Turret boards were used in electronics manufacturing before printed circuit boards. They consist of non-conductive material with metal turrets for components to be installed and welded. Turret boards were popular in mid-1900s but declined with the invention of PCBs. They are still used in hand-wired vacuum electron tubes and for DIY projects.
A turret card is a specific type of electronic card. Turret boards were regularly used in electronics manufacturing before the creation of printed circuit boards (PCBs). Using a turret board as an electronic circuit was more expensive than using other types of printed circuit boards, so it was generally only used in high-end commercial and military audio equipment.
Turret boards consist of thin sheets of non-conductive material with metal turrets positioned in a pattern to match the electronic layout of the circuits and electrical components. Components such as capacitors and resistors are then installed between the turrets according to specifications. After the components have been installed, they are then welded to the turrets to consolidate the electrical connections.
These boards allowed for engineered construction, which allowed for increased production of the boards. The process of creating a turret board generally began with an engineer designing the board and listing the components and connections that needed to be made. The board would then be passed on to a skilled professional who would assemble the components and solder the connections.
Throughout the mid-1900s, turret boards were extremely popular in electronics manufacturing. Many of the military electrical devices used during WWII used turret boards as their primary construction method. The turret board has also been used in the creation of many consumer electronic devices, including radios and guitar amplifiers.
After the invention of printed circuit boards, the use of turret boards in the market began to decline. PCBs could be mass-produced faster and more efficiently than turret boards. While the turret board is no longer used in most electronic devices, it has continued to be used in the creation of hand-wired vacuum electron tubes. Many DIY (Do It Yourself) enthusiasts have used turret boards to recreate vintage audio equipment. This process has led to the replication of many vintage electric guitar amplifiers and signal processors for recording studios.
The turret card building process was not scalable and was unable to meet the needs of a growing technological world. Even with their limited use, however, turret boards are still useful components in the production of electronic components. Although the process of building a turret board is time consuming compared to PCBs, turret boards are still commonly used in electronics prototyping and hobbyist electronics projects.
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