New to the list today, have been doing manual resist application and slosh etching on occasion as needed since the 70's. Now I have some space and this list seems to be the resource I need to move into other etchants, resists, etch tank systems, etc. I'm a professional PC/laptop/server/printer/plotter/copier/network/cabling technician after being a conventional and nuclear missile systems tech in the USAF as well as a technical instructor for 8 of the 20 in the AF from mid 70's to mid 90's. I've also worked for others as a bench tech and field service tech since retirement prior to and during my self employment that started full time in 2000. I recently went part time and went to work at the Toshiba Laptop Depot in Louisville that UPS- SCS runs under contract for Toshiba, 10 months of popping aspirin to chug along (I hated the corporate environment, loved the work when they left me alone). Anyway my business in field and bench service is back again full time and I've added signs and soon silk screen (did that for Illinois Molding Co in Chicago prior to the USAF as wel as photolab and studio for Williams & Meyer in Chicago) and learning how all the old ways like silk screen have gone from dangerous and complicated to easy home level and not-so-dangerous. Since I do a lot of laser, thermal, ink, dot, dye, etc printers and plotters I also have a fair share of scrap as well as replacement parts and sources. I see a lot of people are working with bare fusers to make laminators and a few even working with direct toner application or electrostatic transfer then heating/fusing for resists. I have approx 80 different printers in storage and might just tinker this winter with these ideas myself, maybe modify a 600 or 1200 dpi laser with wide fuser to accomodate direct board feed and print. Anyway if and when people come up with needs posted for parts for these projects I can probably help out with a free or inexpensive item or a source that is reasonable. I'm hanging onto all the servomotors and carriage rods for now for a possible CNC project later. I also have a vinyl cutter-plotter and see that vinyl is a good resist and will try that as well. Mine is a 30" bed but I can feed as small as 3" wide so the possibilities are endless. Question for the list - what's a good or great but free circuit drawing program for Windows (XP down to 3.11) or DOS out there I can download? Linux of course is another option if it has an x86 version or even a Power PC version as I have an old AIX based IBM server I can use too. I'm sure there are others for older non-Intel platforms such as Commodore (I see someone used a PET for a CNC drill, nice) or Apple or TRS-DOS etc but even having a wide array of old machines I can use (I have IBMs back to the original PC and non-IBM items back to the Commodores, Osbornes, etc) I'd prefer to leave the oldies aside for museum pieces more or less and concentrate on machines like my dual PIII-1ghz HP X-class machine I bought from GM's Corvette plant down here in Ky. Any help is appreciated although I will be dead for the most part until I get into some free time otherwise I'll lurk and answer if I can help. Russ Blakeman Clarkson, KY (originally from Chicago)
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Newbie to list, old timer to this hobby and others
2006-12-25 by Russ
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