For some time I’ve wanted to develop a PCB again. Last time I did that was around 2021, when I made LocoNet-equipped decoder and command station for model railroad.

And now the opportunity presented when I realized that an Arduino and some motor drivers will not fit into the crane housing. So I combined an MCU and H-bridges into one PCB. Ideally, the project can be used later as a base for drivable RC vehicles in HO scale. So I tried to make the design as compact as possible, (but without spending too much effort).

The project has its own page.

JLCPCB has usual $2 pricetag for economy variant, and my board is very small, so cheapest shipping option was about $1.8. EU VAT was added at checkout (about $0.8), so hopefully I’ll just get the package with no customs hassle. In total, PCB manufacturing costs as much as a coffee at the cafe!

I also ordered some components from LCSC (sister company of JLCPCB), while it was more expensive (about $13, but I ordered more than I need and some other components as well), they have a nice delivery discount if you have a PCB order, so the cheapest delivery of components turned out free!

Without the discount, the cheapest delivery is $8.8, so it’s cheaper to order components and a PCB than just components! So, here is a lifehack: if you want to order components from LCSC, it could be cheaper to make a 10x10mm PCB, order it for 2$ + shipping, then order components and get huge discount on shipping.

Before they just packaged the components into the same package as a PCB and sent everything as one parcel. Doesn’t look like it’s still the case.

This is written in April 2024, things with shipping, taxes, VATs may change any time.