I still haven't finished my UK101 but have already learnt lot. Here's a few tips I'd like to share with anyone being new building an SBC:
- wire wrap (WW) might be more expensive than soldering but fast, reliable and can connections can be easily un-done. The tool can be purchased from Farnell and way cheaper than on Ebay (
http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=441089&CMP=i-bf9f-00001000 ). Do use coloured wires! I had different coloured Kynar wire for address, data, data decode and logic, clock and power. Orange colour is not good choice, it looks almost exactly like red (VCC).
- the components are on a plain perforated board (no traces). I wish I have bought TriPad, could make distributing power easier.
- the sockets are glued with hot glue gun. It ain't pretty but holds the sockets strong enough and can be removed if necessary. I've placed a socket too close to an other one. Since I didn't use cyanoacrylate (superglue), I could remove the socket and place it somewhere else.
- worth checking the connection three times: with my multimeter set to continuity meter I checked each newly wrapped connection. Then when I finished wiring, I checked again on the component side (I found quite a few connections wrapped to wrong pins!). And finally, check connections with the ICs placed in the sockets. This way I found a shorted connection that could have cause lots of trouble. I do not recommend powering the board with the ICs in until all the connections are verified!
- label the pins/posts!
- next time I'll print out the layout, wiring and the schematics and will mark all the connections wired with highlighter. Instead I used a tablet or my laptop.
That's all top of my head.