MOTM

I use the Styrofoam method, too... works great.

I have a little 18" deep x 28" wide rolling "typewriter table" that I picked
up at Caldor's about a million years ago for $25, unassembled. This is my
rolling soldering station. It has a 2" x 1" x 28" strip of Styrofoam cut
from some packing material running along the far edge. A big, grey
magnifying fluorescent lamp is clipped to the left side of the table, the
soldering iron is at right, and I hot-glued a power strip upside down under
the back edge of the table. In the middle is one of those multi-armed
alligator clip vice-like-things.

I can actually roll this table into a closet. When the kids go to sleep, I
can roll it out, plug in the power strip, and I'm good to go. Grab the
instructions, spend a half hour sorting parts and lining them up on the
Styrofoam (Paul's parts lists tend to be in the order that you need them,
within a particular category, but stay sharp in case they aren't).

I find that sorting & soldering in front of the TV is great as long as you
are concentrating on the assembly, not the tube. But for me, it's good for
playing all those "commentary tracks" on laserdiscs & DVDs, where you can
listen to the sound but don't really need to see the picture.

(I'm sure I'll take heat from some people for assembling in front of a TV,
but I need to multitask...)



-----Original Message-----
From: Brousseau, Paul E (Paul) [mailto:noise@...] 
Sent: Friday, 14 March, 2003 2:46 PM
To: motm@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [motm] part of the family.

I hang on to the little pieces of styrofoam that the ICs come in.  Then,
when I start a new project, I group the resistors by value and stick them in
the styrofoam by group in the order they are put in the PCB.  This way, I
can check that I have the right amount before I get too far into the
project.  And it's easier to find the next set of resistors to plug in.  (Of
course, it's always a good idea to double check your groups as they are
pulled from the styrofoam.)

BTW, welcome home, tuckerror.

--PBr