New appreciation for good layouts

[Chi_Boy]

So my path of DIY exploration took me down the road to professional PCB fabrication.  The concept is really cool since I decided that etching and drilling is not my bag.  But the learning curve for getting this done is daunting.  I had a batch made, and found that I tripped over silly stuff like drill sizes and the REAL size of PCB mounted pots.   The process is really forcing me to look 10 steps ahead of where I'm at to make sure it all works.  Even the way it fits into the enclosure. 

Of course it doesn't help that I started with a project that was way too huge for a first attempt. (for fab, not Eagle)  We all like challenges though, don't we?  One thing I can say for sure is that this gives me even more respect for Bean's layouts and the other layouts around here.

I just wanted to share that appreciation and post a couple of pics of my journey.  Particularly since you guys started me down this path!!  It's a lot of work, but very rewarding in a geeky-techie way.

Cheers,
George