Ron Hudson Stated:
>Another problem with most modern stuff is that it is
>surface mount tiny "you can't work on it without
>special tools" not meant for repair, only for
>replacement.
This is not really a problem with surface mount. I
thought this would be impossible too - then I built,
as my first SMT project, a Nixie tube watch - with
"over 45" eyeballs that never worked perfectly.
http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/nixwatch.htm
I invested in only:
1. A GOOD temperature controlled iron ($50) from eBay
2. Good (but not great) tweezers ($5.00)
3. $5.00 set of eye loupes
4. $110.00 - a hot air rework station from eBay (I
didn't really need this)
5. Some flux "markers" and some really thin solder
from Digi-Key - around $20
Nice things about surface mount are that the parts are
really cheap, you can get a lot more stuff on a board
(board cost), and the parts can be fairly easily
recycled (especially with the rework station).
The real problem as I see it is the proliferation of
parts. The Digi-Key catalog is like, 10 times the size
it was in the 70/80's. Parts come and go very quickly
now. And with ASICs, you are at the mercy of the
manufacturer.
I am concerned that all the TTL in the surplus market
now is all that there is-I can't beleive that anyone
is making any more. Wire-wrap sockets and quality
punched boards are getting very expensive.
=====
-Steve Loboyko
Incredible wisdom actually found in a commerical fortune cookie:
"When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day."
Website:
http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl
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Received on Tue Aug 03 2004 - 11:38:30 BST