[Elecraft] pcb holder

[Tom Hammond NØSS]

John:

>In a week i will be starting to build the rf board so i will need a pcb
>holder. To all the experienced builders out there,,,,which one is the best?

Personally, I'd not recommend a 'real' PC board holder... especially for 
the RF board.. too big and 'clunky' to be having to horse it back and 
forth. I found them to be much too  difficult and 'involved' when I was 
repeatedly inserting a few components and then flopping the board over to 
solder. If you develop a good technique of inserting the component 
completely, and then binding the lead right AT the PC board (45 degree 
angle) so it securely holds the component in place, you'll be just as well 
off and you can make the top-to-bottom (and back) transition much more quickly.

The ONLY 'real' PC board holder I've ever found to be really useful was one 
I bought from some feller in Hawaii several decades ago. It mounted to the 
edge of the desk, clamped the PC board by one edge, and then flipped it 
from horizontal (for soldering) to about 315 degrees (for stuffing) via a 
piano hinge... worked like a champ... until I lost it! And now I can't find 
the manufacturer OR a diagram so I can make one myself.

However, if you get one of the small Vacu-Vises, they have a notch cut 
horizontally in each of the jaws which makes a WONDERFUL holder for the 
smaller PC boards... esp, those of the various options. The jaws will open 
up to just a tad less than 3" width before you run out of threads, and once 
set, you can leave them just a bit loose and then merely slide the PC board 
into the slot for soldering. A 3" width will accommodate ALL K2 & K2 PC 
boards 'cept the RF board.

73 - Tom Hammond   N0SS