[hpsdr] So I ordered an atlas, preparation is in order

[George Medakovich]

I think nearsightedness is the best benefit for close work.  Taking my 
glasses off I am able to easily work on
small parts, but it can be a little hard on the nose :*(

I tried the headband magnifier and like it, but after a while the 
headband gets uncomfortable.
Now I mostly use a ring light with a big lens in the middle. 

For smd construction I use an air pen that I bought used.  The control 
box has a pump that provides the compressed air for
the pen and vacuum for a pick up tool.  I apply solder paste to a small 
section of the board, preheat the board to activate the
flux in the paste and work it with the air pen until the solder flows 
(there are lots of clips on the web that demonstrate the
procedure).  That way I can work a small section at a time, or 
individual components.

George, ae5ci

Dwayne L wrote:
> ***** High Performance Software Defined Radio Discussion List *****
>
> Thanks to the folks that answered my previous questions, and I apologize for not following up right away.
>
> I was skimming the assembly manual, and I was curious. I just noticed the caps were polarized, which was my first question. Darn thorough instructions! Is there any real way, other than starting to plug everything else in to test that I didn't goof up? I'll probably have this guy done long before I start ordering more.
>
> On the scale of difficulty, it doesn't look terrible, but I do know I have to wrap my brain around the idea of "small".
>
> Does anyone have any tips or ideas on tools of the trade? I've built stuff before, mostly heathkit stuff. Never done surface mount other than tapping boards for test leads and voltage modifications (gotta love nvidia video cards). I'm ordering a real soldering station, instead of my little 15 watt rad shack special, but not sure if it will be here in time.
>
>
> -----------
> There are 10 kinds of people in the world...
> those who understand binary, and those who don't
>
>
>       
> _______________________________________________
> HPSDR Discussion List
> To post msg: hpsdr at openhpsdr.org
> Subscription help: http://lists.openhpsdr.org/listinfo.cgi/hpsdr-openhpsdr.org
> HPSDR web page: http://openhpsdr.org
> Archives: http://lists.openhpsdr.org/pipermail/hpsdr-openhpsdr.org/
>
>
>   


 1279291007.0