[Elecraft] Extreme K2 Parts Staging!

[Don Rasmussen]

Hi Guys,

At this QTH , muffin tins are old school, the parts
fall out and there are not enough individual
compartments for everything.

During the inventory I use 3 x 5 index cards, business

envelopes, and large transparent freezer bags. 

There is one freezer bag for the control board parts,
one for the front panel parts, one for the main board
assembly, and one for the hardware. 

In the control board bag is a group of stacked
envelopes, each envelope has similar parts scotch
taped to the outside of it. One envelope has resistor
packs for example with the ID (ex. RP1) penciled next
to it. Another envelope has the electrolytic
capacitors taped to the front with the ID's penciled
there, etc. Every (single) part is pre-labeled and
ready to use. Where there is a group of 20 caps they
go inside an envelope, with the individual part ID's
written on the outside (ex. C21, C37,...), so they can
be crossed off as the part is used.

Since you don't want to tape static sensitive devices,
the IC's stay in their anti static bag, but I press
all the transistors into that anti static matting
along with the IC's, then draw a map of the parts
placement on a 3 x 5 card that goes in the bag.

When it's time to build, each assembly is ready to go
without doing any more than stuffing parts in the
right position and making a good solder connection. 

Yes, I also wind and tin all those toroids before
construction, count and recount the turns, then tape
them to an envelope with an ID. The resistor strips
also get the part ID (ex. R5) printed along the right
side of the string before construction.

By doing all the mundane chores before construction
begins, you can focus on getting all the important
stuff right before the nostrils flare from the smell
of solder. ;-)

73,
de Don WB8YQJ/6

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