Actually, I will celebrate my 32nd birthday next February. Since "Life begins at 40", I decided to start counting from there. :-)
73, Don W3FPR On 9/9/2011 10:57 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: > I concur with Don. Although my "advertised" age is 36-1/2, that's derived by > counting only birthdays on even numbered years, Hi! > > I use good lighting, an Optovisor magnifier and organize my work area as if > I'm going to disassemble a wrist-watch. > > Also my work area is set up so that my arms rest comfortably on the table > top. Only my wrists and fingers move. Sometimes I rest the side of my hand > on the table so I move ONLY my fingers. (I do not use vises that hold the pc > board up in the air. The board lies flat on the ESD pad.) > > I simply refuse to let the demon win who decreed that as I get older the > parts I work with must get smaller. > > 73 (& for the math challenged, that's my real age too), > > Ron AC7AC > > > ----Original Message----- > > I disagree that Surface Mount Technology has taken kit building out of > the hands of most hams. Yes, it is not a task for the sloppy builder, > or for those who do not have good hand and small muscle control - you > must hold those small parts in the proper place while soldering, but > kits designed with 1206 or even 0802 size components are not a major > undertaking. Surface Mount is easier and faster to assemble than > through-hole components -there are no leads to clip, and all the > soldering is on one side of the board (at any one time). Yes, care must > be exercised - holding the component too tightly in tweezers can launch > it into remote corners where only the vacuum cleaner can find it, so a > gentle touch is required. > > For those who cannot place the parts precisely, the solder paste and > "toaster oven" techniques will work just fine, when heated to the proper > temperature, the parts simply float into position. It is a wonder to > see the results. > > OK, with the "aging of ham radio", there may be some problems, but that > is an individual problem. I am 71 1/2 years old and currently have no > problem with SMD construction, but that may change as the years go by, > but if I am still able to put through-hole components in the correct > location, I should be able to deal equally well with Surface Mount > devices. Give it a try, it is not difficult at all, just different than > thru-hole construction. > > 73, > Don W3FPR > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
