Surface mount component kits - (Woohoo Did It!!!)
photomankc
Posts: 943
Ok,
I'm going to have to start learning to go over to the dark side and build PCBs for some of the surface mount ICs that are replacing DIPs by the day. If I do that, then may as well save a little space on the discrete components too. Now, I don't want to have to place an order every time I make up a board so I wanted to look around for some decent kits of 1206 or 805 sized components. Are there any suggestions as to a good place to go. So far the best deal I have found is a place called Nightfire Electronics. I don't need nifty storage cases as I already have bins for all my through hole resistors and caps. They have reasonable prices on the kits but wanted to see if there was another place that people know of that's good to work with? Digikey's kits all seem to be close to or over $100.
I'm going to have to start learning to go over to the dark side and build PCBs for some of the surface mount ICs that are replacing DIPs by the day. If I do that, then may as well save a little space on the discrete components too. Now, I don't want to have to place an order every time I make up a board so I wanted to look around for some decent kits of 1206 or 805 sized components. Are there any suggestions as to a good place to go. So far the best deal I have found is a place called Nightfire Electronics. I don't need nifty storage cases as I already have bins for all my through hole resistors and caps. They have reasonable prices on the kits but wanted to see if there was another place that people know of that's good to work with? Digikey's kits all seem to be close to or over $100.
Comments
Jameco has them for about $25 less. Here is an 0805 kit with 7,200 pcs. 144 values:
http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&pa=172806&productId=172806&keyCode=PDF
-Phil
For those over 90 or half blind or...... ebay sometimes has surgeons loupes for a good price. I found a pair of 2.5x for $50.00. Just takes a bit getting used to working at approx 3/4 arms length. On the positive side, I am not trying to get soldering iron or tools under a monster mag glass and swearing at the spherical distortion over 50% of the field. Great for post inspection too. Also if you do not have or want to do the toaster oven, you can make or buy (some reasonable units on sparkfun) an air rework soldering pen. My manager approved one of the sparkfun units after I saved a few $K on an expensive board fix. At home, and my preference for building is a home made job modeled after the utube device using the Radio Shack solder sucker and fish tank air pump. Zeph-paste does well this way. The sparcfun unit I use mainly for part removal when the board MUST survive a part removal.
@Phil,
Have you tried the toaster oven w/ adhesive on a double sided board? My pen works well for repair and small part count work, just have not tried the toaster oven thing yet. Guess that's what I get for trashing out a unit with a failed timer on it.
Frank
(I like that they have more of the 'more used' values and less of the 'extreme ranges')
But frankly, if you already have good storage for them, I would advice on just ordering the sizes you use most often, and complement as necessary.
(1K, 10K, maybe 330Ohm resistors, 0.1uF caps would be at the top of my list. )
Where can one get a toaster oven that uses 230V and is CE approved?
(They're not that common in Europe... )
I think the hardest part about surface-mount soldering is the anticipation (i.e. dread) before you try it the first time. For my first SMD board, I designed in all 1206 passives. 0603s just seemed like impossible pepper specks to deal with. But I soon came to realize that they were no big deal and now use them regularly.
-Phil
I also discovered that if you turn over your open jar of flux you should abandon the home, sell it and move away. That stuff was outrageously hard to clean up and at first I was doing nothing but spreading it onto everything I looked at.
All in all not bad but I have a .65 pitch IC to mess with later that will probably be a bigger challenge. I definitely see the appeal though. Less drilling is nice but my CNC mill makes it take longer to align the board than to actually drill the holes. I also like those nice big gaps that resistors make for routing sometimes too.
I'll order in some caps and resistors so I can start doing a bit more. Got a couple more designs waiting to be produced.
-Phil