[Elecraft] Elecraft Support

[John Pitz]

Guys, don't let SMT parts intimidate you.  With a little practice it
isn't difficult.  Especially if you know how to make a good solder joint
on a through hole part  The hardest part is getting magnification.
There are some very affordable stereo microscopes available, you will
probably want 20x magnification.  On Amazon I have seen prices in the
$137 range on a quick search.  I was able to convince my eye doctor to
prescribe a pair of low vision aid glasses, not quite 20x, that work
really well for the larger, 0603 and .5mm pitch 100 pin QFPs.  These
things have coke bottle lenses and they put the soldering iron a few
inches from my nose ;)  If you are into making your own circuits you
will find that 0603 parts, as well as SOT23 work well on .1 pitch
protoboard, if you are creative enough.

Other helpful hints: Buy the finest diameter leaded solder you can find,
no need to make your life any more difficult on this scale with lead
free solder.
Buy a flux pen.  Sometimes a little bit of extra flux will help.  

One advantage of SMT parts is they are VERY inexpensive, at least
resistors and capacitors, and you can store an awful lot of them in a
small space.

Other resources are Schmartboards, these are used to adapt SMT ICs to .1
lead pitch perfboard.  Sparkfun and Adafruit are great resources as well
if you want to operate at a slightly higher level of abstraction then
the base hardware level.

If you ENJOY building it yourself, don't let small parts intimidate you.

73,
KD8CIV



On Mon, 2017-01-09 at 18:29 -0600, Kevin wrote:

> I don't either. I read every single post in this thread and I didn't 
> think anybody was trying to start a holy war.
> 
> To the guys who built all your gear from through hole parts...good for 
> ya. Those days are gone. There will be no more rigs like the K2 when the 
> parts are unobtainable. Better get you heads around SMT.
> 
> To all the guys who just want to operate...good for you. You are at 
> distinct disadvantage when it comes to how the radio works. Quality time 
> with ALL the manuals, including the assembly manuals, can help.
> 
> To all the guys who like and do both...I'm one of you. K2/100 #4684 was 
> my main rig for years. I will NEVER sell it.
> 
> 
> On 1/8/2017 5:33 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> > I've been following this thread noting how the focus of many Hams has changed. I see no "appliance operator vs builder" argument.
> >
> > 73, Ron AC7AC
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Elecraft [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Walter Underwood
> > Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2017 2:43 PM
> > To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft Support
> >
> > Please everyone, we don’t need the “appliance operators vs builders” argument here. Those are flavors of amateur radio, not levels of goodness.
> >
> > I was an appliance operator in 1970, with a BC-348 receiver and an ARC-5 transmitter. My Elmer got those working for me.
> >
> > See you on the æther,
> >
> > wunder
> > K6WRU
> > Walter Underwood
> > CM87wj
> > http://observer.wunderwood.org/ (my blog)
> >
> >
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