[sdiy] Resisting UberDIY

[Ian Fritz]

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.