the final product of the layout engineer is a photographic positive done in black on clear at scale for each layer requested.
That's exactly right. My first several production items were done that way. All were digital communications/control equipment. The tape used wasn't just for convenience though, it was actually photographed to make the positive film sent to the board house to make the printed circuit boards. There is one color per layer, and also one for the silkscreens and solder masks. I still have the artwork for those old boards, both the positive films and the originals with strips of tape.