On Wed, 3 Sep 2008 13:11:16 +0100, whisky-dave wrote:

Give it a rub over with some fine sand paper to remove the protective
lacquer and connect alternate strips to each sensor wire. Copper will
last for ages outside,

I don;t think it will, copper circuit board tracks which is what
veroboard is tarnish very quickly within weeks.

So why is copper still occasionally used as roofing material if it doesn't
last... I don't think copper oxide, or copper salts depending on the
pollution in your area, are insulators unlike say aluminium oxide.

Most circuit boards are coated with a protective layer to stop this
oxidation process.

Main reason is so you don't have to mechanically clean the tracks before
soldering rather than corrosion eating them away. Coatings post assembly
are to stop damp or muck shorting tracks or getting at the board.

--
Cheers
Dave.