[hpsdr] Entering the world of SMT soldering!

[Thompson_Peter at emc.com]

Well, I finally got my ducks in a row and tackled the soldering of the SMT
components to my Atlas board last night.  It took me about 1.5 hrs and I
must say, I'm pretty pleased with myself and with the outcome.  

I decided to use the technique someone on the reflector recommended - i.e.
placing the component on the pad, placing a small piece of solder near one
end, holding the component down with a toothpick in one hand and applying
the heat with the iron in the other hand. Then finish up by applying solder
and iron to the other end.  Works like a charm.

Tools I used consisted of:

A 15w iron with a small tip (Radio Shack)
The thinest solder I saw on the rack at RS (.015?)
Tweezers (Revlon) - ones with some hardened, machined steel tips - essential
for picking up the components
A wooden toothpick
3.25x Magnifying Eyeglasses - very pleased with these (so geek, they're
almost chic!)
Desk lamp

I was originally planning on anchoring the board in my vise but this was
really way too big and agricultural for the job.  In the end I decided to
lay out a sheet of white paper (actually thick card courtesy of my artist
xyl) which I attached to the work bench surface via double-sided tape.  I
then taped the underside of the board to the card work surface which held
the board nicely in place.  As mentioned on the reflector, the paper work
surface helps in seeing the components in the event they decide to go on an
outing, and the surface, being a little rougher than my bench top, helps
prevent them straying too far from home.

So now I need to check for any shorts and finish up by attaching and
soldering the connectors.

Thanks to Horst for the excellent construction documentation and also thanks
to those who cleared up the confusion of the diode polarity as discussed
yesterday.

So, for the SMT-faint-hearted, from one who has never done this before, jump
in and have a go - it's really not that difficult (it's actually a blast!).

73, Pete, N3EVL