[sdiy] There is no fun analogue chips anymore!

[Harry Bissell]

The "entry barrier" for SMT is greatly overstated.  I'd say you need a good soldering iron
(which you would anyway)... some fine diameter solder (which is quite like what you use anyway)
maybe some flux... solderwick (which you use anyway)

The only outside item IMHO is some good optical aids, such as the Opti-Visor from Donegan Optical
(about $30).  I'd recommend the DA-5 (5x) for almost all general use... it has a reasonable working distance
of about 9". The DA-10 (10X) is nice for fine inspection but with a working distance of about 3.5" you'll
burn your nose with the soldering iron. There is a DA-7(?) (7.5x) which kind of splits the difference...
These all have glass lenses, there are cheaper ones with plastic lenses.

OK you need some pointy (imho curved) tweezers...

If you are doing your own layouts... you can choose how small you like the components. I find 0603 to be
comfortable, 0402 to be a pita, 0201 to be just total masochism, 0805 is easy, imho

I think my current project will be SMT, I'm doing the board now.  

H^) harry



----- Original Message -----
From: Pete Hartman <synthdiy at elmegil.net>
To: Eric Brombaugh <ebrombaugh1 at cox.net>
Cc: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
Sent: Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:51:40 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: [sdiy] There is no fun analogue chips anymore!

It also has a much higher barrier to entry even if you DO have
something approaching the technical background.

I can't make a 4 layer board in my home.

I currently don't have the setup to do SMD work, and I fear what the
cost might be if I decide to get one.

I don't have the cash to not only buy components and prototype boards,
but then to get the PCBs professionally manufactured and stuffed -- I
do those things myself, to the best of my ability.  Even when I buy
other people's pro grade PCBs, they aren't SMD because I can't stuff
that.

The FPGAs are tempting and interesting, and don't require a home
fabrication facility but as someone else pointed out, $200 - $400 for
something that's going to go out of fashion very quickly doesn't seem
like a very good investment in material, even if the learning is still
applicable to the next generation.

I think that this is less to do with being a neophyte technically (I
have an EE degree that is rapidly becoming un-rusty and years of
programming experience) and more to do with accessibility...and not
accessibility from the "lazy people can do it too" standpoint either.

I was able to jump headlong into AVR programming and then analog synth
work 6 months ago with the tools and knowledge I already had.  If all
the through-hole analog stuff were gone, I'd have never had courage
to/been able to fulfill a lifelong curiosity (now full blow obsession)
about music synthesis.

All that said, I think whatever will be will be.  We will be more and
more creative about parts and things until the point where we can't
get over some new entry barrier (like $$$ for FPGAs & ARMs), and then
we'll go do something else.

Pete


On Thu, Jun 28, 2012 at 12:25 PM, Eric Brombaugh <ebrombaugh1 at cox.net> wrote:
> That takes work and technical background that a lot of neophytes have
> trouble with.
_______________________________________________
Synth-diy mailing list
Synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
http://dropmix.xs4all.nl/mailman/listinfo/synth-diy

-- 
Harry Bissell & Nora Abdullah 4eva