If I was 40 years younger then buying such a tool might be a good
investment, like many of the tools I currently own. But failing
eyesight and
unsteady hands mean that construction involving SMT parts is now out
of the
question, and any electronic constructional activity has become more
of a
chore than a pleasure, so at this point in my life it would be a
complete
waste of money. Hence my rather abrubt dismissal of your suggestion.
No worries. I didn't take it personally. I am finding that I am more
shaky than I was years ago. I also discovered that I don't want to
drink two cups of coffee before trying to stuff an SMT board. :-)
But just as a point, the 4th and 5th year students do not have the
best fine-motor coordination either. They really like the SMT work as
they can be a bit sloppy and still achieve almost perfect results.
When the solder paste melts, surface tension pulls the components into
alignment with the pads on the board. It is amazing to watch all the
little parts move around and line up where they are supposed to be. It
looks like something out of a science-fiction movie.
I wish I had gotten a picture of two of my 5th-year students (girls).
They were stuffing a SoftRock board with the SMT parts in prep for
baking. They had taped paper napkins over their faces like surgical
masks and were working over my ring magnifier. One girl was applying
solder paste with a syringe and the other was placing the parts with
tweezers. When I came over to where they were working they shooed me
away explaining that they were involved in a very delicate operation
and that I was not invited into the operating room unless I had
"scrubbed up". The board came out perfectly after baking.
Elecraft's decision to make the K3 a no-solder kit was exactly the
right one
for me. I am going to have to do without this modification unless I
can find
a way to do it without risk of harming the K3 and without requiring
any
special equipment. I have had enough feedback to suggest that my
idea should
work (though still suggesting that I should try it first on something
disposable.)
You might want to get a SoftRock lite board. They are cheap and very
cool to play with. You can get your feet wet with both SMT and SDR all
at once and all for the cost of about $30(us).
--
Brian Lloyd Granite Bay Montessori
brian AT gbmontessori DOT com 9330 Sierra College Blvd.
+1.916.367.2131 (voice) Roseville, CA 95661, USA
http://www.gbmontessori.com
I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . .
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
PGP key ID: 12095C52A32A1B6C
PGP key fingerprint: 3B1D BA11 4913 3254 B6E0 CC09 1209 5C52 A32A 1B6C
--
73 de Brian, WB6RQN
Brian Lloyd - brian HYPHEN wb6rqn AT lloyd DOT com
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