[Elecraft] Heathkit Returns!

[John Ragle]

I would like to "second:" Don's comments about HB. Believe me, when I 
say I come from the "old school" WRT HB, but just trying a single 
"Manhatten [sic] construction" using chads punched from .065" circuit 
board with a "nibbler" and mounted with superglue on a ground plane was 
more than enough to convince me that it is really worthwhile GIVING UP 
the old methods using tie points/strips, hole punches on a chassis, etc.

Take a gander at http://www.k8iqy.com/qrprigs/sw30+/PC010006_640.jpg or 
simply google "Manhattan style electronic construction." One can regard 
Manhattan-style construction as an organized version of Ugly-style, or 
as a 3-D representation of an edited PC board, preliminary to a full 
etched-board production model. However one thinks about it, it deserves 
MUCH better recognition as a replacement for pre-1960's methods.

In case the chads from a nibbler are too small, I use an old Dremel tool 
with a cut-off tool that EASILY makes islands on larger pieces of 
circuit board.

It is worth mentioning that there are several FREE programs available 
for PC-board design/editing, and that there are several CONUS companies 
that are willing to do small runs of PC boards for (what appear to me to 
be) reasonable cost, if one wants to go that far.

With regard to Wayne's comments about "leaded components," the only 
down-side is that the shipping costs are likely to exceed the component 
costs, "if you're having only one." I have found that Newark and Allied 
are willing to ship in small quantity, as long as you can bear the 
shipping/handling costs. On the other hand, one should not overlook the 
fact that several outfits sell "grab bags" of goodies, akin to the old 
PolyPaks of floor sweepings..

To me, Manhattan style construction is psychedelic, and I am talking 
about HB, not smokin' boards..."mind-freeing."

John Ragle -- W1ZI

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On 9/11/2011 2:29 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
> ...if you are doing "from scratch" homebrew, or following someone else's schematic and doing your own physical layout, you will find Manhatten construction can use your pick of either leaded or SMD components...