John,
As for the advice about screwdrivers, yes, get yourself a quality, new
#1 phillips. I like the ones from Ace Hardware with the blue handles
(Pro Series), and I like the 8 inch length, just because I learned to
use that length many, many years ago - pick whatever length you are
comfortable with,but do buy a quality screwdriver from a reputable
supplier - a bargain bin screwdriver tip is usually not cut with
adequate precision. If you can see shiny spots on the corners of the
tip, it is not adequate for the task, it will slip and strip your
screwheads. My method of judging a phillips tip driver is if it does
not hold a 3/16 inch phillips head screw when it is held horizontally,
it is time for that screwdriver to be replaced.
I take issue with the suggestion to use magnetic holders and the insert
bits. I prefer not to have any magnetic tools at my electronics
workbench, they attract stray bits of cutoff component leads and other
things stick to the tools. YMMV on that one - take your pick. I use
several magnetic holders to great benefit in the woodworking shop, but
never at the electronics workbench.
As for anti-static, yes take measures - a wrist strap is a minimum, if
you have an anti-static mat at the workbench, work on that surface,
especially when handling unmounted boards. Do NOT work on a completely
conducting surface such as a bare metal desktop or cookie sheet, or
aluminum foil or whatever - fully conductive surfaces can also create
static damage when they contact that fully conductive surface and are a
safety hazard if there are live power sources anywhere near. Newspapers
misted with a spray of water in addition to the wrist strap can be more
effective than a fully conducting surface. If you have no other
alternative, cut open one of the black anti-static bags that the boards
are packed in, connect it to a 1 megohm resistor with a clip lead, and
ground the far end of the 1 megohm resistor to the center screw on an AC
receptacle cover plate (your wrist strap can ground to the same place).
As has been said about the egg cartons, stay away from most plastic
containers for sorting because plastics and foam stuff attracts a static
charge. If you need to sort the hardware into the various sizes, use
metal tins (Altoids tins?) or paper cups. If you are adept at spotting
a screw size and length 'by eye', you can just dump all the hardware
into a large box and pick the right ones from there. Those having long
term experience with woodworking measurements or metalworking will have
that ability.
Make such judgements based on what you know about your abilities.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 5/3/2014 3:51 PM, John, 9H5G wrote:
Gentlemen,
Thank you for a fantastic list of hints and tips so far!
As Gary, KI4GGX, pointed out I should have mentioned the options that I have
coming. It's a K3/100 with a KRX3 and a handful of filters. Simple but very
effective, I'm sure.
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