Need assembly 101/primer/idiots guide....

[tim hooper]

Hi all,

I'm not too bad at soldering undercarriages together and end-to-end cell packs, but I've never really tackled anything miniature.

I've just bought a Micron RX kit, and could do with a link to a basic gizmo assembly guide that'll help me with wriststraps, whether resistors can be soldered to a pc board in any orientation, etc., as opposed to a guide to electronic theory.

Anything out there?

tim :)

[dalbert02]

I don't know of any books that do not get into at least a little bit of theory as it becomes somewhat essential to answer such questions. Resistors can be oriented in any direction, but in your kit are not only resistors, but capacitors, diodes, and transistors that need to be in the proper orientation or else the will not work. I have read small booklets by Forest Mimms III called 'Engineers Notebooks' that are very easy to understand and each one is about one topic such as OP Amps, communication circuits, opto electronics, etc. I buy them at Radio Shack, but I don't know if you have those on your side of the big pond. Also, MFJ has several volumes called 'The Giant Book of Electronic Projects' that have several pages on the basics such as orientation of devices, soldering techniques, testing, troubleshooting, etc. None of these books have much math, are easy to read, and most importantly not several inches thick with complex equations. I hope this helps you find what you are looking for.
-dave

[vintage1]

Ohoh Tim..gonna make a Micron eh?

Resistors cango anyway round, but diodes can't..don't bother with a wriststrap..I spent 15 years as a professional circuity designer and only ever blw one chip up friom static. In an overgheated lab in the depths of winte with a nylon carpet and lots of metal to earth to..In our muggy summers you simply won;t get any, and modern chips are all pretty protected.

Fine tuipped iron, plenty hot, fine cored solder, and if the leads ar a bit dirty, rub them with an eraser or a touch of ultra fine wet'n'dry..

[tim hooper]

..don't bother with a wriststrap


....and I've just been to Maplins and bought one! :rolleyes:

OK, having got one, do I need to hammer a 6 foot copper spike into the ground to get a good earth, or can I just hook up to the earth terminal in the nearest mains socket? Or is that a silly idea?

tim

[AndyOne]

Tim,

Most earth straps are supplied with a yellow mains plactic mains plug but the only pin that conducts is the earth pin. This pin has a large value resistor in series with in case someone wired the live to the earth pin in the socket by mistake.

If you want to connect your earth strap to mains earth then use a 1Mohm resistor in series for safety.

Andy.

[tim hooper]

........in case someone wired the live to the earth pin in the socket by mistake.

Andy.

Andy,

It was me who wired all the sockets!

tim

[Eric_N57105]

Hi all,

I'm not too bad at soldering undercarriages together and end-to-end cell packs, but I've never really tackled anything miniature.

I've just bought a Micron RX kit, and could do with a link to a basic gizmo assembly guide that'll help me with wriststraps, whether resistors can be soldered to a pc board in any orientation, etc., as opposed to a guide to electronic theory.

Anything out there?

tim :)

Assuming the RX kit uses discrete components (traditional ones with wire leads):

Go to www.elecraft.com and click on Manuals and Downloads. Pick any of their fine kit manuals for excellent advice and clear illustrations.

Elecraft makes amateur radio transceiver kits, one of which (K2) outperforms many $3000 radios. I own ALL their transceivers, and many of their smaller kits as well. Top quality. Their skill in kitting makes it possible for just about anyone to succeed. The same advice used to assemble their $600 radio will do you well assembling a $30 RC receiver.

If the components are surface mount, let me know and I'll post URLs for a couple of excellent tutorials for these components.

Vintage1 is generally correct that static damage is overrated for hobbyists. A little common sense is sufficient. I do a lot of very small surface mount building and prototyping. I build over a large disposable tin foil cookie sheet available for a buck at the supermarket. I connect a test lead from the cookie sheep through a 1 megohm resistor to the "mains" ground. Just resting my hands on the sheet to work replaces the wrist strap which is uncomfortable and always in the way. The sheet also keeps very small components from jumping onto the floor and scurrying away to dark corners.

I don't bother with precautions beyond that for most components, but if I'm handling an expensive, difficul to replace component, (a preprogrammed microprocessor or something), I take extra precautions just because the precautions cost less than the component. I'm not too worried about a surface mount component that I can buy 20 for a dollar.

Good luck with the project. Maybe you can tell me why someone would want to build a Micron when you can get so many assembled rx's for the same price. I'm being ignorant, not critical, Tim. Does it have unique features not found elsewhere? Is it the satisfaction of building? The ability to learn something new? All perfectly valid reasons, I'm just asking because I want to know.

Eric
www.ke6us.com

[tim hooper]

Maybe you can tell me why someone would want to build a Micron when you can get so many assembled rx's for the same price. I'm being ignorant, not critical, Tim. Does it have unique features not found elsewhere? Is it the satisfaction of building? The ability to learn something new? All perfectly valid reasons, I'm just asking because I want to know.

Eric
www.ke6us.com

Thanks Eric,

As far as I know, there's nothing particularly special about the unit itself but there's a challenge in building a receiver (especially when you know naff all about electronics). Simple as that!

tim :)

[ElectroLawndart]

I connect a test lead from the cookie sheep through a 1 megohm resistor to the "mains" ground.
www.ke6us.com

Clipping to a cold water pipe works too if you are working in a kitchen or basement next to the washer.

Dart

[vintage1]

Clipping to a cold water pipe works too if you are working in a kitchen or basement next to the washer.

Dart
..provided its not modern pushfit plastic ;)

[tim hooper]

Clipping to a cold water pipe works too if you are working in a kitchen or basement next to the washer.

Dart

Thanks Dart,

I'll be working in my shed, so no water pipes within 20 yards or so. However there are 10 earthed electrical outlets within 3 feet of my workbench so I'll go and buy one of those plug things.

As this little project (if successful) may well form the basis of a review article in a magazine, I feel it's only fair to follow the supplied instructions and get myself well and truly grounded!

tim

http://www.maplin.co.uk/images/300/12712i0.jpg

[leccyflyer]

Andy,

It was me who wired all the sockets!

tim

In which case wear TWO wriststraps! ;)

[AndyOne]

Tim,

As Vintage said, I think it's a bit of modern paranoia about static.

It's far more important to concentrate on soldering skills particularly when building a receiver.
Incidentally you will need a solder sucker or some desolder braid for when you make an unwanted joint or a bridge between two very close tracks.

Andy.

[vintage1]

Tim,

As Vintage said, I think it's a bit of modern paranoia about static.

It's far more important to concentrate on soldering skills particularly when building a receiver.
Incidentally you will need a solder sucker or some desolder braid for when you make an unwanted joint or a bridge between two very close tracks.

Andy.

Nah. Just heat it up with the iron and tap the whole board smartly on the bench. The hot stuff flies off burning holes in yer jeans, and then you can resolder properly.

Only in the days when the board was worth more than the ten minutes labour did we ever use solder suckers to pull chips out..

Even then, chances are we snipped the legs off and pulled each one out with pliers..