[Elecraft] SMT and the K3 - Nerves

[John Ragle]

Clearly, the route to dealing with SMD's is a very personal one. I would 
like to offer my US$ 0.02 worth on this matter. A good, small-tip, 
temperature controlled soldering pencil is very important, as is fine 
gauge solder. I use a ceramic tipped iron which needs no extensive 
cleaning (a wipe on a damp sponge is all), and despite several years of 
use, there is no sign whatever of the tip being eaten away (as was 
common with the copper tips of yore). Fresh solder wick is 
indispensable. A comfortable, non-bulky head-mounted binocular (!) 
magnifier is also indispensable.

I also caged a few hemostats from my MD friends...these get a bit 
tarnished with repeated autoclaving, and are usually just discarded. The 
ones I use are quite delicate. They are of the "needle-holder" type 
(used in stitching) or the clamp kind. Some have serrated tips, others 
are smooth. These will give a gentle hold on even quite small parts, and 
can be used either for installation or removal of double-ended SMC's.

I use a small stainless scribing tool to hold parts in place for the 
initial tacking. I touched up the tip on a stone so that it is not 
needle-sharp. I have found this to be an invaluable tool for "Manhattan" 
and dead-bug construction as well.

There are excellent tutorials on SMC/SMD mounting that can be found 
using Google. A key psychological attribute is confidence.

John Ragle -- W1ZI