How to build working vero board circuits

equalsql

Just saw this recommended on another site.
Useful guide for all vero board pedal builders out there.
https://alandmoore.com/blog/2023/04/04/how-to-build-working-vero-board-circuits/

gdculley

That's a good read for someone like me, trying to muster up the courage to try a vero build! Thanks!

Keefy

Thanks for linking that @equalsql. My very first builds (1979!) were on Vero board and I still occasionally use it today. Kits are all well and good but there’s nothing like the feeling of completing a truly scratch build.

I already do a lot of what the writer recommends. I tend to install IC sockets first though because it makes it easier to navigate. Marking a grid on the component side is a good call although all that red looks hideous. The last lot of strip board that I bought was already marked with a 10x10 grid which really helped.

Most of my mistakes have been at the planning stage i.e. my layout plan does not represent the circuit. I’ve never had to give up on getting a Vero build working but on my last one I made the cuts in a mirror image of what they should have been and had to start again!

One thing he doesn’t mention is mounting your finished working board in your pedal. For simple circuits you can sometimes design the layout so that the board mounts to a PCB-mount pot (or two). Otherwise I suggest making the board longer than it needs to be so that you can fit plastic stand-offs that hold it firmly in place when the pedal base is screwed on.