The right way to do a small proto SMD build

Don't you love it when they stick both labels on the anti static bag, instead of leaving one inside.

--
Boris

I've used Dirt Cheap PCBs too, but only for making breakouts. I prefer to spend a bit more to get solder mask and silkscreen. OSH will make you a Kapton stencil for $20ish. (Our most recent one was $18 for a 3x3 inch board.)

What does the circuit do?

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

On a sunny day (Tue, 22 Dec 2015 04:48:28 -0800 (PST)) it happened Phil Hobbs wrote in :

D*m I thought it said: breakfast ? Was wondering, had to read again.

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 07:39:59 -0500, Boris Mohar Gave us:

I think they should place the ESD safe bag *inside* a blue anti-static bag, and put the NON-static safe paper label on that bag. Then, the user can remove the safe bag, acquire a few parts, and re-seal and replace the ESD safe bag inside the onot-so-safe-but claimed to be anti-static bag.

Even my spreadsheet with a label sheet printer function prints on paper, non-safe label stock.

They need a graphene ESD safe sheet or such.

Hey, a new PATENT. My idea!

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 04:48:28 -0800 (PST), Phil Hobbs Gave us:

This one is proto and the finished characterized version will get incorporated onto an existing design's next iteration.

It is a conditioned and amplified notch filter and descriminator for a specific frequency. It attaches directly to the antenna 'device'.

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 14:00:39 GMT, Jan Panteltje Gave us:

Are you really so wussified over there that you can't even right DAMN, when that is clearly the term you wished to convey?

Win7 doesn't open webcams, where XP would. Why does Microsoft break things?

WebCamViewer works with cams and microscopes and stuff:

It seems safe.

What's with the two Metcals? Reminds me of Silverado, where the kid shot two bad guys with two guns, simultaneously.

Get a Mantis! It's like being an eagle flying over the landscape of your board.

--

John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics

Who is good for 4-layer proto boards these days?

--

John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics

I'm a fan of Pentalogix--onshore, no agita, reasonable pricing, ITAR registered if you care. We just got five 3x3 inch two-layer boards,

2-day turn, for $240. Their quick-turn boards have the same features as their "full featured" ones, at least for our purposes--unlimited cutouts free, for instance. These ones have 10-mil slots cut under the photodiode and the feedback resistors, to help with the leakage and flux removal.

The boards were for that $2 linear/log TIA for spark detection in cotton mills that we were talking about a few weeks ago (the "FET driver" thread).

For four-layer, we've used both Pentalogix and Gold Phoenix (not Golden). Never had a problem with either one.

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 

hobbs at electrooptical dot net 
http://electrooptical.net

I like VirtualDub for that.

I have two Metcals on my bench too--one for the iron, the other for the tweezers.

Just don't try making a nest on top of the power transformer. ;)

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 

hobbs at electrooptical dot net 
http://electrooptical.net

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 08:12:53 -0800, John Larkin Gave us:

One is fine pitch.

There are eight PAIRS of Metcals in this lab. Six are the new type with the auto shutdown wand receptacles.

No thanks. I like them a lot, but not there price point. Sorry.

Yes, and I am sure adding a camera function to that costs thousands more of overpriced horseshit. What I have works fine for what I use it for. If I want oblique views, I lift up the focus a few inches and manually tilt the board. No big deal.

I dunno who's good, but I just bought a set of 4-layer boards from Osh Park and I'm reasonably happy.

--
www.wescottdesign.com

The Mantis with the built-in camera would be cool, but it is expensive. I bought my Compact Mantis used for about $1k. The LED lighting died, so I replaced their 20 or so LEDs with eight white Crees.

They should buy a Mantis to inspect their solder joints:

Good optics, bad electronics.

I take pretty good pics by just poking my cheapish camera into the hood.

Good for putting pics in ECOs. I do a hack myself, put it into an ECO, and Manufacturing laughs at my work. It inspires them to do better.

--

John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics

They only want $100 for a replacement lamp. I can't mess around with it for that. I have a Mantis Elite on my bench, with the 6X SLWD lens. It's really nice to get the lens out of the work but it needs a fresnel lens to route the Mantis' light around it.

A modern cell phone works pretty well, by itself. A little cropping may be needed but the software is free all over.

I've been using E-Tekent in Arizona (makes everything in China, of course). They do a VERY good job, had hundreds of different boards made by them. Not the cheapest, but quality is fantastic. They can turn around fast, but that costs a bit extra.

Jon

I usually have two Weller stations on my bench. One loaded with a needle- fine tip and one with a huge chisel tip.

Jon

The constant-current regulator, buried deep inside the base, failed and blew out most if the LEDs. It was easier to replace the LEDs and add a new wall wart. Some of them failed in blink mode, which LEDs tend to do for some reason.

I have a Mantis Elite on my bench, with the 6X SLWD

I see a lot of blurry cell phone pics, caused by phone motion.

--

John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 
picosecond timing   precision measurement  

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com 
http://www.highlandtechnology.com

Don't be so sure about the "of course". OshPark only works with onshore companies -- apparently there's a lot of good PCB companies around in the US that haven't gotten around to making good web front ends for themselves -- OshPark does the front end and the board aggregation, and has pretty good results.

--
www.wescottdesign.com

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 13:51:52 -0600, Jon Elson Gave us:

And neither properly temp controlled.