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by ErroneousBosh 19 days ago
The problem with OSH Park is that they're in the US, so they're prohibitively expensive for shipping and there's no guarantee your boards will even make it to you.

I've also got concerns about the quality of American electrical products.
2 comments
throwaway219450 19 days ago
In the past if you didn't live in the US, OSHPark was a great option. Local fabs were very expensive, had big setup fees and even the "maker" places charged more and you'd only get HASL. Meanwhile OSH gave you 3 with ENIG and the quality has always been excellent. They nailed the automation to make group buys cost effective.

If you live in the US, it's free shipping and for breakout boards or smaller work, still a great option. Unless you're a student, I think most side projects aren't make or break if the boards cost $5 vs $2. Even $20-25 I would consider fair for a one-off side project and they also do $1/sqin medium runs if you need > 10.

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ErroneousBosh 19 days ago
Right now it's several hundred dollars to get anything electronic out of the US and into the UK, unless you're a big enough company to be able to lawyer your way out of it.

We'll see what 2026 brings, I suppose.

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throwaway219450 18 days ago
The UK has de minimis for a while yet, and PCBs are 0% import duty. The only thing you might get shafted by is Royal Mail's handling fee if it gets checked by customs. We're talking about hobbyist PCBs here, not production runs.
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15155 19 days ago
> I've also got concerns about the quality of American electrical products.

American PCB fabs are far higher quality/capability than most Chinese quick-turn fabs, but good luck getting Advanced Circuits or similar to talk to you for under $5k.

That isn't to say that the products JLC and PCBWay produce aren't high-quality: they are - for what they are, but you aren't using JLC boards in your $100mm satellite.

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