Hi Brian. I'm also struggling with diminished eyesight - Not to mention the
onset of senescence... Clip-on loupes for eyeglasses help. Also have had some luck reflowing single-sided SMD boards on kitchen stove "glass" burners. YMMV, naturally... ... On 10/9/17, Brian Brindle <bbrin...@gmail.com> wrote: > I took advantage of the 3 day weekend and worked on my boards. Stupidly I > started them in a temporary location rather than the "bench" and scrapped > the 1st board with a stupid cutting mistake after I had it already > populated. > > I have built many things in my lifetime but this project is somehow special > and has been a journey in self discovery. I have learned so much about > myself. First, I am a very angry man. Second, I am apparently blind now > requiring more magnification and light than I thought ever possible. Third, > I suffer from some weird form of aphasia that only lets me figure out that > what I'm vigilantly checking and double checking is completely backwards > when it's impossible to fix. Finally, always go with what you know. I tried > several of the new fandangled methods for SMT soldering that seemed less > complicated but ultimately what worked is my old methods of doing things > that I thought were inferior. Trust your gut. > > Anyway, I too have some cad/stellated boards on the way to test and have a > pretty good process for cutting/shaping the existing ones. I've also > determined that hot air is the way to go for assembling these things but > still I can only crank out about one an hour. I'm using some solder paste > and one of these guys: > https://www.amazon.com/WEP-858D-Soldering-Station-Suitable/dp/B0055B6NGE > > I got some epoxy (to hold the flash on) and plan to try the hot skillet > method later this week. If I can do several boards at once I may be willing > to both share my setup and help with production of these things if > necessary. > > More to come in the next few days. > > Brian > > > On Mon, Oct 9, 2017 at 8:46 AM, Josh Malone <josh.mal...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> I'm shooting to produce them at the same $60 price that club100 sold >> them previously. >> >> As a status update, I'm expecting delivery of the castellated board >> test this week. Assuming I can validate this modification to the PCB >> design, I think the pre-castellated board from OSH Park will be the >> way to go. Still hoping to announce a small board run sometime this >> month. We'll see. >> >> -Josh >> >> On Mon, Oct 9, 2017 at 4:42 AM, James Zeun <james.z...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > I've little experience in this area, but a friend of mine makes >> > hardware >> for >> > the ZX Spectrum, Timex computer to those in the states. I know he ended >> up >> > out sourcing work to China as it was cheaper then populating 30+ boards >> by >> > hand. I don't believe his IDE adapter was anymore complicated then the >> > REX,not sure if he had to flash chips. >> > >> > If the decision is to solder them ourselves, I'll put my hand up and >> offer >> > to help out. My soldering isn't too ropey, probably not as good as some >> of >> > the chaps on here :-) >> > >> > How much is an assembled REX? I already own one, but wouldn't mind >> having a >> > spare. >> > >> > >> > >> > On 9 Oct 2017 6:31 a.m., "ray gordon" <ray...@hotmail.com> wrote: >> >> >> >> Hi, >> >> >> >> I hav'nt been monitoring the list for a couple weeks, but I'm >> >> certainly >> >> interested in several rexes >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> ________________________________ >> >> From: M100 <m100-boun...@lists.bitchin100.com> on behalf of Jim >> Anderson >> >> <jim.ander...@kpu.ca> >> >> Sent: Thursday, October 5, 2017 7:01 PM >> >> To: m...@bitchin100.com >> >> Subject: Re: [M100] Who wants a REX? Gauging interest >> >> >> >> > -----Original Message----- >> >> > >> >> > You don't need any tpdd device, you just need any modern pc and a >> >> > usb >> >> > serial cable and some free software. >> >> >> >> Sorry, by 'TPDD device' I meant TPDD emulators as well, not just the >> >> actual Tandy drives or NADSBox or whatnot. I guess I should have said >> 'some >> >> kind of TPDD-compatible device'. >> >> >> >> > The only problem would be if the cpld programming is not the same >> >> > for >> >> > 100 vs 200. If not, then it would probably not be possible to take a >> 100 >> >> > rex and re-flash it to a 200 rex using only a 200. >> >> >> >> It's the same CPLD code. AFAIK re-flashing a 100 REX with 200 >> >> firmware >> in >> >> a 200 ought to work the same way as re-flashing a 4.8 REX to 4.9... >> >> >> >> > I have a 200, but I don't remember if Stephen has made the 200 >> >> > version >> >> > firmware available yet. >> >> >> >> Yes, it's available. (So is the NEC firmware.) >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> jim >> >
