SparkFun Forums

[justinm]

Now that I have the code on my XBee modules are working and tested, I need to make a carrier board so that I don't have to hand solder my connector wires to the edge castellations. The carrier board would only need to route the edge castellations to a four pin connector. All I need is Vcc, GND, DIN, and DOUT. Most of my experience has been with software and through embedded C, I'm starting to find myself in the hardware realm. I've installed Eagle and I'm seeking guidance on my next move.

[stevech]

Suggestion: Use http://www.expresspcb.com/ and their free software for just a few boards. Cost/board is, with any of these services, high at small quantities - like $51 for 3 boards.

Eagle is a major PITA to learn and use.
DipTrace is a better alternative if you need more than the simplicity of expressPCB

[Ross Robotics]

If you learn Eagle first, it's not that hard. I would highly suggest Eagle as it's the most common amongst hobbyist. When I installed Eagle for the first time, I had a schematic and a PCB finished in the same day.

There are tons of tutorials here for Eagle. There is also a few members here that are skilled enough to help you if you have any questions.

I think Sparkfun has the best tutorials:
SF Eagle Schematic Tutorial
SF Eagle Board Layout
SF Better PCBs in Eagle

There are tons more on Google.

There are 2 things that fustrate me about Eagle:
1) There are a ton of libraries that ship with Eagle. It is difficult to locate parts.
2) There is a search function, but it took me months to figure out there is a 'secret' way to search. If you search for a transistor for example, you put in 2N2222, and it comes up with some nonsense parts or not all the libraries with that part. Instead of searching for '2N2222', search with *. For example: 2N22*. The * acts like a wildcard. You can even put it at the beginning of the search term: *2N22*.