[sdiy] Resisting UberDIY

[epeasant at telusplanet.net]

The Peasant's 8-step program for doing great DIY for low 
cost.

1) Many people and companies throw out old data books, 
these can be obtained cheaply or free, and are very handy 
for working at the bench when your computer is not nearby 
or you don't have one. You can make notes in them as well.

2) Take that big "junk box" of parts and carefully sort 
them out into drawers, and clearly label each one. This 
will come in very helpful when you suddenly need a 
particular part; you will know what you have and it will be 
easy to find. Trade, sell, or give away parts you won't be 
using to somebody who will.

3) For most DIY, salvaged wire works great and is free. 
Wind it on to spools if you must. You may never need to 
spend a cent on wire again.

4) Use whatever soldering iron you can afford. If it's not 
regulated, you will be forced to learn to solder better 
than with a good iron. Upgrade to a regulated iron as soon 
as it is practical to do so.

5) Nice tools are great, but are EXPENSIVE. If you start 
with lower quality tools, you will appreciate the quality 
of the better ones when you are able to get them. Tools 
used professionally every day *must* be high quality to 
survive long, but home use is much less demanding. Would 
you learn to play violin on a Stradivarius? Sure, they're 
great to use, but you don't need the best tools to do DIY. 
Rosin core solder worked great for many years, use up what 
you have remaining, and THEN switch over to the newer types.

6) Don't worry about name brand storage containers and 
shipping costs. There are great deals in drawers 
everywhere, check your local stores, garage sales, as well 
as online.

7) Salvage used IC's from working obsolete equipment 
whenever they are in sockets, easy and free. Get an ESR 
meter to check older capacitors.

8) Almost any scope that has decent bandwidth and is 
functioning correctly, WITH a probe, will do just fine for 
DIY. There are lots on Eb*y. 

It's tough. Some folks tremble at the THOUGHT of using 
actual paper data books these days, but as this list 
discussed recently, there is a whole lot of important old 
data sheets NOT available on the net or through google.

Instead of spending all your money on expensive parts and 
tools, you can now just buy what you can't get obtain 
surplus or used. Take the money you've saved and spend it 
on slowly upgrading your DIY setup, and you'll be way 
further ahead in the end.

Take care,
Doug
______________________
The Electronic Peasant

www.electronicpeasant.com