[sdiy] Reliability: Share your lessons learned

[Harry Bissell]

Reliable

PERFBOARD (preferably epoxy-glass) .1 spacing .040" holes with
Vector T42-A push in terminals for all component leads, except ICs
which are installed in AMP Diplomate sockets (preferably the higher-quality
beryllium copper ones) but the cheap TIN plate is fine too...

My circuit boards using this technique have been in service for over
thirty years in many cases, with zero failures due to any PCB issue
(and very few other failures, usually due to design weaknesses...)

H^) harry





----- Original Message -----
From: Tim Ressel <madhun2001 at yahoo.com>
To: sdiy DIY <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:03:44 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: [sdiy] Reliability: Share your lessons learned

Here's a tip for those who don't want to give up on MDF: Shellac. It is 
alcohol-based so it doesn't raise the wood grain near as much as other coatings. 
And 2 coats of it seals MDF very nicely. My homebrew corner horns have been 
around for 16 years with no sign of degradation.

--TimR




----- Original Message ----
From: Mike Beauchamp <mikebeauchamp at gmail.com>
To: sdiy DIY <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Sun, November 14, 2010 5:29:46 PM
Subject: [sdiy] Reliability: Share your lessons learned

The recent .1" heading thread has me thinking about long-term
reliability. We all have experience building and repairing things that
employ different parts, techniques and finishes and we've all seen
what is still working and/or easily repaired.

So please share any lessons/experiences about what works and what
doesn't for the longer-term.


My experience is still rather limited and the stuff I've built hasn't
been around for too long, but I suppose I can say:

works:
-point to point wiring and eyelet boards. (more of a guitar amp thing).
-PCB's with a silkscreen legend designed for others to see and understand.
-PCB's with soldermask and cleaned after assembly. (I haven't tried a
conformal coating yet)
-socketed IC's
-Alpha pots (and I like that they can be disassembled for future
maintenance/cleaning).
-neutrix and switchcraft 1/4" jacks.
-electrolytic capacitors that are easily replaced.

doesn't work:
-lots of hardware from futurlec (especially their unusable 1/4" jacks)
-strain relief on most wallwarts.
-particle board, MDF, chipboard, etc. (if there's a possibility of
water contact.)
-perfboard. fails way too easily when being repaired/modified.
-the paint electro-harmonix used on my deluxe memory man reissue. epic fail.


-- 
[mike]
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-- 
Harry Bissell & Nora Abdullah 4eva