Since I don't have a PnP I placed ALL of the SMT stuff by hand (try that when the silk is backwards :-) .. )
The reflow oven is strictly for SMT you have to do all of that first. All of the through-hole stuff you must do by hand which on this board consisted mainly of Relays, 3-Stepper motor drivers, 5mm pitch connectors, and a few male SIP headers.
The micro is really the tough one ... 80 pins at .5mm pitch ... you have to position it with a microscope, but the reflow oven does the rest once in correct alignment ... (well, a stencil is a must)
The Electrolytic caps are SMT versions... (just TABS bent over with Phish paper as an insulator) ... Same with the crystal
@T Chap - "why no ground plane?" - Not all designs require a ground plane. This one does not.
Since I don't have a PnP I placed ALL of the SMT stuff by hand (try that when the silk is backwards :-) .. )
The reflow oven is strictly for SMT you have to do all of that first. All of the through-hole stuff you must do by hand which on this board consisted mainly of Relays, 3-Stepper motor drivers, 5mm pitch connectors, and a few male SIP headers.
The micro is really the tough one ... 80 pins at .5mm pitch ... you have to position it with a microscope, but the reflow oven does the rest once in correct alignment ... (well, a stencil is a must)
The Electrolytic caps are SMT versions... (just TABS bent over with Phish paper as an insulator) ... Same with the crystal
Thanks! that explains it. Like you said 5mm is difficult and I'm not looking forward to that part LOL . Nice looking board you got there.
On the 0.5mm pitch ... if you have a microscope it's not so bad ... understanding surface tension of solder and a little gravity assistance can be your friend. It's not very intuitive, but sometimes a little MORE solder is better than not enough.
re:understanding surface tension of solder and a little gravity assistance
Now that we all know how to find gravity waves I should be ok LOL but seriously the only way to learn is to dig in and try it. I'm sure I'll destroy a few boards before I get it to work all ok. Some of it is trial and error.
re:sometimes a little MORE solder is better than not enough.
thanks! for the tip
Holey Molly, that was fast. Now I can say my new toy ... SMT reflow oven . It showed up today. Luckily I got back form my walk just before the FedEx guy knocked. I wasn't expecting anything for another week or two. Now I`m not prepared to try it. LOL I still have to design something and get some solder. At least it made in in good shape.
Nice! .... I'm thinking on a quick soldering tutorial for the SMT IC's ... but right now waiting for a batch of about 6 different boards that are "stuck" in the que in China at the moment. Hope they get here before my March magazine article I wrote, but I kind of doubt it .... because of the CNY, it's looking more like the end of March.
I did notice your article in the current Mag version and I'm looking forward to reading it .
"Techniques to Improve Your Signal-to-Noise Ratio
by Beau Schwabe
Learn some simple techniques to improve the signal-to-noise ratio in your projects. Page 34"
I didn't think the article was out yet, I'm supposed to get a few hard copies of the magazine. Anyway The differential audio amplifier I was going to offer on eBay as soon as I get all of my parts in which as I said is looking more like the end of March. I wrote the article a year and a half ago when I was looking for a job and didn't find out that it was going to be published until just recently (about two weeks ago). In fact I had given up on it since I hadn't heard anything. I wasn't planning on offering the circuit at all, but I figured that there would be "JUST" enough time to design the PCB for the boards and get them back with all of the necessary components. Here is a sneak peak at the board ... it measures 2.5cm x 5cm ...
Edit: I already see a small schlep on the lower right corner of the board I will need to fix... Dang! :-) The rest looks ok.
Sometimes it's just the simple things ... Here is a keychain IR remote transmitter (re-purposed inside a SD memory card storage container) ... We needed a couple extra Remotes for the garage door ... we've tried key-pad entry, RFID entry, and so now were trying keychain remotes. The BOM is about $2 for a transmitter and receiver pair. The IR sequence is a 21 BYTE string and it must match exactly for the garage door to be triggered up or down. The likelihood of a random sequence hitting all 210 BITS is very slim.
re: The differential audio amplifier I was going to offer on eBay as soon as I get all of my parts in which as I said is looking more like the end of March.
I'm interested in a board when your ready. It sounds like a good experiment for a front end for my Audio ADC experiments. It can also provide me a test board for my new T962. Maybe you can start a new thread for it so we can discuss everything.
Will do once I get everything in... I need to figure out a way to make that repair without it looking "dodgy" I have an idea on how to do it ... those are external optional inputs anyway the built-in mics should be fine. I'll just have to order more boards before I can sell any with a good conscious.
Comments
The reflow oven is strictly for SMT you have to do all of that first. All of the through-hole stuff you must do by hand which on this board consisted mainly of Relays, 3-Stepper motor drivers, 5mm pitch connectors, and a few male SIP headers.
The micro is really the tough one ... 80 pins at .5mm pitch ... you have to position it with a microscope, but the reflow oven does the rest once in correct alignment ... (well, a stencil is a must)
The Electrolytic caps are SMT versions... (just TABS bent over with Phish paper as an insulator) ... Same with the crystal
@T Chap - "why no ground plane?" - Not all designs require a ground plane. This one does not.
Thanks! that explains it. Like you said 5mm is difficult and I'm not looking forward to that part LOL . Nice looking board you got there.
On the 0.5mm pitch ... if you have a microscope it's not so bad ... understanding surface tension of solder and a little gravity assistance can be your friend. It's not very intuitive, but sometimes a little MORE solder is better than not enough.
Yes I use one all the time and I like it.
re:understanding surface tension of solder and a little gravity assistance
Now that we all know how to find gravity waves I should be ok LOL but seriously the only way to learn is to dig in and try it. I'm sure I'll destroy a few boards before I get it to work all ok. Some of it is trial and error.
re:sometimes a little MORE solder is better than not enough.
thanks! for the tip
Holey Molly, that was fast. Now I can say my new toy ... SMT reflow oven . It showed up today. Luckily I got back form my walk just before the FedEx guy knocked. I wasn't expecting anything for another week or two. Now I`m not prepared to try it. LOL I still have to design something and get some solder. At least it made in in good shape.
"Techniques to Improve Your Signal-to-Noise Ratio
by Beau Schwabe
Learn some simple techniques to improve the signal-to-noise ratio in your projects. Page 34"
http://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/issue/2016/03
re: I'm thinking on a quick soldering tutorial for the SMT IC's
That would be great!!
I didn't think the article was out yet, I'm supposed to get a few hard copies of the magazine. Anyway The differential audio amplifier I was going to offer on eBay as soon as I get all of my parts in which as I said is looking more like the end of March. I wrote the article a year and a half ago when I was looking for a job and didn't find out that it was going to be published until just recently (about two weeks ago). In fact I had given up on it since I hadn't heard anything. I wasn't planning on offering the circuit at all, but I figured that there would be "JUST" enough time to design the PCB for the boards and get them back with all of the necessary components. Here is a sneak peak at the board ... it measures 2.5cm x 5cm ...
Edit: I already see a small schlep on the lower right corner of the board I will need to fix... Dang! :-) The rest looks ok.
What a nifty idea for a cheap box
I'm interested in a board when your ready. It sounds like a good experiment for a front end for my Audio ADC experiments. It can also provide me a test board for my new T962. Maybe you can start a new thread for it so we can discuss everything.
Will do once I get everything in... I need to figure out a way to make that repair without it looking "dodgy" I have an idea on how to do it ... those are external optional inputs anyway the built-in mics should be fine. I'll just have to order more boards before I can sell any with a good conscious.