EEVBlog #407 - Mailbag

[PChi]

With probes it's horses for courses. I have found that sprung probes are great for surface mount components. They limit the amount of force that is applied and don't tend to fall off. They are rather fragile though, RS did some great 2 mm plugged ones that are really small, ideal for 0402 size components.

Please Dave could you demonstate the home use of the soldering stencils. I had a free one from PCB Pool but only had partial success with it.

[djlorenz]

30GBP for book is a little bit too much...

You obviously don't buy many technical books 

no i don't... i buy books for university but i cant spend this money for passion!
web is full of informations... i prefer to keep money for kits and devices... and watch youtube, forums, blogs...

i think if a book has a "right" price more people buy that...

[Bored@Work]

i think if a book has a "right" price more people buy that...

40 GBP is a right price. The author is not getting rich from that. Taking the time into account writing it he maybe doesn't make any money at all.

[billclay]

Those probes dosent look good for piercing oxidations etc when they have springy tips?

These probes come with a set of tips, some are solid.

[EEVblog]

40 GBP is a right price. The author is not getting rich from that. Taking the time into account writing it he maybe doesn't make any money at all.

The vast majority of authors do not make anything on their book (if they count their time as being worth something)
It's a mugs game.

Dave.

[codeboy2k]

i think if a book has a "right" price more people buy that...

40 GBP is a right price. The author is not getting rich from that. Taking the time into account writing it he maybe doesn't make any money at all.

While I was watching the video, I thought... that's going sell for about $99 or so, and I thought it would be quite worth it at that price.  It contains a a wealth of esoteric information that is not easily obtained and is a tribute to Vincent's vast experience in his field.

At $49 USD for me, it's a standard price, well worth it, and I'll order through Dave's Amazon affiliation, then both Dave and Vincent benefit from my order.

[EEVblog]

At $49 USD for me, it's a standard price, well worth it, and I'll order through Dave's Amazon affiliation, then both Dave and Vincent benefit from my order.

Ah, forgot to check if it was Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907920129/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ee04-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1907920129

Money for Sagan and Vincent! 

Dave.

[PuterGeek]

Ah, forgot to check if it was Amazon:

Listed but unavailable.

Vincent, do you have any idea when they will be restocked?

Sagan needs the royalty! 

[alanb]

The link to Mike's Proto PCB does't seem to work. I get error message Bandwith Limit Exceeded. It looks as if Mike's website is getting more hits than anticipated.

Mike please let everyone know when its back on line.

[Monkeh]

Wow, hosting providers still have transfer caps?

[SeanB]

Yes, especially for the bottom end hosting provisions, where they barely break even on the costs. Not all countries and areas have unlimited bandwidth for low cost.

[Monkeh]

Yes, especially for the bottom end hosting provisions, where they barely break even on the costs. Not all countries and areas have unlimited bandwidth for low cost.

Yes, but even in the relative backwater of the UK, that must be an obscenely low limit for such a simple site to have used it up.

[SeanB]

Come here, where you can get a right royal shafting with no lube at all. Single supplier who only recently has started to allow competition, only because they had no choice as the other cellular service providers are eating them up wholesale and taking customers away in droves.

[mikeselectricstuff]

The link to Mike's Proto PCB does't seem to work. I get error message Bandwith Limit Exceeded. It looks as if Mike's website is getting more hits than anticipated.

Mike please let everyone know when its back on line.

oops - I use a reseller package to host all my domains and for some reason the whitewing domain had a bandwidth limit configured - no idea how!
Back online now http://whitewing.co.uk/protoboard.html
But better get in quick - stock is running low!

[somlioy]

But better get in quick - stock is running low!

They're all saying that.
Not saying its a bad thing...

[SeanB]

Yes, but Mike will be unable to do anything from 8 Feb till 25 Feb, as then China is on holiday.

Tempting to buy a few, but no money, bills from last year coming in to pay and payday is soooooo long away.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Yes, but Mike will be unable to do anything from 8 Feb till 25 Feb, as then China is on holiday.

Thanks for the reminder - new batch of 100 ordered....
 

[SeanB]

No problem, i will have to reind others at work about the same and as sure as there are little green apples they will forget and make it _my_ problem.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Yes, but Mike will be unable to do anything from 8 Feb till 25 Feb, as then China is on holiday.

Thanks for the reminder - new batch of 100 ordered....

...and current stock now sold out (barring my own stash - the primary purpose was to make something for my own use!)- more in about 2 weeks!

[senso]

Its for sure a must buy!
I also tough that such a book would run the likes of 100€ or more, has I'm used to, so its in my list of things to buy, so thanks for writing the book, hope that its as good as it looked in the video.

[free_electron]

I'm working on the next 2.. One is on the SPI bus the other one on PCB design.
PCB design will have everything + the kitchen sink. i have almost 20 pages on just defining the board contour ... There is so much involved in even this simple task that it boggles your mind.. i keep handwritten notes and there's not a day that goes by without having to jot down ' i need to explain that as well'.

And these can be things you would not consider but can be extremely important... like defining boundaries where parts cannot go close ot the boar contour , because the machine needs room to grip the board .. but also close to things like mousebites. The act of snapping the board out of the frame creates a stress point. Have a simple component like a ceramic cap or resistor in smd closeby and you may create a microfracture in the resistor while you snap out the board ....  there are rules for these things.  so all that stuff gets covered.

it goes from designing the board shape , part placement , routing topology and much more elements of concern. It is written 'toolless', meaning not locked to a specific cad package. Of course i am using altium and the screenshots are made from that tool but the techniques are not limited to altium. They are valid in any pcb tool. The only thing the book will not be is an 'eagle users manual' , or 'altium users manual' or 'kicad users manual'. it is a PCB DESIGN book. Designing a pcb is much more than just placing some parts and wiring it up , manufacturability , reproducability, servicability , esd , emc and many other factors come into play. routing is only one aspect of making a board. it is all the other things that define where you will plunk the trace ... )

the reaosn i write in parallel is that for the spi book i have  wait time to get the boards and sometimes i get writers block or need to reformulate certain sections so i switch. keeps my mind from getting stuck in a rut.

[kizzap]

I'm working on the next 2.. One is on the SPI bus the other one on PCB design.

Consider 1 copy of a book on PCB design sold.

[cwalex]

I'm working on the next 2.. One is on the SPI bus the other one on PCB design.

Consider 1 copy of a book on PCB design sold.

Me too 

[free_electron]

Oh goody, if one person learns something from it my goal is met 
Gonna be end of the year ..

[cwalex]

Oh goody, if one person learns so etching from it my goal is met 
Gonna be end of the year ..

I'm a big fan you! I read every post you make, so much fantastic info.

I would be more interested in layout of a board from an absolute beginners perspective. Regardless I will buy your book, eagerly anticipating its release. Please post when it is available and if you would be kind enough to offer preorders I will gladly preorder a copy.