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How do you store your PCBs?


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Wondering how people are storing their PCBs? Do you keep them in trays, bubble wraps, boxes, book shelves etc? Getting a few myself and just have them bubble wrapped and sitting in a drawer atm, looking for a better solution.

 

If you can post pics that would be appreciated.

Edited by DoomsDave
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Bubble wrap is generally considered bad for electronics, it is pretty staticy stuff, especially when new. The pink anti-static bubble wrap you can pay through the nose for also isnt technically antistatic, it is anti-statogenic, meaning it doesnt generate static itself but it will still lets zaps through. Having said that, for arcade boards, most will have had a dose of bubble wrap in their time, and parts on a whole board are less prone to damage than individual parts, and also most 70s-90s boards are TTL which is less easily damaged than the later CMOS.

 

Cardboard boxes, also not great unless they are kept indoors somewhere out of the damp, when kept in sheds or garages they tend to mop up the damp and keep the boards inside slightly damp, leading to rust and track rot. Especially if you put a dripping wet car in the garage from time to time. Same deal for newspaper.

 

The ideal solution is really to invest in a load of metalised antistatic bags, but over A4 size they get expensive. Bubble wrap over the antistatic bags is fine, but beware of boards with batteries on with exposed terminals as the bags can short them out.

 

Personally I have a few shelves where the two board Sega PCBs stand end on, and a cupboard with 20 or so shelves about 3cm apart for the others.

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I screw mine down onto 12mm plywood boards via pcb feet and then they sit vertically on their longer side in a dark timber cupboard with the doors closed. That's also how I then transfer them into/secure them in the cabinet.
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I screw mine down onto 12mm plywood boards via pcb feet and then they sit vertically on their longer side in a dark timber cupboard with the doors closed. That's also how I then transfer them into/secure them in the cabinet.

 

This is what I was leaning towards. Seems like best and most convenient way to do it.

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This is what I was leaning towards. Seems like best and most convenient way to do it.

 

Yep, nothing will flex or touch anything and you will never have to touch any part of the board as you transfer it into your cabinet.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I have two Atari pcbs, same game. One was stored obviously in a shed or somewhere where moisture and or heat could get to them. The pads are prone to lifting when desoldering. The other one obviously stored in an air tight container or somewhere dry and temperature stable as the pad are fantastic! Just keep em dry and at a stable temperature. That's all I figure you need to do. my 2c. Edited by taito
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