12 Aug
2006
12 Aug
'06
4:03 p.m.
Dave McGuire wrote:
Don wrote:
Well yeah. :-/ I'm 37 now...My eyes aren't great, but I'm fine with
corrective lenses. I'm hoping that a new video magnifier will make SMT
soldering less fatiguing for me. The binocular microscope I use now
works very well and I like it, but I still squint a lot when peering
through it. A video magnifier would allow me to look more "naturally"
at the work and reduce eye fatigue considerably.
You'll find that you'll have trouble each time you look away
Well
that's pretty much a given...there's really no other way to do
that. If you have a chip that's only available in SMT, there are
SMT<->through hole adapters that you can solder the chip to and then
plug the whole thing into a breadboard or wire-wrap socket, but aside
from that, yes, you do need a PCB.
Quick-turn PCB houses are super cheap these days, though, and good
software has been available for free for some time now.
As I've said a few times, things are *different*...trying to treat
it like "a smaller version of through-hole construction" will not work.
We'll be interested to see how your opinion changes when your
eyes get 10 year older! ;-) from the magnified image -- and then back again, etc.
As you get older, your eyes' abilities to focus on as wide
a range diminishes. And, the *rate* at which they focus
decreases. Also, changes in light intensity seem to
require a noticeable adjustment period (e.g., looking
at a light emitting image vs. the ambient light on
your worksurface, etc.)
I've tried illuminated magnifiers, CCTV, a small rework microscope,
etc. Each one reminds me that my eyes aren't what they used to be!
It's not too bad if you stick to bigger SMT devices. But, when
you've got *8* leads on a 1206 size package... :-( (e.g.,
the Leister will blow it clear across the room before you realize
it!)
Getting old is *such* fun! :-/