Got some EPC2012's. I think Spehro suggested these. The long dim is about 68 mils. This might be PCB mountable, barely.
Rated 15 amps peak!
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Shot with my Dino-Lite USB microscope.
--
John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com
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Precision electronic instrumentation Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators Custom laser drivers and controllers Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links VME thermocouple, LVDT, synchro acquisition and simulation
LOL! Dino-Lite is a piece of junk. I bought one, cost over $800, tried it for a couple of days, and sent it back for a refund.
To change the zoom, you raise or lower the microscope so it is closer or further away.
Now you have to adjust the focus to bring the object into view. The data transfer rate through the usb is so slow that you easily overshoot and have to try again. A huge waste of time.
Dino-Lite was sympathetic, but was unable to suggest any solution except to go to the HDMI version to improve the response. The HDMI version meant a direct connection to a display monitor, which means you could not capture images and save them to disk. The working distance was far less, whcih meant the camera would have to be too close the object to allow inspecting solder joints.
I went to Walmart, bought a Canon handycam, got some 35mm to 37mm adapters on ebay for a buck or so, and a bunch of 37mm closeup lens for very cheap.
I also got a Blackmagic Intensity Pro for $150 on ebay. This is a high speed interface for the Canon and allows capturing photos and images.
The result is a 20:1 optical zoom camera with autofocus, changeable lens that allow a huge range of magnification, long working distance, very low light level operation, and instant response.
A simple pulley arrangement allows me to set whatever working distance I want. The whole assembly is very convenient and allows putting a wide- screen monitor next to the working area to allow inspection of solder joints for flaws, or entire assemblies for incoming inspection and quality control.
Mine cost about $200, plus another $30 for a special stand. I bought it at a trade show. I haven't noticed any time lag in the video. I use it for pics of small parts, pcb eco's, like that. It tucks behind my monitor when I'm not using it. Handy.
There are cheaper clones around.
More than my $200 for sure. ebay has USB Dinos starting at $99.
--
John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com
Precision electronic instrumentation
Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators
Custom laser drivers and controllers
Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links
VME thermocouple, LVDT, synchro acquisition and simulation
I did not see any on ebay at the time. They have many different models. There is only one with the long working distance that you need for solder work and incoming inspection. It is unlikely you will see it on ebay.
You still have manual zoom. This changes the working distance. You may not want that to happen, since you will probably have to soom back out. You won't be able to get the same zoom level for more pictures. Serious lack or professionalism in reports.
I work under my Mantis. The 3D and clarity are far better than any video system. Working distance is about 3-4" depending on the lens.
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Not much time. Autofocus has problems of its own.
Well, it works for me. The measurement software is helpful, too.
--
John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com
Precision electronic instrumentation
Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators
Custom laser drivers and controllers
Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links
VME thermocouple, LVDT, synchro acquisition and simulation
I've been tempted to play around with them before. Hard to say what kind of applications they'd be good at.
If they could make a 1000V part, I'd definitely get a few, but encapsulation would be challenging. Too bad they don't make any prepackaged.
Best guess, compact power switching at "very" high frequencies (1-10MHz?), medium to low voltage (telco, automotive??). Needs expensive PCBs too, multilayer with very fine pitch layout.
Be funny to mount a few yourself. Chip and gate driver, on a tiny board; bring out the +5V, gate, kelvin source, source, and drain pins, then encapsulate the whole board. Stick it to a copper heatsink tab while you're at it. If you get the same kind of plastic they usually use for encapsulation, you might even get away with high voltages (assuming the die itself were rated for it).
Curiously, the datasheet doesn't suggest what to do with the substrate. Short to source, I suppose. Could you check and see if it has any gain as a back-gate?
Tim
--
Deep Friar: a very philosophical monk.
Website: http://webpages.charter.net/dawill/tmoranwms
"John Larkin" wrote in message
news:ver51811b1hc9b2ees377098ovr95m7mqm@4ax.com...
>
>
> Got some EPC2012's. I think Spehro suggested these. The long dim is
> about 68 mils. This might be PCB mountable, barely.
>
> Rated 15 amps peak!
>
> https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53724080/Parts/EPC2012_GaN_2.jpg
>
> https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53724080/Parts/EPC2012_GaN_3.jpg
>
> Shot with my Dino-Lite USB microscope.
>
>
>
> --
>
> John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
>
> jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com
> http://www.highlandtechnology.com
>
> Precision electronic instrumentation
> Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators
> Custom laser drivers and controllers
> Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links
> VME thermocouple, LVDT, synchro acquisition and simulation
As some have pointed out, the Mantis suffers from vibration. It is very expensive. You have to hold your head in the proper location for the image to appear. This can be very tiring. You cannot take photos with the basic model. The image capture option is very expensive. Mantis is a 1970's technology that has far exceeded its expiry date.
You still have to fiddle with the focus every time you move the Dino-Lite. This is distracting and tiring.
Autofocus may not work well on reflective surfaces, subjects with low contrast or those without vertical lines. Most handycams have manual focus for these cases. I have not found it necessary with the Canon.
For reflective surfaces, such as solder joints, you can get a circular polarized filter to reduce the reflections. This option is not available with the Dino-Lite long working distance model. I have not found it necessary with the Canon.
Measurement software is available for little or no cost. You need to calibrate the software. Many cheap printers have a long strip with fine markings that are calibrated. Next time you toss a printer, check to see if it has a positioning strip. If not, you can get inexpensive calibration sheets on ebay.
When you are done work, you cannot take the Dino-Lite from the bench and use it anywhere else. When I am finished work, I can unscrew the Canon, and now I have an excellent handycam for taking movies with sound.
In fact, if you have a decent handycam, all you need is an inexpensive adapter and a few close-up lens, and you can beat the Dino-lite and Mantis hands down. Find a simple way to mount it and save yourself a small fortune.
Not that I notice. I take excellent pictures through the viewer, with an ordinary camera.
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It is
Mine was around $2K. Not bad to be able to see things.
You have to hold your head in the proper location
You always have to put your head in the proper position to see things. I find the Mantis to be very comfortable to work under, much better than a video monitor.
This can be very tiring. You cannot take
See above. Works great.
The image capture option is very
Well, I love mine. The brilliance and 3D vision are stunning.
Why not? It's a tiny USB thing. I could plug it into a netbook computer and carry them anywhere in one hand, like into the conference room, or stick it in my pocket and take it home to look at bugs or something.
--
John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com
Precision electronic instrumentation
Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators
Custom laser drivers and controllers
Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links
VME thermocouple, LVDT, synchro acquisition and simulation
I believe Speff mentioned it some time ago. The photos you posted show it has a long mounting arm. That is bound to cause vibration problems.
If you can use an ordinary camera, you don't need 3D.
That is very expensive. The price has probably increased since you got yours.
You have a limited volume to place your eyes with the Mantis, which puts strain on your neck muscles. The monitor is much less tiring. Many people look at them for hours on end.
2D is fine for inspection. It's all you can get for photos.
And forever fool with the focus? Where's the sound? Why bother with the netbook?
If you have a handycam, you can solve all these problems at very little expense. Regards,
I've used several Mantis (Manti?), none have a vibration problem. My partner in crime just bought new one for our corner of the lab. It's great but I remember the lenses on a carousel (these just have a bayonet base, which is a PITA).
You can see around objects.
$2K for the head and another $2K for the articulated base ($750 for the standard base), IIRC. The objective is in there somewhere.
Many people use a Mantis for hours on end. It's a *lot* better than either a microscope or monitor. Not even close.
Not so much. It's not all you can get with a Mantis or stereo scope.
One of the things I like about my Mantis is that I can move my head a bit and look around stuff, e.g. to inspect solder joints. It would be nice if it had a focus knob, but since I paid about $1400 on eBay, I'm pretty happy with it.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058
hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net
This thing has Rds-on around 70 milliohms. Peak current is 15 amps, which means it will pulse switch 3 kilowatts, in a nanosecond or likely less. And it's the runt of the family.
I don't plan to encapsulate it. It's just another surface-mount transistor.
It looks to be about like mounting a BGA or one of those CSP leadless things, pretty much what you have to do these days.
There's a tiny footnote that says to hook it to the source.
I plan to wire one up and test it, somehow. I guess I could play with the substrate voltage.
--
John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com
Precision electronic instrumentation
Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators
Custom laser drivers and controllers
Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links
VME thermocouple, LVDT, synchro acquisition and simulation
Well worth it to see things this well. One PC board can be worth 4x the cost of the Mantis. I probe circuits under the mantis, super-fine pitch stuff where a slip of the probe could blow things up. I can scrape solder mask off 5 mil traces to get at signals. It's worth the $2K for probing alone.
Not on mine. I'd find looking up, or sideways, at a monitor a lot more difficult. Plus, the Mantis corrects beautifully for my lousy vision, without glasses.
The monitor is much less tiring. Many people
The Mantis is far better for inspection and working than any 2D monitor. You can move your head around and see reflections changing along the contour of a solder fillet. You can see the 3D shapes, the position in space of your soldering tip and tools. The resolution is far better than any camera and screen will ever give.
The human visual system does remarkable signal processing. The resolution of two eyes is far better than the resolution of one... try it. A camera/monitor throws that advantage away; Mantis enhances it.
The electronic things that I design don't have much to say.
--
John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com
Precision electronic instrumentation
Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators
Custom laser drivers and controllers
Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links
VME thermocouple, LVDT, synchro acquisition and simulation
I was referring to taking the Dino-Lite into a meeting.
I have an American Optical Stereo Zoom microscope. I am familiar with the brilliant image from good optics, and the ability to see around objects to a limited extent. The Canon gives images with more than adequate resolution.
The limited ability to see around objects with 3D is overrated. What we really need is a way to look sideways or underneath objects. A simple dentist's mirror with a flat bottom might be useful.
Out of curiosity I downloaded the user manual for the Mantis Compact and Elite.
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What I discovered is this instrument is even more primitive than I thought. If this is the same one you have, there are no controls for zoom and focus.
To change magnification, you must change the lense.
To change focus, you must hold the part closer or further away.
This makes it unsuitable for high magnification, such as scraping the insulation off a 5 mil trace. Any high-power microscope could do the same.
There is no way this thing can match the versatility and ease of use of the Canon handycam with closeup lenses. The 20:1 optical zoom and autofocus make it faster and much easier to use than the Mantis.
The other thing I discovered is you have a knack for misquoting, exaggerating, omitting relevant facts, and making the most mundane item sound like sex in heaven.
This means I will have to discount your claims much more than I have in the past.
Also, you now have three instruments for inspection. The Mantis, the Dino-Lite, and a camera to take pictures with the Mantis.
If the Mantis is so good, why did you get the Dino-Lite?
I stand by my claim that the Canon beats the Dino-Lite hands down.
And I would not consider getting a Mantis even if it were free.
What's real fun is when you can see a defect with a stereo microscope, but it isn't visible on the video camera.
The Mantis is well out of my budget, so I'm going to start looking for a stereo microscope on a boom so I can see to repair circuit boards that are too fine pitch for me to see right now. Too bad that the VA won't buy me one. Hell, they scrap plenty of them every year. They should let some Disabled Veterans have a shot at repairing them for resale to support things like Vets Helping Vets. The local group really needs donations of non perishable food and cash to help Veterans who fall through the cracks.
No, you move the head up and down. It's easy and natural.
But I do stuff like that all the time. We have much more expensive video inspection stuff here, but a Mantis is better.
I doubt that.
And I should care? Why?
Sort of on a whim. I saw it at a trade show, Photonics West, so I bought one. It's useful for high-mag stuff and for measurement, like pcb trace and pad sizes and drill diameters, and like the pic I posted of the GaN fet. The Mantis can't do that.
I'm thinking I can make a simple fixture that will let me peek at the edge of a multilayer PCB and measure the stackup. Sometimes being able to do that is handy, and the optics that I currently have to do that is awkward.
Fine. Stand wherever you like.
Now I'm starting to discount your claims.
Several people here like and use Mantises.
--
John Larkin Highland Technology Inc
www.highlandtechnology.com jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com
Precision electronic instrumentation
Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators
Custom timing and laser controllers
Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links
VME analog, thermocouple, LVDT, synchro, tachometer
Multichannel arbitrary waveform generators
The turret lens units are OK, but they make the whole thing a lot bigger. Our production people use the big ones. The "compact" version that I have on my bench has the bayonet lens mount. I have 4x and 6x lenses, but just use the 6x.
Well, I like it.
--
John Larkin Highland Technology Inc
www.highlandtechnology.com jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com
Precision electronic instrumentation
Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators
Custom timing and laser controllers
Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links
VME analog, thermocouple, LVDT, synchro, tachometer
Multichannel arbitrary waveform generators
I was thinking about buying it but I bid on a piece of dead video test equipment, instead. $55 for about $7,000 worth of Tek NTSC broadcast video gear. I would have loved to have it when I worked in broadcast. It's a better model than I used at any TV station.
You collect o'scopes. I have a Tek RM 529, one of their first video waveform monitors, and the HP clone. I recently located a manual for my
10 MHz Tek/Sony 324 portable scope. They haven't made power cords for it in over 25 years, but I powered it up a while back and t's a nice little triggered analog scope. There was a SOny 4" B&W TV that used the same connector on the 'DC Car Converter' but those go for $75 and more. I guess that I'll have to try to mold one myself. :)
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was about the same price as that camera. I bought it to strip & install my home brew GPS based 10 MHz frequency standard and a distribution amplifier like the one I built for Microdyne. That's pretty much my spare money for the month. A Veteran I'd been helping died recently, owing me over $500. I still haven't been able to find out the cause of her death. The county can't locate her sister and won't even talk to me. They tried to tell me that she wasn't a Veteran, so I read them the riot act and told them who and where her VA doctor was.
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