[time-nuts] Working with SMT parts.

Sat Aug 13 14:51:27 EDT 2016

Hi

Just to mess things up a bit:

Autodesk just bought Eagle. Things may change there in the future. 

Bob

> On Aug 13, 2016, at 1:03 PM, Clint Jay <cjaysharp at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I'll throw Designs Park into the mix,  it's a free program from RS
> components and I *think* it generates gerber files.
> 
> I've used it for a couple of boards and got a grasp of it on a quiet
> afternoon.
> 
> On 13 Aug 2016 16:05, "William H. Fite" <omniryx at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> For me, the ideal solution is an eyeglass-mounted surgical loupe such as
>> this: http://www.surgitel.com/loupes/prismpro-line. There are several
>> manufacturers. Long working distance, superbly corrected optics, no bino
>> microscope or Mantis monstrosity cluttering up the bench. Not cheap but a
>> lifetime investment.
>> 
>> On Saturday, August 13, 2016, Adrian Godwin <artgodwin at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> I use a beautiful Wild M3Z that I got at a good price from a British
>>> Aerospace auction. It does have the disadvantage that there's a very
>> exact
>>> spot to place your eyes, but the image is superb. I typically start at
>> the
>>> bottom end (6.5 x 10 x 0.5) but often use the other zoom levels (up to
>> 40 x
>>> 10 x 0.5). It has a Volpi fibre optic ring light but LEDs may be a better
>>> solution nowadays.
>>> 
>>> I also have an illuminated magnifying lamp - I like the ones made by Lux.
>>> 
>>> I've considered a video microscope for the times when a large screen
>> would
>>> be desirable but computer and tablet ones are said to have a bit of lag
>>> that make precise movements difficult. Direct video without a computer is
>>> probably better.
>>> 
>>> On Fri, Aug 12, 2016 at 2:14 PM, Bob Camp <kb8tq at n1k.org <javascript:;>>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Hi
>>>> 
>>>> You can get a pretty good microscope new for about $1,000. Getting them
>>>> used is a hit or
>>>> miss process. A lot of this stuff actually works very well when in good
>>>> condition with all the
>>>> parts (The Mantis is one example). Without all the parts they don’t
>> work
>>>> or work poorly.
>>>> 
>>>> For most of what you do, there is no need for anything fancy. There is
>> a
>>>> Mantis in full working
>>>> condition at work. It never gets used. Magnifier lights get used a lot.
>>>> Low magnification
>>>> microscopes with really good halogen / fiber optic ring lights seem to
>> be
>>>> the most
>>>> popular option.
>>>> 
>>>> Bob
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> On Aug 11, 2016, at 8:06 PM, Steve <steve65 at suddenlink.net
>>> <javascript:;>> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Can anyone compare the stereo microscope to a camera/monitor for use
>>>> with SMT? I have a cheap stereo microscope that I would like to replace
>>>> with either a much better stereo microscope or a camera/monitor. Is
>>> there a
>>>> marked advantage(s) of one versus the other?  I have no "floaters" to
>>>> contend with.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Steve, K8JQ
>>>>> 
>>>>> On 8/11/2016 4:06 PM, Chuck Harris wrote:
>>>>>> Lots of good suggestions have already been made, but for
>>>>>> me, a boom style stereo microscope, with a distance between
>>>>>> the objective, and the focal point of at least 3 inches works
>>>>>> fairly well...
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> One other thing that may force your decision, if you are
>>>>>> older, your eyes will likely have lots of "floaters", which
>>>>>> are debris that floats around in your eyeballs.  This debris
>>>>>> floats in and out of the center of your field of view, and
>>>>>> looks like a bunch of translucent worms, or shadows.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Your brain, the magnificent organ that it is, tries to compensate
>>>>>> for your eye's degradation, and as long as your eyes can move
>>>>>> about in your field of view, it effectively removes the floaters
>>>>>> from the scenes you are viewing.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> However, if you use a stereo microscope, your eye position
>>>>>> is fixed by the very limited amounts of off axis motion
>>>>>> that will allow a through optical channel.  This lack of off
>>>>>> axis motion will emphasize your floaters in a great way, and you
>>>>>> will see *every* *single* *one*, clearly, as if it were something
>>>>>> you really wanted to view.  Some times, the floaters will cover
>>>>>> the exact thing you need to see clearly, and you will have to
>>>>>> move it off axis by moving it on the microscope stage.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> The only answer to this problem, is to either have perfect eyes,
>>>>>> or to use a microscope where you are looking at a screen, rather
>>>>>> than through a pair of oculars.  This way, your eyes can dart
>>>>>> around, and inspect what they need to see clearly, and the
>>>>>> floaters will be ignored by your brain.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> As far as I know, there is only one optical microscope built this
>>>>>> way, and it is the very expensive Mantis.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Because of the great expense of flat screen optical microscopes,
>>>>>> most modern SMD viewing equipment is going to the trivially cheap
>>>>>> method of using a CCD/CMOS color video camera and an LCD screen.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> You can do a lot with a cheap USB camera mounted to a boom, a fiber
>>>>>> optic light source, or a ring light, and a laptop computer to
>>>>>> display the image.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> -Chuck Harris
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Bob Albert via time-nuts wrote:
>>>>>>> What are the important parameters regarding purchase of a stereo
>>>> microscope?  I
>>>>>>> see some on ebay for around $50; are those good? Bob
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>>>>> 
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>> 
>> --
>> If you gaze long enough into the abyss, your coffee will get cold.
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