Stripboard design using Eagle

[crlMidi]

Harry Baggen's article on the LochMaster software was interesting because it's a reminder that some of us still have uses for stripboard.

https://www.elektormagazine.com/news/review-lochmaster-for-stripboard-circuit-design/8652

It also reminded me that a couple of years ago I did a stripboard design using the schematic layout function of Eagle, which has numerous component libraries available, and is standard for Arduino. I wanted MIDI (music) current loop interface for Arduino, but SparkFun had stopped making their shield because the opto-isolator was no longer available. Anyway, I needed several channels.

No two through-board opto-isolators seem to have the same pinout, and parts according to the original MIDI specification are sometimes too slow to work. It's easier to modify a stripboard design for the parts available than to re-do a PCB.

With Eagle you have to make new parts like resistors and capacitors in all the lengths you need (multiples of 0.1in); you can't just stretch them to length! I didn't try diagonal mounting which would have lengths of the square root of something. Each part needs a package which can be any shape because you don't use packages. I made parts with no connectors for segments of stripboard, and for breaks in the track (put on different layers). Track segments in use are over-written with NETs. Jumpers are made using WIREs (not NET); it's OK to let them cross, but they must end on connectors.

A big advantage with this approach is that error checking can be used. A very minor annoyance is that WIREs produce errors if they come too close to connectors they're not attached to.

The result isn't pretty but it works. Also, as you aren't making a PCB there is no size limitation with the free version.

I apologise for not getting round to tidying up the library and writing an article (I didn't think many people would be interested), but the attached example may be useful to someone who would like to take this further.