30 Jul
2007
30 Jul
'07
10:31 a.m.
On 7/30/07, Joe Giliberti <starbase89 at gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Ethan. I do have a good soldering iron, a non
variable Weller that my
father got in the trash at AT&T about 20 years ago. Still works very well,
although it could use a new tip.
Well done, then. Spend a few bucks on a new tip or two. For SMT
work, I like at least a 1/32" tip, but for QFPs, you can do well with
a blunter tip, lots of flux, and a "raking" motion to flow solder over
all the pins on a side at once. Fine tips are nice for 1206 and 805
parts.
I just finished recently soldering
connectors onto a board for an old pinball machine I have, which now works
very well. I have also built two kits from Ramsey, an electrocardiogram
machine and a color organ. My soldering skill is pretty good I think.
You sound well prepared, then.
I'm leaning more towards the KIM at this point,
mainly because of all the
documentation, as well as the expandability. I'd like to have something that
I can eventually program on a CRT and keyboard.
I think the MicroKIM is an excellent choice, but I wanted to suggest a
few others, since I didn't know your background or preferences.
Best of luck with your efforts,
-ethan