[Elecraft] Re-work of PC boards

Tue Apr 13 11:04:01 2004

Hi Ron,
    I just need to stay sane for one more day.  Then I can return to normal 
:)  This lack of sleep and not knowing where I'm to jump next makes life a 
bit interesting.  Now another 40 Powerpoint slides in 20 hours, a talk, 
and a few handshakes, a 20 or 30 page rewrite and I'm done!  Might just 
put my LOX away.
    Fragile can mean different things.  I didn't like the looks of my old 
S100 bus computer cards.  I did have to silver solder some of the card's 
edge connectors just to keep them working in the Midwest humidity and 
temperature changes.  And each time I had to take the card out and wiggle 
it cause other problems with the kluge wires.  Not saying it can't be done 
correctly but I'd rather it were still in traces.  As for point to point 
and Manhattan (Bronx?) wiring I've done my share.  And the gadgets seemed 
to work for as long as I was interested in running them.
    My robots tend to run on experimenter boards where you can plug and 
replug all the connections on an hourly basis.  It's a question of how 
much to run in software and how much to create in hardware.  Then there 
are the power transients causing data glitches.  Those are always fun to 
debug.  But a good oscilloscope normally gives one the best idea of where 
to look.
    My dad designed the contact surfaces for the Microswitches for the 
Pioneer space probes.  He made sure the contacts would open after years of 
being closed in deep space.  They opened right on time but unfortunately 
he was not around to celebrate his metallurgical engineering expertise.  
His ARC5s got me started in electronics.  They also provided me with a 
view into combat ready radios with very fine point to point wiring.  
Opening up one of them and viewing the wiring gave me very good training 
on how to make electronics work while the plane is getting pummelled by 
flak.  He was in the wing of a B24 repairing some damage when the rest of 
the plane disintegrated.  He described the experience as most 
interesting.  I think he was being a bit mild.
    This list is alway interesting and mostly entertaining.  I enjoy your 
company folks.  Now a few more days of sanity and reality will recommence.
    73,
        Kevin.   KD5ONS


On Tue, 13 Apr 2004 07:23:12 -0700, Ron D'Eau Claire 
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Hey, I started that fire, Kevin! I only took issue with your comment 
> that a
> modified PC board was, to use your word, "fragile". I'm sure a detailed
> analysis of such a mod would show that, in theory, it is more prone to
> failure from mechanical "insult" (shock, vibration, rough handling, etc.)
> but my point was that in the real world out there when a modification is
> done well, the difference is negligible.
>
> I sure didn't argue that it changes the appearance of the rig. I sure 
> agreed
> that a pc board with jumpers on it or parts added no longer looks
> "pristine". And I sure understand about your wanting to keep work and fun
> separate.
>
> Ron AC7AC
>
> -----Original Message-----
> I was wondering what the response would be to my throwing liquid oxygen 
> on
> the fire :)  Where is that video of a college professor starting the
> barbeque with a little lighter fluid and a big bottle of liquid oxygen?
> The grill did not survive but the effects were phenomenal :)
>
> I just think my radio works fine with out any sort of repairs.  From day
> one it has pleased me to no end.  I spend many hours a week hacking at
> software.  It gets designed in the beginning but the client always wants
> unforseen changes.  So the code gets to be a rats nest in no time.  This
> is another reason I don't want to use computers any where near my radio
> work.  It would be like a busman's holiday.  I want very large separation
> between work and play.  But soon that may not be true.  I am finding more
> interest in linking radios to computers while wearing my robotics hat.
> Sensor nets are also becoming very popular in many areas of research.  So
> my work my tend toward my hobby no matter what I do.
>
> It is always interesting to see how opinionated a group of amateur radio
> operators can be.  Often times there are ten opinions for four people!
>     Kevin.   KD5ONS
>
>
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