Editing User talk:Purduecer

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.

The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.

Latest revision Your text
Line 56: Line 56:
 
Anyhow, that's what I work with currently, and it has allowed me to do a great deal of hobby work. I will add to this list with stuff I'm looking forward to getting when time permits.
 
Anyhow, that's what I work with currently, and it has allowed me to do a great deal of hobby work. I will add to this list with stuff I'm looking forward to getting when time permits.
 
--[[User:Purduecer|Purduecer]] 03:44, 14 April 2009 (UTC)
 
--[[User:Purduecer|Purduecer]] 03:44, 14 April 2009 (UTC)
 
Fascinating.
 
Thank you for the list.
 
 
Solder:
 
My understanding is that lead solder is more reliable -- and, unfortunately, more toxic -- than lead-free solder.
 
So I plan to continue using my spool of leaded solder (and washing my hands carefully afterward) until it is used up.
 
I won't be too surprised if the next spool of solder I buy is lead-free -- not because it is better, but because I expect that leaded solder will soon be taken off the market.
 
(See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROHS Wikipedia: ROHS]).
 
 
Multimeter:
 
I've bought a handful of the cheapest multimeters I could find.
 
Sometimes I think this is great -- I can lend one or two out and still be able to do my own work; I can measure current *and* voltage simultaneously, and so measure "apparent power" (not to be confused with real power).
 
Other times I regret this -- they don't even have a beeper for audible continuity test; I've already killed 2 of them by probing around in a live 12 V circuit with the selector set to the "wrong" setting (resistance).
 
 
I've been tempted to buy a hard-shell
 
[http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/275936/Vaultz-Laptop-Briefcase-Black/ hard-shell laptop briefcase]
 
or
 
[http://www.pacecases.com/aluminumattache.htm aluminum utility case]
 
[http://www.tuff-cases.com/]
 
[http://www.puffcases.com/]
 
to make something vaguely similar to
 
[http://www.promopeddler.com/07-69/briefcase-tool-case-pliers-wrench-utility-knife-hammer-qqp417639.htm a briefcase tool case]
 
or
 
[http://books.google.com/books?id=XEaHRSaol8UC&pg=PA240&lpg=PA240&dq=metal+utility+briefcase&source=bl&ots=S4q-Ge07gH&sig=qzraKMdsP0JorjqDe-plDw_OgfE&hl=en&ei=BWECSpDEMpDWMNrfnegH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11 "base station built into a briefcase"] (on page 240 of "101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius" by Brad Graham, Kathy McGowan).
 
Except mine would have little cutouts in the foam for exactly the tools I actually use, rather than the tools some big company thought I might use plus whatever tools they have the highest profit margin on :-).
 
I'm pretty sure that they make large utility cases that all my favorite tools would fit into.
 
Alas, I'm also pretty sure that the resulting case, after filling it full of tools, would be too heavy for me to lift :-(.
 
 
Your tool list seems to be lacking some sort of third hand
 
[http://www.instructables.com/id/A-Simple-Solution-To-The--Infamous-Helping-Hands-/]
 
[http://www.instructables.com/id/Coat-Hanger-Helping-Hands/]
 
[http://www.instructables.com/id/Ultimate_DeskSquid_Helping_Hand/]
 
[http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/02/how_to_build_the_arms_of.html]
 
?
 
 
Your tool list seems adequate for digital logic, but whenever I do anything with op-amps or switching power supplies I find myself reaching for an [[o'scope]].
 
Even though, in theory, I should be able to breadboard up a little Microchip PIC and program its ADC to collect exactly the information I need for far less than 1/10 the price of a low-end o'scope, and funnel it to my big computer display.
 
But I never do that, because (a) it would take much longer, and (b) I'd always be wondering if those little bits of weirdness I see on the display are real, or merely a lurking bug in my PIC code.
 
--[[User:DavidCary|DavidCary]] 08:05, 7 May 2009 (UTC)
 
 
 
 
Howdy David,
 
 
If I forgot to mention it, I do have a third hand, although I use it somewhat minimally. It sees the most use when I have to solder wires to a board I made, rather than for work with surface mount or through-hole components. Some day I may consider building [http://www.instructables.com/id/Third-Hand-A-multi-use-helping-hand-for-electro/ a ThirdHand++].
 
 
For now, most of my work is embedded electronics, and so when I do get a new piece of equipment, odds are I'll take a logic analyzer over an oscilloscope. That said, if you wanted a reasonably cheap oscilloscope, one fellow on Instructables made [http://www.instructables.com/id/SCGV1TRFMSGH3EQ/ a DIY version] that may be worth checking out.
 
 
--[[User:Purduecer|Purduecer]] 23:55, 7 May 2009 (UTC)
 

Please note that all contributions to OpenCircuits may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see OpenCircuits:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

Cancel Editing help (opens in new window)