Paul, N8XMS wrote: My KX1 has just arrived and I am hoping to have construction completed in time for good-weather field operations. Before I start building I would appreciate any and all opinions on the following questions:
1. Elecraft recommends an ESD-safe temperature controlled soldering station. I have a simple Radio Shack 25-watt soldering iron that I have successfully used for all of my previous kits, including a TenTec Tkit 1320, Wilderness Radio SST40, and an Elecraft K1. Have any of you built the KX1 with a similar iron or is the upgrade really needed? 2. Elecraft also recommends flush-cutting diagonal cutters. I currently have a pair of miniature cutters. They are not flush-cutting, but they can probably get within 1/16". Are the spacing tolerances that crucial? 3. I have never used a conductive wrist strap on my other projects and have done fine. Do I really need to wear one for the KX1? 4. If any of the above tools are really needed, do you have suggestions on economical sources for purchasing them? ---------------------------------------------- The manuals are written to give the average builder a confident path to success. I've worked on boards more tender than that in the KX1 using a butane-powered "Port-A-Sol" soldering iron that was hot enough I could also mount SO-239 connectors, but it was out of necessity, not choice. If you are good enough with your uncontrolled iron, you can get away with it. The problem is that you only find out whether you are good enough by whether pcb traces or pads come off the board stuck to the tip of your iron. It's a bit late by then. Consider the cost of a good set of tools compared to the cost of your kits: A Hakko 936 ESD-safe soldering station is about $90. A good wrist strap such as the Elenco is all of $5. Nice Hakko flush cutters are a whole $11. A good plunger-type desoldering tool is $20. Those are prices from http://www.tequipment.net/ I have no connection with Tequipment other than as a customer. Certainly, there are many other sources. And sometimes all it takes is a little effort with what you've got on hand. For example, I found myself needing a good set of flush-cutters some years ago. I had lost mine - a natural consequence of working on large ships every day. If I forgot to pick up a tool when I was done, it'd be halfway to Singapore before I missed it. That day I had a grinder nearby so I grabbed a pair of cheap Radio Shack diags I had around for cutting stuff I didn't want to use my good tools on. I had noticed that, in spite of chomping through a variety of things, the RS cutters were still not nicked. So I used the grinder to sharpen them from the flat side, working carefully to avoid going too far. I just ground them to a flat face on that side. That was 10 years ago! They are still sharp and flat. Your mileage may vary. RS may have accidentally gotten some good steel cutters <G>. My point is that you can get a little creative and adapt what you have on hand at times. I am a strong believer in learning to use the tools I have on hand to their best advantage. Still, that's no excuse for not using the proper tools for the job. Using the proper tools leads to the proper state of mind when working on gear. After all, as the wise old sage observed, "When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail." Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
