off-topic rambling winding down... (Re: [sdiy] voltage controlled filter???)

[anthony]

>>I've become quite skilled at removing SMD's of all sorts, but they 
>>still break a lot and it's such a drag when they do.
> 
> Do you use the slide-a-wire-under-them method?
> 

It's more of a wick it with desoldering braid and then chisel it with 
a screwdriver. Seriously. It works really well. It's all in the wicking.
I've gotten nice fine wire DSP's, uC's and everything. (Lost a few...)
You gotta test the board with a chip you don't want first to see
how bad the glue is. Usually it's not the solder that poses the
biggest problem, but the glue holding it in place. Sometimes
it seems like there's none. Other times it's like a 3rd grade craft
project. I keep a finger on the chip when wicking. If I can't hold
onto it I stop for a little bit. Hard drives, CD drives and really
CD burners give up some good stuff. DSP's and DAC's. The 
DACs aren't the super greatest. I got some good AD ones off
of a Sony CD changer once...

 
> Some have great power supplies; others a nice silent fan to place 
> next to the bed on hot summer nights. :-)

Yeah I like a good Rubycon cap score from a power supply. I don't
need switching supplies but you can scrap 'em to make a linear.

> Usually, the most valuable things are all the different types and 
> sizes of machine-screws, the brass and anodized ones you can't get 
> from the hardware shop. I have quite a collection of them and they 
> have saved the day more than once.

I like getting cool knobs from old radios. I've bought radios at yard sales
just for the knobs. Bakelite is a great score. (Goofy as it sounds...)

And sometimes I get scrapped gear from the cyclotron. Those guys have 
really cool stuff. (Like a Beckman Industrial 60 MHz scope that still 
works - kinda)
> The chips in there must be hand-engraved and signed by Fred 
> Flintstone personally.

It's worth a peek. Probably good for at least a 555. (Cheap but 
still fun to salvage.)

> But I'm rambling too now .... very un-vcf-related, all of this.
> 
> Senso
> 
Ramble on...