[sdiy] Resisting UberDIY

[Scott Gravenhorst]

I have to "me too" here.

My philosphy...  If it works, you did it well enough.

I could NOT possibly afford to chuck it all and then purchase new
everything.  I do generally use new "parts", but wire is dumpster fruit,
tools are old, some good, some crappy, soldering iron is NOT regulated nor
ESD.  "Bench" is an old wooden office table ($5).  Scope is new, but a lowly
BKprec 20mhz that I had to bleed for.  All electrolytics are in a candy can,
unsorted.  Other caps are all in a drawer.  Resistors loosely sorted in box.
 Pots are all in one box.  Jacks etc. are wherever I put them...

I have to say that this recent rant and especially the uber-DIY stuff does
not induce me to start a MOTM system any time soon.  Maybe it's good stuff.
 Perhaps it's even the best...  Or maybe it's "uber-kill".

Ian Fritz <ijfritz at earthlink.net> wrote:
>For me that would be "throw everything away and start over."
>No thanks!
>
>At 04:27 PM 9/19/2002, Paul Schreiber wrote:
>>Paul's 8-step recovery program from the UberDIY plague.
>>
>>1) Throw out all data books prior to 1999. If you need a certain 
>>datasheet, tear it out, then
>>toss the entire book.
>>
>>2) Throw out 95% of all old parts, especially that big "junk box" of 
>>resistors and switches you
>>cut out of the mainframe with the wire still hanging off them. Keep the 
>>uA726, CEM/SSM, and the
>>occasional older EPROM.
>>
>>3) If you have wire that's not on a spool, out it goes
>>
>>4) If you don't have a regulated solder station, toss it (doesn't have to 
>>be variable temp).
>>
>>5) Throw out all you cheap-ass handtools. Get the Techni-Tool catalog and 
>>get nice cutters and
>>serrated 5 1/4" chain nose pliers. Get the $2 lead bending tool from 
>>Mouser. Buy Kester 245,
>>0.031dia no-clean solder. Toss out all rosin core solder.
>>
>>6) Get nice sets of drawers. In the UK, the best ones for the money are 
>>made by Raaco. 18
>>drawers, nice sized. I bought 7 from Farnell and shipped them over.
>>
>>7) Throw out all your "generic" crap ICs from the 1980s/1990s. Get the 
>>Mouser/Digikey catalogs
>>and look at the Linear Tech, Burr-Brown, Maxim and Analog devices chips. 
>>Look at the Atmel AVR
>>and 18Fxxx series PIC chips. Throw out all caps not bought within 2 years.
>>
>>8) Save $130, get a nice used Tek scope. ITT Pamona sells individual 
>>100Mhz probes for $39,
>>sometimes the 60Mhz ones are $29.
>>
>>It's tough. Some folks tremble at the THOUGHT of #1 ("You never know when 
>>you may have to look
>>something up!" Err...www.google.com is amazing!)
>>
>>Instead of spending $300 on beers and smokes the next 2 months, decide to 
>>focus on getting a
>>great DIY setup.
>>
>>Paul S.
>

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-- Scott Gravenhorst | LegoManiac / Lego Trains / RIS 1.5
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