[sdiy] favorite Youtube genre - "old guys repairing electronics"

David Simpson davidosimpson at gmail.com
Tue Nov 3 04:34:07 CET 2020


David,
I'd still love to see a screencast/recording of this Excel process in
action, if you are ever so inclined.

One never knows when they'll be stuck in an underground bunker with
deprecated hardware and an emergency synth needs building...

FYI emergencysynth.com is still available...





On Mon, Nov 2, 2020, 6:43 PM David G Dixon <dixon at mail.ubc.ca> wrote:

> Hi Jeremie,
>
> I use an HP Laser Jet MFP 130fw.  It was about $100, and it doesn't run
> too hot.  It's not as nice as the old beige cubes (2100M) but my last beige
> cube bit the dust a year or so ago.
>
> To address Gordon's comment, yes, for general PCB work you'd be far better
> off learning KiCAD or something else "real" but the Excel thing works for
> me.
>
> Cheers,
> Dave
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Jérémie Salles [mailto:jeremie.salles at hotmail.com]
> *Sent:* Monday, November 02, 2020 5:30 AM
> *To:* David G Dixon
> *Cc:* synth-diy at synth-diy.org
> *Subject:* Re: [sdiy] favorite Youtube genre - "old guys repairing
> electronics"
>
> [*CAUTION:* Non-UBC Email]
> Hi David,
>
> That’s really a great process. Thanks for sharing.
>
> Which laser printer model are you using? I have a brother laser printer
> HL1112 but I heart that transfer won’t work due to toner issue? Do you have
> any experience using a brother laser printer for transfer? What would you
> recommend?
>
> Jeremie.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> Private & Confidential
> The information contained in this email message is intended only for the
> use of the recipient or entity to whom it is addressed and may contain
> information that is confidential and legally privileged. Any unauthorised
> dissemination, distribution or reproduction of this message is prohibited.
> If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately
> and return the original message to us. Internet communications cannot be
> guaranteed to be timely, secure, error-free or virus-free. The sender will
> not accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions contained in this
> e-mail.
>
> On 1 Nov 2020, at 18:09, David G Dixon <dixon at mail.ubc.ca> wrote:
>
> 
> Part Two...
>
> Next, I turn all the traces black and superimpose the Pads on them to make
> the Transfer pic.  This is what gets printed onto PnP Blue transfer paper:
>
>
> Finally, I copy the Transfer pic, cover it with a translucent rectangle,
> and superimpose the Parts pic on top of that.  This makes up the Guide pic,
> which is what I look at when stuffing the board:
>
>
> This is what the board ultimately looks like.  Using this Guide pic to
> stuff boards is infinitely easier for me than stuffing silkscreened
> boards.  All the colour codes and cap values are there.  I can also wire
> the panel from this pic if it isn't too complicated.  Stuffing and
> soldering a board this size takes me about half an hour.  The longest part
> is actually making the jumpers, which I do with a piece of broken
> protoboard while sitting in front of the TV.
>
> All of this is done in Excel 2003 (in Windows XP).  After the
> actual Layout, making the subsequent pictures takes all of 10 or 15
> minutes.  When I'm done, I have a nice PCB layout that I can use again and
> again.
>
> Actually making the boards is pretty easy.  Print, transfer (using a
> T-shirt press -- the best $300 I ever spent), etch (in an HCl/H2O2
> solution), drill (using a drill press -- the best $165 I ever spent -- I
> wore out my first drill press after 10 years of PCB making), tin (with
> Liquid Tin solution that I make myself), and it's ready to stuff.  The
> entire process takes about half an hour for a board this size.  Hence, for
> something of this complexity, I can sit down from scratch after dinner and
> have a working prototype up and running well before bedtime that is nice
> enough to sell to other people.
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Synth-diy [mailto:synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org] *On Behalf Of *
> sleepy_dog at gmx.de
> *Sent:* Saturday, October 31, 2020 4:57 AM
> *To:* synth-diy at synth-diy.org
> *Subject:* Re: [sdiy] favorite Youtube genre - "old guys repairing
> electronics"
>
> [*CAUTION:* Non-UBC Email]
>
> Heh. If I need something quickly, cant wait for PCB, but also it does have
> certain physical dimension requirements,
> then I do get really "boring" and do "plan" perfboard - "what is the fun
> in that" someone asked - indeed, what is the fun in that sort of tedious,
> repetitive work alltogether?
> Better make it as short as, and least error prone possible. It's so much
> easier to reason about misbehavior of a circuit if it actually matches what
> you have drawn - at least from the obvious (not parasitic) components and
> their supposed connections.
> While it's perhaps reasonabnly unlikely to make mistakes if you have all
> the space in the world and basically solder together the circuit
> as-is-drawn on some big ass perfboard, also leaving lots of room for adding
> more stuff to experiment,
> as things get more crowded and less intuitively placed, I found the
> following to be helpful:
>
> First of all, esp. for single-sided perfboard, I like to combine THT ICs
> with SMT 0805 passives, as you can often put them comfortably between legs
> and under the IC (on the bottom side of the board), that already saves a
> lot of space - and wiring effort.
> There are also these, often green, plated-through double-sided perfboards
> - may reduce the insulated connections you have to make (which take longer
> due to the need for burning away the insulation / tinning), e.g. all GND
> with silver wire on the bottom, +V on the top side, or so, other nets with
> insulated wire, where unconnected crossings would be at least.
>
> Also, in the type of scenario where I would, if I could, prefer a small
> PCB, but don't want to wait,
> I might already have a captured schematic in my chosen EDA software anyway
> - or if it's small, I'll just do it quickly.
> Then convert to PCB, and usually don't route anything, or at best a few
> special traces to mark special preferences.
>
> I put that on my small-ish tablet with stylus support, that actually fits
> on my crowded soldering bench.
> that also runs the EDA software. Then I:
>
> foreach non-GND-net:
>     highlight net in PCB software
>     connect all net points in circuit with insulated "coil wire",
> point-to-point
>     hide net's ratlines (or color existing traces) to make visible what's
> still TODO - this shrinks more and more, and you can see the light at the
> end of the tunnel
>
> This, for me anyway, proved much less error prone than staring on a paper
> printout and comparing it with the current physical as-is schematic all the
> time (even when pencil checking traces ;) ).
> Can basically do that half-asleep without making a mistake. (just make
> sure to display the bottom side mirrored appropriately :D)
>
> Then for the GND net I do the above, except I user silver coated copper
> wire, a bit sturdier, and wherever possible, do not cut, but bend around
> corners, using one long piece of wire across many connections, saving some
> work steps. The silver wire will be over all those coil wires, holding them
> in place a bit better, esp. longer ones, and make it less likely that you
> will rip off any connection by accidentally grabbing too hard anywhere.
>
>
> - Steve
>
>
> Am 31.10.2020 um 11:23 schrieb ShedSynth:
>
> Hi all.
>
> I use perfboard, but I don’t try to make it into a PCB.
>
> I wire point-to-point with single core Kynar wire, normally used for
> wire-wrapping.
>
> I use blue, black, red and yellow on the back for -12V, GND, +5V and +12V.
>
> I use green for all signals, always on the component side.
>
> I lay out the big things like pots, DIL sockets and capacitors on the
> board itself, and always try to leave rows of 4 holes to place resistors
> flat.
>
> Then I follow the schematic, which might take several days – this isn’t a
> mass-production process.
>
> I separate each functional block with a pair of pins + a jumper so I can
> test on the scope as I go and also so I can bodge blocks of completed
> circuits into something else.
>
> Hope this might help somebody,
>
> Al
>
> If the picture comes through, it’s most of a Thomas Henry MAXIMUS 3340 VCO.
>
> The front is just as ugly.
>
> *From:* Synth-diy <synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org>
> <synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org> *On Behalf Of *Timothy Burns
> *Sent:* 30 October 2020 15:17
> *Cc:* SYNTH DIY <synth-diy at synth-diy.org> <synth-diy at synth-diy.org>
> *Subject:* Re: [sdiy] favorite Youtube genre - "old guys repairing
> electronics"
>
> Good lord, I wish I watched this yesterday. Also what the heck, did he
> *plan* before he started soldering in components? What fun is that?
>
> Thanks for the suggestions of video and audio channels, this will be great
> to have on hand as I re-solder everything from the last 36 hours.
>
> I'm not saying I'm going to start now, but does anyone have suggestions
> software or shortcuts for planning perfboard builds? Fritzling? (Asking for
> a friend.)
>
> Thanks All!
>
> Tim
>
> On Fri, Oct 30, 2020 at 10:34 AM Ryan B8S <ryan at pimpdroid.com> wrote:
>
> Not an old guy, but I can't believe no one mentioned Synth Chaser at Synth
> Chaser dot com.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/c/SynthChaser/videos
>
> My favorite youtube channel by an order of magnitude.
>
> On Wed, Oct 21, 2020 at 7:08 PM David Simpson <davidosimpson at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> I recently found this video and was astonished by the skill, technique
> quietude ala Bob Villa.
>
> How to solder grid style PCB / 555 PWM DC-motor driver (EEEL1-3)
> <https://youtu.be/_ypW45Y8VSs>
>
> What are your favorite channels for informative/instructive electronics
> repair? Preferable those who don't yell or are in a constant state of
> outrage...
>
>
> --
>
> david o. simpson | cameraperson | binarymob.com | earth
>
> _______________________________________________
> Synth-diy mailing list
> Synth-diy at synth-diy.org
> http://synth-diy.org/mailman/listinfo/synth-diy
>
> _______________________________________________
> Synth-diy mailing list
> Synth-diy at synth-diy.org
> http://synth-diy.org/mailman/listinfo/synth-diy
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Synth-diy mailing listSynth-diy at synth-diy.orghttp://synth-diy.org/mailman/listinfo/synth-diy
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Synth-diy mailing list
> Synth-diy at synth-diy.org
> http://synth-diy.org/mailman/listinfo/synth-diy
>
> _______________________________________________
> Synth-diy mailing list
> Synth-diy at synth-diy.org
> http://synth-diy.org/mailman/listinfo/synth-diy
> Selling or trading? Use marketplace at synth-diy.org
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://synth-diy.org/pipermail/synth-diy/attachments/20201102/7c68f7b6/attachment.htm>


More information about the Synth-diy mailing list