[Avro_Arrow]

Me too...

 
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I am looking for a stereo microscope.

 

[qusp]

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So these little projects are really evil "gateway" items in disguise?? 

 
Would seem to be the case.  More projects already on the way....
 
BK

 
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Yep just a little "hit" and you will be hooked and looking for a big project to do.

 
yep thats exactly what I mean, I hope you have a tolerant partner

haha thats really funny, I used exactly this association (gateway) to describe the sweet smell of flux this morning, I likened it to the guilty pleasure as a kid of sniffing magic markers.
 
soon enough your house will be overflowing with delivery boxes and you will be trying to find excuses of how to use packing materials and snaplock bags for everything.
 
much as I would like a Metcal station, i'm fine with my hakko for now and the next thing i'm looking at is a DIY reflow oven controller. I much prefer SMD where possible and let it be known that they can cost as much or more than through hole parts. just check out the pricing for smd zfoil parts. even by hand it is indeed much easier IMO, because not only can you develop methods for soldering entire edges of multipin components in one swipe, but they dont get in the way so much, so you can fairly easily approach the order how you wish within reason. some parts though are actually impossible to do by hand thus the oven, though a hot air tool can do the job too, I prefer the very cool things that surface tension does in oven reflow
 
edit: just reading that back. what a sad geek I am ha. at least for me its at least mostly still about the music

 

[BK_856er]

Here's another side effect.  I feel like I'm in a coma after assembling four different mouser project files and cross-checking against build lists and spreadsheets.  This part is worse than doing taxes.  I also just realized that if you add an item that is already in the project, the quantity does not get updated.  Need to lay off the beers while I'm doing this....
 
BK

 

[qusp]

indeed, even sometimes that can be cool once you understand what you are looking at fully, hint: you can download the whole catalogue or sections of it as PDF and browse and search locally. still have to go on to check for stock.

 

[BK_856er]

Anyone have any firsthand experience with this Weller circuitboard holder?  In particular, is it sturdy or floppy/sloppy?  I really hate tools that flop around or move.
 
I like the idea of the component holder and the overall design looks interesting.  Not sure how it behaves in practice.
 
Trying to decide between this and some other PanaVise formats.
 
BK
 

 

[BK_856er]

So I bought both the PanaVise "electronic workstation" and also the Weller unit pictured above, which arrived today.  I'll probably only keep one of them.
 
- The PanaVise base does a poor job holding it's position despite cranking the knob down.  Not too happy abou that.  I already had it apart a few times to investigate, but it seems like a case of poor tolerances of the cast components.  I've owned other PanaVises that didn't have this issue.  Otherwise it seems like it'll do a good job at holding boards of various sizes with quick in/out for a given board.
 
- The Weller is kinda neat.  Quite solid and made in Germany.  A bit fiddly to get the boards in/out, but the rotation adjustment is very slick and requires only two fingers.  The component holder sponge looks like it'll do a good job at keeping short things in place when the board is flipped.  There is some slop in the mechanism, and the grooves in the board holders are quite deep, which will complicate working at the extreme edges, but overall I like it.  Definitely a single-purpose tool, unlike the PanaVise that can be reconfigured for other needs.
 
I'll mess around with both and see which one wins.
 
BK