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This week, we visit a pair of Web sites that make it easy to go from paper to prototype.

Designing circuits is fun, but making PCBs boards is not much fun. Ron Wray, WB5HZE, wrote me recently right on that topic.

"I stumbled across an article about these sites in a recent edition of the Houston Chronicle. Although it is probably not your custom to promote businesses via your column, perhaps there is some way to make these sites known to the Amateur Radio community. While the services they provide may not be for everyone, there are a few folks (like me), who simply don't have the time to deal with local machine shops or to make our own printed-circuit boards, which means that many projects make it no further than a few lines on a notepad.

Pad2pad.com provides free software to design a circuit and when your design is complete, Pad2pad.com converts your design to a printed-circuit board.

"Emachineshop.com is an online machine shop, while Pad2pad.com is an online printed-circuit board (PCB) manufacturer. Easy-to-use software is provided so that a user may quickly make a three-dimensional sketch of his/her design and receive an immediate quote.

"Pad2pad.com is a sister site that permits users to create and order PCBs in a similar manner. Also, they will assemble your boards with almost any custom parts by specifying their DigiKey part number.

"Fascinating concept."

Indeed! Pad2pad.com makes the PCB process painless and takes home brewing up a notch.

Until next week, keep on surfin'

Editor's note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, never designed a circuit that worked. He blames weak etching chemicals not weak circuit design! To discuss PCBs, surfing and other important and neat stuff with Stan, send him e-mail at wa1lou@arrl.net.