I'm really starting to like these SMT parts. You can tuck them into
some really tight little places. Once you get used to it soldering
them is a breeze - solder wick is my friend. get a magnifying visor
to solve the squint-o-death problem.
The down side is you can't easily route traces between the pads like
through hole stuff so you wind up with more vias. and there is a &%
$# d∗mn photo diode on my floor, somewhere.
--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Dave Mucha" <dave_mucha@y...>
wrote:
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Anthony Toft <toftat@c...>
> wrote:
> > > absolutely. they have one of the most generous sample policies
> > > going.
> >
> > Oh yes! they ask for a company name (mine is Toft Technology) and
> they
> > _might_ call you, but as far as I am concerned they have the best
> sample
> > policies, 8 part numbers per order, two of each! It's excellent!
> They
> > have killer parts too, I am building a NiMH battery charger using
> their
> > MAX712 part.
> >
> > I am not a Maxim employee, I am just _that_ impressed by their
> policies
> >
> > --
> > Anthony Toft <toftat@c...>
>
>
> I have requested samples from them and like their policies about
> sending them.
>
> However, I do not get samples for my personal projects unless there
> is no retail channel. Some parts are just not stocked by Digi-Key
or
> others.
>
> Also, I ALWAYS check the price should I ever need to buy one. A
> $22.00 ADC chip that they will send you as a sample will burn your
> wallet if you blow it up and have to replace it and cannot get
> another sample.
>
> The one thing I don't like about Maxim is that they have such darn
> small chips.
>
> A 4 amp MOSFET driver chip in an SOT-23 package. First, get white
> paper out all over the floor because if you drop it, foget finding
it.
>
> second, the pads are on 0.9mm centers and the pads are tiny.
Figure
> that I like 1mm drills and the pad distance is less than that......
>
> And, that is a large chip as far as small chips go.
>
> I think the only way I can touch that is an toaster over solder
> project.
>
> Dave
> (who likes 8 pin DIP's)