Boards: Baseboards

There are four QICBase boards:

QICBase_BB uses a short breadboard and replaces the cover of a Hammond 1590BB enclosure. 

QICBase_ERS uses a short breadboard in an 18 HP EuroRack panel. 

QICBase_DD uses a long breadboard and replaces the cover of a Hammond 1590DD enclosure.

QICBase_ERL uses a long breadboard in a 34 HP EuroRack panel.

The BB and DD boards include voltage regulators and inverters to make +12V, +5V, and -12V from a +15V input.

For the Eurorack boards, voltages are brought in from the Eurorack case over the standard ribbon cable.

Power supply voltages connect to the breadboard power buses with wires soldered to the back of the breadboard.

Bus order is +12V, +5V, GND, -12V.

For an example of the QICBase_BB in use, check out Demo 1: Atari Punk Console

No examples yet of QICBase_ERS, so here's a pic:

For an example of QICBase_DD, check out Demo 4: Adafruit M4 Synth

For an example of QICbase_ERL, check out Demo 2 or Demo 3.

Here are the build files.

QICBase_BB Schematic in PDF form:

QICBase_BB Altium source files:

QICBase_BB Gerbers:

QICBase_ERS Schematic in PDF form:

QICBase_ERS Altium source files:

QICBase_ERS Gerbers:

QICBase_DD Schematic in PDF form:

QICBase_DD Altium source files:

QICBase_DD Gerbers:

QICBase_ERL Schematic in PDF form:

QICBase_ERL Altium source files:

QICBase_ERL Gerbers:

MAKER WARNING: while all of the boards have surface-mounted parts, the BB and DD boards have some especially small components, and require significant soldering expertise.

The breadboards themselves are reasonably standard, and designed to be replaced as they wear out.

I've been using Digi-Key 438-1045-ND (Twin Industries E40-1020) for the long breadboards and 377-2094-ND (Bud BB-32621) for the short breadboards.  Others will work, but keep in mind some things:

You want the short breadboard to have 30 rows, and the long breadboard to have 63 rows.

Some breadboards are wider than the standard, and some have interrupted power supply buses, so watch out for those.

The vendors will change the graphics numbering and order from lot to lot, so beware.

You will need to solder wires to the busbars under the breadboards, so those busbars need to be solderable.  Some of the breadboards have busbars with a solderable finish, and some don't.  Whether they do or not seems to change batch by batch, even for the same vendor and part number.

Here's a pic of what the busbars look like after soldering to them: