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<p>So you're welcoming our robot masters? ;-)</p>
<p>I am with you on all that .. I also have CDS (Chronic Dropsy
Syndrome) and mourn all the SMTs that have gone into the black
hole under the bench. And I have old eyes. PTH is easier to lay
out as well as assemble. And yes, SMT was designed so robots would
have something to do. I often lament the irony: when my peepers
were young the parts were huge, now that I'm decrepit the parts
are tiny. Why could it not be the other way around?<br>
</p>
<p>But SMT is here and it means smaller circuits, and if you want to
take advantage of the smallness then you need to get a system that
works for you. I would not dream of hand soldering SMTs without a
Metcal station. My mag lamp has excellent glass, unlike my first
foreign knock-off mag lamp which had every form of optical
distortion known to man, and I eschew anything smaller than 0805.
And then you need tiny solder, tiny solder wick, tiny tweezers,
tiny containers for the tiny parts, tiny everything! <br>
</p>
<p>And then there is the relentless March of Progress i.e. new parts
are not available in PTH. So if you're totally over the moon with,
say, the new OPA1678, you're out of luck. I use PTH in my kits for
obvious reasons, but the mainline products get the SMT treatment.<br>
</p>
So I get you, I really do. But when you have to, you figure out a
way.<br>
<br>
--timbo<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 7/18/2017 4:58 PM, David G Dixon
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:C7B7F048741342CFB2F916505B0FEF5E@galvanox01">
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<div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="312215223-18072017"><font
face="Arial" color="#0000ff" size="2">Well, the key is WHY
it is frustrating. First of all, I have dropsy -- I drop
every component at least once, it seems, on my lap or on the
floor. Drop a TH part, no big deal. Drop an SMD part, and
it winks out of existence in this part of the universe and
ends up in Captain Janeway's minestrone. Second of all, I
don't see all that well close up anymore. Third, I have
never ever made what looked like a decent looking solder
joint on an SMD part. My TH joints look like perfect little
shiny volcanoes. Fourth, I have a system for TH work which
makes it go extremely quickly.</font></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="312215223-18072017"></span> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="312215223-18072017"><font
face="Arial" color="#0000ff" size="2">The bottom line is
that I can spend more time trying to install a single
SMD resistor on a board than it takes me to stuff the whole
board with TH resistors. And when I'm done, the TH
resistors will look perfect and the SMD resistor will be at
an ugly 30-degree angle to its pads with solder all over it.</font></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="312215223-18072017"></span> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="312215223-18072017"><font
face="Arial" color="#0000ff" size="2">SMD was developed for
robots. I don't feel a need to hone a skill to compete with
a robot, thanks.</font></span></div>
<br>
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT:
5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr" class="OutlookMessageHeader" lang="en-us"
align="left">
<hr tabindex="-1"> <font face="Tahoma" size="2"><b>From:</b>
Tom Wiltshire [<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:tom@electricdruid.net">mailto:tom@electricdruid.net</a>] <br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, July 18, 2017 4:18 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> David G Dixon<br>
<b>Cc:</b> 'Elain Klopke'; '*SYNTH DIY'<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [sdiy] Need help with a SMD kit (OT?)<br>
</font><br>
</div>
It's only frustrating until you get some good at it. then it can
be quite rewarding to do something that you initially thought
was impossible. That's pretty much the definition of learning
any new skill, isn't it?
<div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Tom</div>
<div><br>
<div apple-content-edited="true">==================<br>
Electric Druid<br>
Synth & Stompbox DIY<br>
==================<br>
<br>
</div>
<br>
<div>
<div>On 18 Jul 2017, at 22:23, David G Dixon <<a
href="mailto:dixon@mail.ubc.ca" moz-do-not-send="true">dixon@mail.ubc.ca</a>>
wrote:</div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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<div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"><span
class="103502221-18072017"><font face="Arial"
color="#0000ff" size="2">This post sums up why I
simply will not do SMD by hand. Not... worth...
the... frustration.</font></span></div>
<br>
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid;
PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT:
0px" dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr" class="OutlookMessageHeader"
lang="en-us" align="left">
<hr tabindex="-1"> <font face="Tahoma" size="2"><b>From:</b>
Synth-diy [<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:synth">mailto:synth</a>-<a
href="mailto:diy-bounces@synth-diy.org"
moz-do-not-send="true">diy-bounces@synth-diy.org</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Elain Klopke<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, July 18, 2017 12:16 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> *SYNTH DIY<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [sdiy] Need help with a SMD kit
(OT?)<br>
</font><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">Hey list,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I bought the Elements diy kit from Synthcube
and managed to get all the surface mount
components attached using solder paste, a tiny
syringe, and a hot plate. Everything melted
nicely and I only burnt the solder mask a bit
because I wasn't quick enough getting it off the
hot plate, but the copper traces appear to be
still attached to the board so I'm not too
worried.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>And then the problems started. I let the
board cool down and then started going about
eliminating solder bridges on a couple of the
ICs. I cleaned up one side of the
microcontroller and then made the other three
worse. I got one chip that was a little crooked
seated properly and then another popped free and
I couldn't get it resoldered. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I've stepped away from the kit so I don't do
more damage or throw it against the wall in
frustration.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Is there anyone experienced in surface mount
soldering (preferably in the US) that would be
willing to fix this mess for me. I'm way out of
my depth and am willing to pay postage both ways
and a fee for your time.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Thanks in advance.</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Synth-diy mailing list<br>
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</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
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<pre wrap="">_______________________________________________
Synth-diy mailing list
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</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
--Tim Ressel
Circuit Abbey
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:timr@circuitabbey.com">timr@circuitabbey.com</a></pre>
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